Meet Brianna and Evan - our creative, lovely, dog-loving bride and groom.
Brianna and Evan are our kind of people – low-key, kind, and all about family. They have 3 dogs, who are their babies, and their dog-loving touches were all over their wedding day. Their dogs were also part of all our planning meetings if we were meeting on Zoom! It was important to Brianna and Evan to keep family central during their wedding day, and they had meaningful moments prepared for their friends and family scattered throughout the whole wedding day.
Brianna’s desire was to have a smooth, honoring wedding day so that her friends and family would be able to join themselves, which is partially why she chose to hire us as a wedding planner! She knew she would be able to dedicate more time and attention toward her mom in their relationship instead of having to turn their relationship into one that was focused completely on planning a wedding. We were happy to help plan this beautiful day, and honor their families in the process.
Photographs by Amy Wohlt Photography
Their chosen wedding venue: Willow Springs Garden.
Willow Springs Garden actually has two venues within it from which to choose from. It has the old, round barn with a very rustic, cozy feel, as well as the schoolhouse venue. The schoolhouse is where Brianna and Evan got married, and boy was it lovely!
We really had to cross our fingers when it came to the weather, though. Since we had chosen to do the schoolhouse venue, it wasn’t large enough to have the entire group of guests inside if we ended up having to do an indoor reception due to rain, so we went gutsy and hoped for beautiful weather! We got lucky and the blue skies were out, and except for some periodic wind, it was a perfect, sunny day for a wedding. When we had issues with the wind, we flexed and accommodated by strapping signs to trees and anchoring things down. We also had a wind-related injury, but more on that later!
Willow Springs Garden has onsite catering and bar services to offer, so we were able to work directly with them in terms of the food and drink choices, and they took care of everything from there. Our wedding took place at the same time as another wedding at the barn, so the kitchen logistics were extra impressive! They seamlessly took care of both weddings simultaneously. Very impressive!
What made their wedding one-of-a-kind?
Honestly, as a planner, a special memory for me was just how well the wedding day went because of the beautiful sunny skies. We depended on the weather for our day to go the way we wanted it to, and it really pulled through!
Brianna also had memorable favors for her guests. It was clear to me that Brianna’s favorite way to show love to her friends and family was through thoughtful gifts! She is so creative and made many of the favors, and they were sprinkled throughout the entire wedding day. She created dog treats, since she and Evan love their pups, and they wanted their guests to have some treats to take home to their furry friends, too. She also had extra gifts and DIY projects, so our favor tables were packed full! She communicated her love through those gifts.
Marsha's favorite moment to create
There were so many lovely, personal touches at Brianna & Evan’s wedding, but the one that surpassed them all was the Father/Daughter first look. Oh my gosh. That was really special! I love these moments between the bride and her dad because it gives them a special moment for the two of them, with the man who loved her first, so they say! Brianna had made a special tie for her dad to wear on her wedding day with a photo of her father and her together from when she was younger, which had been sewed right onto the back of the tie. There was not a dry eye in the vicinity!
Vendors flexing their superhero muscles
This was another one of those weddings that went so smoothly because of a stellar wedding vendor team. There were little hiccups that could have turned into giant problems, but they didn’t because of the tremendous people who put on this amazing celebration! Here are a few particular vendors who overcame wedding day obstacles and executed their job with excellence.
On the front end of the wedding day, we had a few hoops to jump through with timing, and it looked like the wedding day itinerary may be pushed back. These delays had the potential to affect things like ceremony time, reception tie, food delivery, vendor arrivals, and more. However, we were in luck having Amy Wohlt Photography driving the photography ship! Amy, who was impressively 7 months pregnant, worked her magic and got us back on schedule in no time. Amy, you were a star in our eyes! We have you to thank for those gorgeous images, and for allowing the logistics to flow so smoothly, and we were even able to serve dinner on time!
Then, time for our superhero DJ, Midwest Sound. While getting ready for the reception, we were struggling with the wind. Because of where we were situated next to a hill with some wide open space, the wind was really whipping us for part of the day. One of the DJ’s speakers blew over due to the wind, and she caught it like a superhuman rockstar, but injured her hand in the process! Cue the teamwork, where we all were able to help her set up and tear down her station so she didn’t hurt herself any further. Midwest Sound were total pros – they kept the dance floor packed and having fun all night long, even on an injured hand.
Here are the other vendors who were tremendous assets on our planning team. Please click on the vendor’s name to be directed to their business website!
Brianna & Evan's Vendor Team
Venue, Catering, Bar: Willow Springs Garden
Photographer: Amy Wohlt Photography
Florist: Little Oak Marketplace
Baker: Loving Traditions Cakery LLC
Sending all our love to you, Brianna and Evan. We hope your first year of marriage has been everything you hoped it could be and then some.
XO,
Marsha & Team