I arrived at the Jebson farm on October 16th to find it bustling with activity. Planning a wedding is one thing, but planing and executing a wedding at home is a horse of a different color. I had first seen the farm during the engagement session I shot for Mike + Nikki which allowed me to see things in progress. They had thought of everything and this is what the scene looked like when I arrived on the wedding day. The field behind the house had been leveled out and set up with hay bales for guests to sit on during the ceremony. It over looked a pasture where cows could be heard softly mooing and beyond that was a view of the mountains. The barn, with walls repaired, a new floor and a fancy coat of red paint stood regally and beckoned you inside. Outside the barn a screen door held place card tags that fluttered in the wind next to a sign citing distances to some of Mike + Nikki’s favorite locations. Across from that an old carriage that once belonged to Nikki’s grandfather contained favors for the guests – some of Mrs. Jebson’s famous homemade pickles and beans that were grown in the summer. Inside, the tables were set with cream linens, terracotta napkins and burlap runners. Votive candles flickered amidst mason jars filled with wild flowers and vintage soda bottles that held table numbers. The dessert table beckoned with snicker doodles, mini pies, cupcakes and brownies that overflowed from an array of cake stands and wooden crates.

Nikki stood inside the barn, with hair and nails done in a casual button up shirt and jeans, and directed table set up. Mike was nearby, moving tables and bringing in the last pieces to make the set up complete. The buzz of energy in preparation only made the day more real, more palpable. Now it was time for them to make their final preparations and so they both slipped off and within the hour returned transformed, as bride and groom, ready to start what they had been waiting for.

I have particularly enjoyed being a part of Mike + Nikki’s wedding and documenting such a unique event. The elegance and rustic charm of their wedding was brought to life by the personal touches they wove in which is why this post is all about the details and preparation. So, buckle up, get comfy and enjoy post one of two from their fabulous wedding!

Wheat accented the front trellis and showed up in other places as well – including on Mike’s boutineer. Packets of lavender were in radio flyer wagons so guests could pick them up on their way in to the ceremony, and toss it for Mike + Nikki when they walked out. note: when you have a “tossing” of any kind, it’s another good reason to do a first look… lavender, rice + birdseed have a way of getting everywhere :)

The desserts were made by Meghan Smoot Becker and one of Nikki’s friends from NYC contributed snickerdoodles and brownies.

Nikki’s Melissa Sweet dress was gorgeous and featured Swavorski crystals and cream colored wooden beads, fitting in to her rustic elegance theme perfectly.

The ring pillow and flower for Nikki’s hair were made by Mike’s mom Cyndi and were both beautiful!

Mike and Nikki had a quick first look before the ceremony and I’m so glad we fit it in. The light was beautiful and they both looked stunning! Mike’s suit is Gucci, when he bought it a few years ago he swore he’d wear it to everything – including to their future wedding – and after not having any luck with other suits that became true!

Gorgeous Gorgeous Gorgeous!

Love those blue suede shoes. Nikki was looking extra fierce….

…while Mike rocked that suit and put on an extra layer of handsome.

It didn’t take long to have some amazing photos before the ceremony, and after that they went off to take their places and seal the deal. Look for part two tomorrow!

I’m going to bring you more amazing wedding invitation inspiration today! Check back to see Matthew + Caitlin’s Rustic Fall invitations and tomorrow I’m featuring Luke + Margaret’s Vintage Wood Letterpress invitations!

Mike and Nikki are pulling together a fabulous wedding at home on the farm in Culpeper Virginia. You’ve probably read about the work they’ve been doing so far in this earlier post, but now their day is getting closer and they’ve sent out these custom designed wedding invitations. They worked with Rosehaus, a friend of the bride’s, to create an invitation suite is simple, clean and conveys the charm they will have at their wedding at home.

The different sizes and shapes are packaged in a large kraft envelope with a custom return address stamp that I find particularly lovely. It makes sense to invest in a stamp that will speed up the addressing process and give you something to use later on even after the wedding. In fact, I think I might need one (Nikki where did you get the stamp from?)

Charcoal, crimson and cream are the colors that take the stage with plenty of white space to allow you room to breath.

Professionally printed, they feature a photo from the engagement session as well as an image of the farm where everyone will be joining them.

It’s so important to have the information people need for the wedding conveyed clearly. On the back of the card below is a small map and directions to help the out-of towners find their way.

I can not wait for Mike + Nikki’s big day and remember to check back for more invitation inspiration!

Of course, while I’m waiting, they are working. I checked in with Mike and Nikki and asked them to share their progress and experience as they prepare for the wedding. I know how much work they are putting in and I thought you would all enjoy seeing how they pull everything together. They left their Manhattan home to visit over the 4th of July and Mike wrote about their trip and plans for the wedding:

July 3, 2010 – 113 days and counting.

It’s 10am on Saturday morning and I can already feel the beads of sweat forming on my back. Looking out on the rolling Virginia hills in front of me I can see the heat coming off the corn fields. It’s hot now, and it’s only going to get worse. Eighteen hours and one short plane ride ago we were on an air conditioned trading floor in Manhattan, and I was part of a group frantically trying to wrap up the mid year performance estimate to send to our anxious investors. But that was our real lives back at the hedge fund in New York. For this long Fourth of July weekend, and many more to come for the next several months, we’ll be down here on the Jebson’s farm sweating it out and putting in a lot of elbow grease to make their cute farm into our ideal wedding location.

This is the farm Nikki grew up in; it’s a beef farm with nearly 100 head of cattle and sits on about 150+ acres of land in Culpeper, VA, which is about 1.5 hours southwest of Washington DC. For her, this is home. For me, it’s a world away from my suburban New Jersey upbringing, and even further from my stuffy New York City studio. The Jebsons’ seem to think of this as work, for me it’s like I’m in a giant sandbox, with all my trucks, only the box is much bigger and the trucks are real. If they think that I think digging things up with backhoes is work they’re sorely mistaken.

It’s not the first time we’ve been here to work; back in June we came down for a weekend to start knocking out fences and plant a garden. This weekend we will finish the demolition, start some cleaning, and focus on painting. Every wedding guest is going to receive a homemade jar of pickled green beans and cucumbers, Mrs. Jebson’s specialty. We wanted to incorporate as many aspects of the farm as possible and this being a beef farm, the reception’s main course was an easy call.

For the ceremony we’ll be getting married on top of a hill just behind the house. It’s the highest point on the farm and in October the sun will be setting just off our shoulders but far enough to the left not to make our guests squint. We’ll face the mountains to the west, with vast cornfields down the hill to our right and cow pastures down the other side of the hill to the left. Mr. Jebson will use the tractor and planting equipment to smooth out the hill, so the land will be flattened and our guests will sit comfortably on rows of square hay bales.

Behind the ceremony, closer to the house, there is a cluster of four barns, three of them are rectangular and line up parallel to each other. One barn closer to the house is the cattle barn, where one or a few cows are kept when they’re not in the fields. It’s the biggest and most suitable for the reception with big sliding doors, a couple open sides, and it’s made of really old oak. Unfortunately it’s also full of 100 year old hay, old doors, broken tools, and just about anything else you can imagine saying “eh, just throw it in the barn” to. My main job this weekend was to continue ripping down one of the older and more beat up sides. Additionally we started cleaning it out, which means getting all the hay out and identifying what can be thrown out and what can be salvaged elsewhere. After we finish cleaning it out Mr. Jebson is going to lay a new floor of concrete.

The forth barn near the house, and closest to the ceremony is named the calf barn because that’s where they often put the babies to nurse them after birth. Nikki, armed with an electrical paint gun contraption made this white cinderblock structure a classic barn red. We also painted the windowsills white for good measure. This is the most completed thing we’ve done so far and it looks great.

There is a square fenced in area between the calf barn and the reception barn and this is where we’ll have outdoor seating around a bon fire complete with whiskey and cigars. The fence, which has been ripped down, was old and not in very good shape. Later this summer we will be building a new one and painting it white. Right now it’s hard to imagine but in three months these buildings which are more suited for barn cats and tractors are going to host an elegant dinner for nearly 200 people!

Thanks for sharing your progress and I can’t wait to document the wedding and see the hard work you’ve put in!

Light streamed through the old wooden barn and created the most gorgeous texture. Colleen and Tristan had just been married, and I went down the road with them to the old barn that has been in the family for years. They stopped and picked some wild raspberries, and took a minute to let everything sink it. We headed towards the hayloft and they climbed up into the hay, which was stacked high on top of each other so it slide down at first, until they reached a spot to sit…

I had a great time photographing Tristan + Colleen’s wedding, which was the perfect mix of backyard, country, bluegrass, homemade, strawberry shortcake, lawn games, wildflowers, and family + friends. It also was moving weekend for Matt and I, so while I was busy photographing the wedding he was busy transporting everything (with the help of some great friends) into our new place. We had been living in a temporary set up for a month until we could move in, which of course meant 2 moves, lots of packing and re-packing, and even more chaos. We spent all of yesterday unpacking, which of course takes forever so we have several more days of unpacking to go. I know there are a lot of other people moving so you know what I mean – but isn’t it so hard to figure out where to put everything? I feel like in each new place there is some piece of furniture that doesn’t fit quite right, or something that we really need to get – but might not use again. I sound like I’m complaining and I don’t want to since really I’m so happy to be at the end of the moving process. I’ll have to have you over to our new place (and by have you over I mean post some pics on the blog) once we’re set up!

Josiah and Rachael, the newlyweds that you may know and love, are friends from Houghton. I didn’t get a chance to attend their wedding and I wanted to give them a little something so took some photos for them! Time was limited so we worked with the rainy morning we were given and headed up to the barn. It turned out to be the perfect spot, minus the hole Rachael almost fell though – thankfully she was saved by her valiant husband. Since the light was limited, I worked with what was there and tried a few different things so enjoy!