Massachusetts farm wedding

Equally Wed blogger Hannah Clay Wareham, who runs the blog The Homesteady, is now a happily blushing newlywed. In May 2013, Hannah married Kristie, her partner of seven years. The women held their farm-styled wedding at Quonquont Farm in Whately, Massachusetts. Below, Hannah writes about her wedding in her words.

From Hannah: Our photographers Love + Perry Photography are so talented and were absolutely fantastic. Brittney and Shana have become some of our closest friends, probably because they’re so easy to get along with. After many (many) nights of zombie movies, wine and planning to schedule future pregnancies at the same time, Kristie and I have obviously gotten super comfortable around them, and I think it shows in our wedding photos. We’re really lucky to have them in our lives, and I’m looking forward to winter (when wedding season is over) so we can hang out even more!

We got married at Quonquont Farm, a working apple orchard with a 19th-century barn (above) that’s been restored for wedding receptions. Jenelle, the farm’s event coordinator, made everything so easy for us. She even brought us appetizers and glasses of wine while we were having our pictures taken during cocktail hour! Her presence was so calming.

Kristie made each of our table numbers using pieces of wood and dowel rods. We painted them with chalkboard paint, and I wrote the numbers.

The mothers of two of my bridesmaids so kindly offered to do our wedding flowers as a gift. (We obviously said yes!) I sent them pictures of our wedding colors and flowers that we liked, and they generously did the rest. The flowers were absolutely perfect!

We bought vintage bottles and small jars from local thrift shops and flea markets, then spray-painted them to look like they’d been dipped in gold paint. We used the instructions Liz posted on Say Yes to Hoboken.

Our DIY for the cork placecard holders.

Our “escort cards” — mason jars with vinyl chalkboard labels we found on Etsy — doubled as guests’ favors. We used the chalk pen that came with the labels to write everyone’s names and table numbers.

Instead of a traditional guestbook, we found an old cigar box at the flea market and provided cards andenvelopes for guests to write little notes on and add to the box.

Okay, I’m going to try my best to be quiet now and let these incredible images speak for themselves!

Kristie’s last name is Hammer, and so she was obviously thrilled to find two vintage hammer tie clips on Etsy. She wore the small one; her dad wore the larger one.

My sister (and maid of honor) Phoebe gave me the sweetest gift as we were getting ready: a bottle of my favorite perfume (“Le Parisienne” by Yves Saint Laurent), along with a handwritten note I plan to keep forever.

Deciding to do a “first look” was easy for us. I’m planning to write more about that later, but know for the time being that I highly recommend it!

My sister and I got manicures a few days before the wedding. I was so excited to have the nail on my ring finger done in sparkly gold!

I designed our programs in Photoshop (to match these) and we had them printed at a local copy shop. It cost us about $20 for 150!

Kristie built the frames for these chalkboard signs from scratch. Then we painted wood with chalkboard paint, and I did the lettering.

Making our ceremony backdrop was so easy. We borrowed two six-foot stepladders and strung twine between them. Then we tied differenth length (and different color) ribbons to the twine. It was beautiful fluttering behind us during the ceremony, and afterwards, the kids who attended the wedding loved running through it!

Instead of big bouquets (I didn’t want to overshadow my and my sister’s flower crowns), I and each of my bridesmaids carried one big peony. We were lucky; it was the beginning of peony season!

Our “sweetheart table.” Isn’t that the best name for it? (Banner and birds.)

Our first dance was to “Dream A Little Dream of Me” by Mama Cass.

In lieu of traditional wedding cake, we had SugarBakers Cake Truck come to the wedding and serve four kinds of cupcakes (red velvet, vegan mochaccino, gluten-free salted caramel, and chocolate peanut butter cup) outside of the reception. This was the natural choice for us since a) we love cupcakes; b) so many people we love (including myself) have food restrictions; and c) it’s wicked cute.