jenny & matt, the barns at wesleyan hills wedding

ok! fall is quickly approaching and one of my goals is to bring back my weekly bride features.  luckily I have a few waiting in the wings (patiently) and am finally getting my act together and getting them up!

first off is jenny! she and her husband matt were married in middleton, connecticut at a beautiful old barn.  you guys should know by now how I love all things rustic. if pinterest had been around when I got engaged I'm pretty sure my boards would've been filled to the brim with venue pictures of rustic old barn buildings. :)

jenny was gracious enough to share some of the details so hope you enjoy!

It all started 8 years ago when my now husband and I met at the insistence of our young matchmakers (his younger brother and my younger sister).  After a perfect proposal on June 26, 2012, the meticulous planning began (literally, I booked the venue 24 hours later!).  The vision I had for my wedding was a rustic old barn.  After a full day of phone calls I had booked July 26, 2013 at The Barns at Wesleyan Hills in Middleton, CT.  It was not only beautiful but had air conditioning!  A huge plus considering my midsummer date.

I loved the idea of using neutrals and burlap to make for a rustic but romantic feel. I knew from the start I wanted a simple lace dress with a keyhole. After searching through all the dresses in my price range, a keyhole was nowhere to be found. So I bought a strapless lace dress that fit perfectly right off the rack and had my AMAZING seamstress cut off the train and use the lace from the train to construct a keyhole. The result was more than I could have imagined.  

I went a little untraditional and chose to carry a colorful bouquet and to have my bridesmaids carry cream. I wanted the flowers to stand out and with their dresses being coral I thought a more neutral bouquet would be best. 

The ceremony took place outside after day full of rain but luckily turned into the most beautiful 75 degree day I could have imagined moments before the ceremony was about to start. We wrote our own vows and had a family friend perform the ceremony.

For the centerpieces, I bought a ton of old antique vases of varying heights and sizes and colors and my florist put an eclectic mix of neutral flowers in them, each a little different than the next. I found an old 18 pane window at an antique shop and wrote everyone’s names and table numbers on the different panes. 

love when brides get a picture of their clutches in use on the big day. thanks so much for the photo, jenny!! :)

My husband works for Pepsi so our favors were an old glass Pepsi bottle with a homemade chocolate chip cookie- a great midnight snack! 

 your day looked amazing, jenny! thanks so much for sharing it with us and congratulations to you both!

xx

{all photos courtesy of jeffrey barnes photography}