We've never seen wedding signage used in a ceremony like this before!

Pretty Pink Countryside Wedding (With Cute Aisle Signage) | Barkerture Photo 9

Photo by Bakerture Photo & Video via Bridal Musings

Virginia brides, we found your new BFF! Today’s real bride Christina might as well be a wedding planner and stylist herself. We can’t get over all the pretty pink details and creative signage (and adorable flower girl and boy!) it would be hard to find a bride who didn’t take at least one idea from this rustic, countryside party.

Attention to detail would be an understatement for this country wedding – romantic, understated invites properly set the tone for their guests to come. Carefully coordinated bridesmaids in pink all wore their own favorite style and fit. Blush pink roses paired with bundles of eucalyptus are found throughout the floral decor, merging the best of classic bouquets and modern greenery trends.

And the signage is so spectacular! Lining each side of the aisle, the couple incorporated their faith in sayings painted on rustic signs down each row – we’ve never seen such great signage use during a ceremony before! “Don’t worry ladies, I’m still single” was the cutest of all, with our little usher down the aisle.

Our Love Story

We first met in college in October of 2009 at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. I was a sophomore and Justin was a senior who made it repeatedly known that he was not looking for a girlfriend at the time! We were that couple that was off again then on again but could never quite stay separated, and spent many of our first years together in a long-distance relationship.

Seven years into our relationship in August of 2016, Justin told me we were going to travel back to our college town to take a morning hiking trip up Massanutten Peak. He had to frame the whole trip as one of many “first” new things we were going to do that summer as we have never, ever gone hiking together and he didn’t want me to get suspicious!

At the start of the hike, Justin pulled out his GoPro video camera to record the hike along the way. When we got to the top of the mountain, we found ourselves with a breathtaking view of the valleys below. It was secluded and so peaceful.

Pretty Pink Countryside Wedding (With Cute Aisle Signage) | Barkerture Photo 1

He told me we needed to take some pictures, and found a good rock to set the camera on, controlling the camera with his cell phone so we could get some good shots of us standing far away on the peak. After taking some pictures together, he then told me to turn around so he could snap some of me looking out onto the horizon. When I turned back around, he was down on one knee asking if I would marry him! I burst into tears and said “YES!!”

And after realizing what had just happened, I quickly said: “Wait, did you ask my Dad?!”   On the way back down the mountain Justin made some jokes and told me I had to climb some rocks to get a rock, but the whole trip was truly symbolic of our relationship. At times our relationship was an uphill battle and it wasn’t always easy, but in the end, we came out on top, and with a great view overlooking the very city that brought us together.

And best of all he captured the whole proposal on video for us to share with family and friends!

First, I have to say I really have the best friends. We got married on one of my bridesmaid’s birthday! We’ve been best friends since we were little and her birthday was the only Saturday date our venue had available for months! Needless to say, we made sure to celebrate by eating cupcakes for breakfast the morning of the wedding!

Pretty Pink Countryside Wedding (With Cute Aisle Signage) | Barkerture Photo 2

The Venue

I absolutely love details, so in every aspect of our planning, I wanted to be intentional about what we were incorporating into our wedding. I wanted our guests to experience touches of our love story throughout the day and have it be a natural and authentic celebration reflective of our relationship and style.

I knew I wanted to have some part of our wedding in a barn or farm style setting. I’m not one for a ton of glitz and glam, so the secluded and simple nature of the rustic venues in our area was appealing. I loved that the beauty of our venue spoke for itself and that we didn’t have to do a whole lot to try and make it look nice. It was gorgeous all on its own!

Away from all the hustle and bustle of the city, I knew we could enjoy our wedding with family and friends without the interruptions of other events going on. We also got married in the same town I was born and raised in, and needed a venue that would accommodate our nearly 250 guests!

Pretty Pink Countryside Wedding (With Cute Aisle Signage) | Barkerture Photo 8

Pretty Pink Countryside Wedding (With Cute Aisle Signage) | Barkerture Photo 10

The Ceremony

The ceremony was the most important part of our wedding to me, though Justin would say the reception was what he was most looking forward to!

Faith played a large role in the design of our ceremony. We chose to hang a handmade scripture sign overhead as guests entered the ceremony area. My father built the sign out of wood and a close family friend hand-lettered it. Our aisle signs were also made by my father and family friend and stood as a reminder of what loving unconditionally truly means.

To honor our families, Justin and I presented a single rose to our mothers at the start of the ceremony. That was a pretty special moment because we never told our mothers we were going to do that so they were definitely surprised! We placed small votive candles in a circle around our unity candle and just before lighting the unity candle, we lit a candle for every loved one who had passed away as a way to remember them.

By the end of the ceremony, we were so excited to be married we broke out into a dance at the sound of Bruno Mars and I didn’t even realize I forgot to grab my bouquet back from my Maid of Honor! Luckily, Justin’s brother, and Best Man, was kind enough to carry out the extra bouquet as he danced down the aisle!

The Attire

My bridesmaids all wore different style Azazie dresses in the dusty rose color and it worked like a dream! I wanted all the girls to have the same color but really wanted them to find dresses that best fit their body type so they would be comfortable the whole day.

Justin’s favorite color is blue, and the groomsmen’s mystic blue Generation Tux suits complimented the dusty rose dresses perfectly.

The Photography

In our search for a photographer, we came across many great options, but our connection with Bakerture Photo & Video just couldn’t compare. It was so easy getting to know Steve and Rita and they made me and my husband feel so comfortable during our engagement shoot that by the time the wedding day rolled around, it was a piece of cake!

They have such an eye for details and aren’t afraid to experiment with unique and different shots. I spent a lot of time creating all the little details of our wedding day, and I wanted to make sure we had a dream team that would capture those details perfectly for us to look back on many years into our marriage.

We also wanted someone who could capture the legacy we’re beginning to sow – Justin and I know all our future grandchildren will be just itching to look at Grandma and Grandpa’s wedding photos!

Pretty Pink Countryside Wedding (With Cute Aisle Signage) | Barkerture Photo 5

Favorite Moments

After the ceremony, we loved getting to ring the bell as both we and our guests shouted and cheered in the excitement of finally being married!

Guests enjoyed cocktail hour outside in the lawn area and underneath a covered portico and former horse stable. We hand-made a ring-toss game, checkerboard and corn hole game for guests to enjoy.

But my favorite part were the trees that outlined the lawn area! A few months before the wedding, I began asking my family members and Justin’s for photos from their own wedding days to include as a way to look at the history of our families. My family then helped print off the photos so they were all the same size and made them black and white. We knew guests would have the most time to look at all the photos during cocktail hour, so we wrapped twine around four different trees and attached the photos to the twine with clothespins. It was beautiful to see how many wonderful marriages preceded our own special day.

We also pulled together lots of baby photos of me and Justin and hung those with twine as well on the bars of the former horse stable for guests to see during cocktail hour too. My parents had their old mailbox in the basement and I cleaned it up, spray painted it and used it to collect our wedding cards.

The Details

We were inspired by a mix of metallic colors paired with the softness of dusty rose, plus as much greenery as we could get our hands on! We wanted very warm, rich and fresh colors so we chose rose gold, copper and gold as accent colors, and used silver dollar eucalyptus in our ceremony arbor, bouquets and reception tables. Our flatware was also gold.

Advice to Other Couples

My biggest piece of advice is to track everything you buy for the wedding, particularly wedding decorations and note the dates for when items need to be returned to a store! I don’t know how many brides I’ve heard say they forgot they bought some type of decoration and ended up buying more when they didn’t need to, or forgot to use certain decorations because they didn’t remember where they stored it in their house. Keeping track of everything you buy is tedious, but it will help you spend your dollars wisely!

Pretty Pink Countryside Wedding (With Cute Aisle Signage) | Barkerture Photo 14

For brides looking for more freedom, purpose and peace during their engagement, I highly recommend checking out The Bare Bride as a resource to help you better enjoy this crazy, hectic time in your life.

And on the day of your wedding, give your phone to someone you trust! It’s time to unplug and take in every minute of having all your family and friends together in one place.

Pretty Pink Countryside Wedding (With Cute Aisle Signage) | Barkerture Photo 16

The Honeymoon

We originally planned to wait a while before going on a honeymoon, but so many people kept telling us that if we could afford to do it now, we should, and not risk failing to make the time to actually go on a honeymoon later on! So after scrambling just a few weeks before our wedding to find a good place to go for a couple of days, we decided on an all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen in Mexico and it did not disappoint!

For four days we enjoyed a beautiful two-story oceanfront casita with instant access to white sandy beaches just steps away from our back patio. The top-level included a private rooftop with day beds and a pool and I was literally in heaven. The food was delicious and we were able to go on an excursion to see the ancient Mayan ruins. So glad we decided to go on a honeymoon after all!