Rustic, elegant early fall wedding in Sabillasville, Maryland

Kristyn and Kim got married on September 21, 2019, at Caboose Farm in Sabillasville, Maryland, and had a rustic theme to their day.

Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day?

We agreed very early into our wedding planning that we wanted to be at an outdoor venue, preferably a farm, so we could incorporate a rustic theme for our day. After finding the perfect venue, we then decided on a color theme of navy blue and blush. We felt that these colors were a good fit for our end-of-summer wedding and would look great on our wedding party.

Let’s talk wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?

We both agreed that we wanted to go with a more rustic theme and found most of our ideas through Pinterest. Our venue (Caboose Farm) was very charismatic and had some great props/setups that we were able to utilize. We were able to minimize the number of decorations that we had to bring while still achieving a fully decorated rustic look. One of our biggest projects was the donut wall that we used for dessert, which was handmade by the father of one of the marriers. Our florist company also provided some signs in addition to our flower arrangements which helped in achieving our ideal look.

What were the florals like in your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding?

Our florals and some decorations/signs were provided by Blossom & Basket. Being that our wedding was in late September, we wanted to incorporate sunflowers into the floral arrangements. Both marriers carried a similar bridal bouquet comprised of sunflowers, white ranunculus, baby’s breath and some roses all wrapped in burlap. The wedding party carried a similar but smaller version of the bridal bouquets. We had baskets at the end of each aisle with a mason jar containing sunflowers and baby’s breath. These arrangements were then transported into the reception barn to act as centerpieces on top of a tree slice. Loose flowers were also used to help decorate our cake. Looking back, our flowers played a huge role in our wedding style. Without them turning out so perfect we would have had a much harder time achieving the style we envisioned.

Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?

We had a family member get ordained and perform our wedding ceremony. This was one of the favorite parts of our day as it made the day so special and personal. Our entertainment was provided by Pork Chops and Ham Hocks, a band comprised of two of our friends from Raleigh, North Caroline. This was also a special aspect as we were able to sit down with them on several occasions and discuss our playlist. They learned three songs to play live for us: Our first dance and two songs that we picked to have played for each other. They were also able to DJ songs for us, which was perfect as we wanted a mix of both live/DJed songs throughout the night.

Let’s talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail.

As a non-traditional wedding party, the first decision we made was that we both wanted to be in wedding dresses for our day. We also agreed that we would have people wearing both suits and dresses on both sides. For those in suits, we went with a navy jacket and pants, light blue shirt, navy suspenders and a blush-colored bowtie. Their shoes were a classy Vans style in navy blue and tan. Those in dresses wore a blush strapless dress with nude-colored shoes.

How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.

In true modern fashion, we actually met online! We were both in college in New York and New Jersey when we met. After almost two years of dating, we both moved down to Raleigh, North Caroline, in pursuit of our careers. In November 2017, Kristyn had planned a “Christmas card photo shoot” at a Christmas tree farm. The photographers were in on the secret and helped perfectly execute a surprise proposal.

What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?

We both were so anxious and excited for our first look. We knew it was going to be so special and emotional and it was exactly that. We also really looked forward to getting to work with our photographer Jessi Vaughn in capturing some of our perfect moments/must have pictures. Finally, we both really anticipated our vow exchange. Having written our own vows, we were so excited to get to share and hear how our love was being put into words.

Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?

One thing we learned throughout the planning process was to let people help. We were able to gather advice and assistance from friends and family throughout our planning and it made a huge difference. A wedding is not something that can be pulled off by just two people, so let your loved ones help!

One piece of advice we’d offer is to plan as much as necessary leading up to the day but to not let it roll into your wedding day. Once the day comes, things will work themselves out and it’s important to be fully engulfed in the moments that the day has to offer. It goes fast, so the worst thing to be doing is stressing about little things instead of enjoying every moment. Lastly, it is inevitable that your wedding day will be overwhelming. It was important to remove ourselves from the (happy) chaos and have a moment of alone time together to let the feeling of just getting married sink in.