Kristen & Michael

April 27

Cleburne, Texas

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Q & A with the Bride:

1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

It was the beautiful setting with an amazing rustic, elegant barn that matched what I had always envisioned for my wedding.  I did not think I would find something like that in the North Texas area.  There were also two details that sealed the deal for us though.  The first was the owner’s story.  We loved the heart behind why they created this venue, and I loved hearing the story directly from Ann, who answered my phone call herself one morning.  The second was that they actually had an available day in April!  Because our engagement was so short, most venues laughed at me when I said that I was looking for dates available in April 2013 and not 2014.  We had prayed for God to provide us a venue, and we knew He had provided in abundance when we found Thistle Springs!  

2. Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

The first would be the handmade decorations by my father and mother.  My father made the wooden cake stand, and the flower box used on the head table.  I burned the writing on them.  My mom created the window that had a scripture painted on it with pictures of Michael and I.  He also handcrafted a wine box with a key/lock and engraved initials.  In it we put love letters in to each other for our “first fight” to remind us of the deep love we truly have for one another.  He handpicked the wood he used with knots and imperfections as a symbol of how real life and love is, imperfect yet beautiful!  

The second thing would be the table decorations. The “thank you” cards on the plates with the “to do” list on the back were cute. I LOVED picking out all the different lanterns that were the center pieces.  It was the first decision I made on decorations.  I wanted lanterns because they were a symbol to me of what Michael and I wanted our marriage to be.  We want to have a marriage that honors God and is and light/example of His love for the world to see.

The third thing would be the floating wish/prayer lantern send off at the end of the night.  It was beautiful! Every family got to take one home as their gift so that they could choose their own special time to celebrate with a floating lantern together.  I wrote a little poem explaining it. It was fun. 

3. Give us the one moment from your wedding you can’t stop thinking about.

Michael and I lighting our floating lantern, letting it go together and then watching all the glowing lanterns float into the sky right before we left.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  

Lauren & Marc

September 1

Haleiwa, Hawaii

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1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

Just looking at pictures of our venue, Sunset Ranch, I knew it was the right place for us. It had beautiful views, and a perfect outdoor area where we knew we wanted to hold the ceremony. We booked immediately, then made a site visit. After visiting, we knew we made the right choice, it was just as we hoped it would be.

2. Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

First, our venue was secluded and private. This created an intimate setting, which we envisioned for our wedding day. Second, we loved that our venue was exclusive to us. All areas of the ranch were ours for the day. The areas seemed limitless, including a rain forest, open grassy fields with views of the ocean and sunset in the evening, a pond and even a rustic barn, which we used for our reception. The exclusiveness of the venue gave us creative freedom to create our own unique wedding. Third, the ice cream truck that was driven into the barn to serve our guests dessert. We received many complements and had many fun pictures of guests eating colorful ice cream bars. Our wedding had a casual feel, and with the ice cream truck, the guests were able to have some fun on the warm, balmy, Hawaiian night.

3. Give us the one moment from your wedding that you can’t stop thinking about.

The moment I can’t stop thinking about is when I walked out during our ceremony to meet my husband. I had a slightly far walk to get to the altar, there wasn’t a traditional aisle. I had my brother escort me around the ranch house, and out along a grassy field where I was finally able to see all of our friends and family. I heard our musician singing the song I wanted, The Beatles’ “In My Life” and as I got close enough to see everyone, I started to get really emotional. It hit me all of a sudden, after all the years spent together, we were finally going to be married. I started to tear up and was so happy. Since many events during our wedding came and went too quickly, this is a moment that I vividly remember and will never forget.

Kaitlin & Victor

June 29

San Luis Obispo, California 

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1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

The fact that they had one of the original steam trains that used to run around Disneyland! We rented it for the afternoon, and guests got to ride it around the ranch. Having grown up in southern California and spending our youth (and adulthood) going to Disneyland, Victor and I were huge Disney fans. The deal was pretty much set once we found out about the train.

2. Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

1. The train.
2. The home videos we had playing above us when we had our first dance, father/daughter dance and mother/son dance.
3. All of our DIY projects, especially our handmade photobooth made by a friend.

3. If you could offer one piece of advice for other couples planning their wedding, what would it be?

Don’t stress out! I did not like any aspect of the wedding planning process, and many a time I wanted to elope. Don’t do it! It’s totally worth it to stick it out. Try and enjoy the wedding planning with your fiancé, because (hopefully) it will be the only wedding you get to plan. Just remember that in the end it’s all about the love between you two.

4. Give us the one moment from your wedding you can’t stop thinking about. 

The non-first look my husband and I did. We did a first look, but we were blindfolded – this gave us the chance to meet up before the wedding to hug, hold hands, exchange cards and in my husbands case cry his eyes out, without actually seeing each other. Even though I expected the crying from him (he’s a big baby – in a good way), it was especially sweet since we would be getting married a few minutes later.

Elizabeth & John

September 29

Cedar, Michigan

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Q & A with the Bride:

What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

While we saw other nice venues in northern Michigan, the Crooked Creek Ranch was the most charming and the most well thought out venue. You could tell that the owners had paid attention to the small details that can make or break an event.

Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

1. The stationery, invitations, and favors. I run a letterpress shop in Detroit, and it was very important for me to design and produce everything.
2. The beer & cocktail hour. John is a chef and a craft beer lover, so it was important to have beer from our favorite northern Michigan brewery, an Oktoberfest from Short’s, along with delicious charcuterie.
3. The doors that acted as the entrance to the ceremony. My father found them at a resale store, and built the frames. It was an extra detail that helped make a dramatic entrance.

If you could offer one piece of advice for other couples planning their wedding, what would it be?

Learn to let go, and to let other people help you. Your wedding is your day, but it’s your family’s day too. There will probably be details that will be important to your parents that you won’t care about, so let them take care of those things.

Jessica & Michael

July 29

Aspen, Colorado

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Q & A with the Bride:

1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

It was the middle of winter when we found the T Lazy 7 Ranch. The grounds were covered in snow up to our knees, but when we drove up to the meadow and saw the maroon bells, we knew right then that we had found our place. I just could imagine how beautiful it would look in the summer, if it looked this breathtaking in the winter. We loved the natural beauty of the property, and the intimate and warm feeling it had even in the middle of January! That’s exactly what we had hoped to find!

2. Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

We really made it a point of adding a lot of special details. One of my favorites was the beignets and cannolis that were served as part of the dessert bar. Michael is from Louisiana and grew up eating beignets as a kid, and I come from a big Italian family where cannolis are the most devoured dessert, so it was a really fun personal touch to have incorporated. The photo wall when you walked into the ranch was probably my favorite detail though. My Mother- in-Law and I selected old family photos that included grandparents on their wedding day, family reunions and other memorable times that included everyone at the wedding. It was a nice way to show everyone there how much we appreciated them being there and being a special part of our life. The day before the wedding my Dad had tried to convince me that I should ride up on a horse from the stables on the property. I thought it sounded like a crazy idea and went to bed thinking no way! The next day literally minutes before the wedding ceremony was about to begin, my bridesmaids and Dad convinced me to do it. So, off I went in my full wedding gear on top of this beautiful horse with my dad stabilizing me on the one side. I’m happy I did it because it was such a special thing!

3. Give us the one moment from your wedding that you cannot stop thinking about. 

I can’t stop thinking about when we read our vows. We wrote our own based on the idea of “promises.” It was such a special moment and a wonderful way to personalize the ceremony. Everyone there mentioned to me how much they loved that we had written our own vows.