Cool, Fun, Rustic Farm Wedding

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Oh I just love it when the sun shines for a couple on their wedding day. Especially when their ceremony is outside and the backdrop consists of dozens of carefully folded paper cranes!

But thankfully for Elisa and Matt, the rain showers passed and the sun came out just in time for their vows. This cool couple celebrated their nuptials with a laid back, rustic wedding at Heritage Prairie Farm in Illinois.

Their day was filled with personalised touches from musical instruments for the ceremony, customised lego favours, bluesy tunes, fabulous food, and their two gorgeous dogs – all of which was captured candidly by Jake from Two Birds Photography.

With great style (think Keds, cropped pants, eclectic bridesmaids dresses and a gorgeous lace gown), beautiful florals, and romantic rustic decor – be inspired by this sweet pair and their very special wedding.

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From the Bride & Groom

Matt and I knew from the outset that we wanted a more relaxed and fun vibe at our wedding and that is truly what guided us through the entire planning process.

We opted for earthy and neutral tones for the wedding party and tried very hard to use clothing options that could be worn many times again after the wedding. The groomsmen, bride and groom all wore Keds as footwear and Elisa’s shoes came complete with a design hand drawn by Matt which was revealed just hours before the wedding.

We opted for a simple and minimal look with respect to the wedding decorations. The wedding venue, itself, was such a beautiful backdrop, it seemed best to showcase the natural beauty of the farm grounds.

We used mismatched vases lightly filled with wild flowers and lavender on the tables which were set with the farm’s mismatched china and scattered with sage leaves from our matron of honor’s garden.

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Another theme throughout the wedding and planning process was friendship.

We were beyond thankful for all of the help and guidance we received from friends and family during the planning process and on the day of the wedding.

Many friends and family joined us in the days, weeks and months leading up to the wedding to help fold paper cranes for the crane curtain that was hung behind the pergola at the ceremony site.

Matt’s good friend who works in the comic industry was also kind enough to make our guestbook which consisted of a series of personalized sketches of the bride and groom.

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On the day of our wedding, although a storm ripped through just minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to start, by the time the guests were seated, the low hanging storm clouds began to part and the sun started shining through.

It was the beautiful blue skies that immediately followed which contributed to one of our favorite moments of the day, immediately following the ceremony, when all of our friends and family paraded out of the ceremony, playing hand instruments and dancing to the live band playing “Anything for my Baby” by KISS.

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In choosing vendors to work with, we were very careful to look for vendors that we felt share a similar mindset and could help contribute to the easy-going and playful tone we were hoping to set.

Jake, with Two Birds Photography, had previously photographed the weddings of two of Elisa’s siblings and it was a no-brainer that he would be asked to help capture the moments of this special day also.

He is a melting pot of creativity and attention to detail with a personality that tends to relax even the most tense or nervous folks.

Starship Salon brought in a team of four along with a coordinator to handle the hair and makeup for the bridal party. All of the makeup used was vegan and cruelty-free and the salon recycles nearly everything, reducing its carbon footprint almost entirely.

Elisa has a long-standing relationship with the fun and talented staff and owner of Starship and they were a breath of fresh air in both the detailed planning stages as well as on the day of the wedding.

Another stand out vendor was the live band, Gussied, which played for the ceremony and cocktail hour. This bluegrass and bluesy band can cover almost any song in such a fun way that it’s difficult to remember how the original version sounded to begin with.

The band was kind enough to learn three songs for the ceremony and they were so quick to move to Plan B when the rain began, requiring removal of the electronic equipment.

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All of that said, there is no way this wedding could have been anything less than perfect if we didn’t have the wonderful team at Heritage Prairie Farm in our corner.

Not only were the farm grounds, ceremony site and reception tent absolutely stunning, the staff was amazing to work with. Without the early planning meetings with the coordinator, Melisa, and almost immediate contact online through Basecamp with any other members of the team, there is no way we could have been as organized as we were on the day of the wedding.

The onsite chef, Brett, cannot go unmentioned, either, because we still have guests, six months later, talking about our wedding dinner.

We worked closely with the chef to create our perfect meal from scratch and no matter how bizarre or detailed our requests, we were never told no. Basically, the staff at this farm is both friendly and professional and darn good at throwing a party.

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All in all, we both agree that there is not one thing we would change – the wedding was everything we’d wanted and we were surrounded by all of our very favorite people.

Now, if only we could repeat that day again and again and again!