It is Wedding Wednesday… and I have a very special fall wedding to share with you today! On a perfect fall day my husband and I drove to the middle of nowhere in Konawa, Oklahoma to shoot Meagan and Josh’s wedding. It wasnt her backyard- it was a field with huge oak trees that belonged to her grandfather. They brought in EVERYTHING to make this wedding happen (vendors, electricity, nice portable bathrooms, tables, chairs and EVERYTHING else). I cant imagine the thought that had to go in to this for each and everything to happen perfectly.
Meagan and Josh wanted to do pictures before the ceremony but they did not want to see each other. Meagan and Josh found a huge tree in the middle of a field that they could go to and be with each other, talk, and even touch each other without actually seeing one another. I love clients that think about photography beforehand enough to scope out locations and plan the timing accordingly to be able to have some quiet time together before their ceremony. You will see the images of them by the tree and even one with Meagan hugging Josh without him seeing her ;)
I have waited a long time to blog this wedding for a couple of reasons. One is that words do not do this wedding justice on how perfect it was. Two, there were SO many details handmade by family members that I wanted to properly give them credit.
I asked Meagan to write about all of the fun details for me so that we could share how many personal touches she thought of. There were SO many! This was one of our favorite weddings ever. I say this because Meagan had a goal for her wedding and it was for people to feel like they were home. They worked really hard to make this happen in simple and easy ways. I have never been to a more laid back, stress free, seriously-feel-like-you-are-with-your-own-family type of wedding.
From Meagan… “Josh and I were inspired by our desire to really celebrate our love for each other while honoring our families and bringing together friends. It was important to us that the wedding be laid back, fun, and feel like home. We found a picture from a magazine that featured long tables and a warm feel. This picture became the foundation for the atmosphere we wanted to create. Josh and I spend a lot of time outdoors and we wanted a space that would be meaningful. This led us to my grandfather’s land in my hometown of Konawa, Oklahoma. The large pecan trees in the field gave us the perfect setting. Everyone pitched in and helped in countless ways. Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins, grandmas and family friends all spent countless hours to make the day come off just right. We didn’t want to worry about tablecloths in the wind so we made tabletops out of lumber to cover rented plastic tables. We also used salvaged doors across sawhorses and wood from my grandpa’s barn to make tables for the cake, guest book and drinks. Katie Huskerson from Birdie did an incredible job decorating and setting the right scene for the celebration. The flowers, pumpkins, candles, and unique table decorations were just the right balance of natural, organic, and put together. Several family members pitched in to make pies and cobblers instead of a groom’s cake. My cousin made our adorable cake topper. The food reflected our home inspired celebration. Chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and green beans were all on the menu. My dad and I drove up to the wedding site in my first car, a 1972 Buick Centurion convertible. Josh and I had pictures of our grandparents’ wedding days at the guest book table as a way to honor our grandfathers who are no longer with us. My sister hand painted a tree that served as our guest book. I painted signs to direct people to the somewhat remote wedding site. We were married by a friend who was also present for our proposal. Josh and I wrote our own vows. We planted a tree using soil from our respective homes instead of lighting a unity candle. We sent guests home with decorated snack bags that included my grandma’s pound cake. The quality and look of our wedding pictures were really important to us and we chose the right person for the job. Our photographer, Holli Brewer of Holli B Photography, documented the day in a personal, beautiful way. We constantly get compliments on our pictures. What really made the day special was having so many family and friends, from all over the country, present to celebrate with us.”