When brides envision their Fall wedding… they dream of these colors.

This venue.

Whether they know it or not. You can’t always plan perfectly for the leaves to the vibrant shades of red and orange. You can guess based on previous years, but it’s the luck of the draw when picking your date. When Ashley sent me a photo of the whimsical forest where they were having the ceremony, looking enchanted with sun streaming in, I could hardly wait for their date to get here. When it finally came, I flew into Pennsylvania and was able to spend time around the small town of Beaver before the festivities and immediately was in love.

Seriously.

Giddy with excitement.

I have a slight obsession with watching Gilmore Girls, and it was like stepping into their quaint little town of Stars Hollow. Complete with the gazebo and even adding to the charm with a clock that chimed hymn notes as you walked down main street with your coffee in hand.  You felt like you were in an escape from reality. Now I know what my little figurines feel like in the middle of my Christmas town every year. I felt like part of the family as we walked to the groom’s parent’s house and helped put together favors for the next day.

The morning of the wedding I had the pleasure of styling the bride’s hair and then just enjoying shooting the prep of a great bunch of girls (while I was eating a kolache, of course). Once we arrived at the venue, everyone spread out and helped put the vision together. I loved walking around and noticing little details that I couldn’t wait to dive into later (mainly the popcorn bar). The flowers were perfect and the communion was set up on the stone table that looked like it could be part of the set in Narnia. When the ceremony started there was live music for everyone to be a little more swept away. They said I do as the light peeked through the giant trees onto the beautiful wooden cross behind them. If you couldn’t tell from the wedding party photos that were taken before hand- this group was ready to party once they were pronounced man and wife.

With only a slight glitch of the bride being almost eaten by a dinosaur, we got some fun group photos before I got to steal Ashley and Austin away.

Over our phone conversations she had described an area that had a lake, trees, a field, etc.. but no one could have done justice to describe this with words. I still thank God for those colors reflecting on the lake, the perfectly cloudy skies and the weather that made the entirely outdoor wedding possible. I feel like I could have flown back home after their portraits.. they were that amazing to shoot.. just letting them run around the field (quite literally) and letting them enjoy their time (while I got to be a stalker) was enough to make a complete wedding for me. But what fun would have been to miss a reception with all the hanging lights I could want and guests who climbed the roof like monkey bars?

The groom’s sister, Lainey sang “At Last” by Etta James for the bride and groom’s first dance. It was beautiful as was the groom’s dance with his mother. Everyone filled their plates with amazing food and even the little ones took the dance floor. I enjoyed their freshly made lemonade from the cutest lemonade stand I’d ever seen.. and as the moon came up we took the party to the bonfire and had treats while staring at the stars and enjoying good company. And that was another breathtaking moment. Just staring at the stars with no other city lights around to crowd up the sky.

Then came the cake. Amazing. Made by the groom’s mom and included layers of lemon/raspberry, chocolate ganache with toasted almonds, and lastly a layer of chai with honey buttercream. Divine. But after all the dancing and hooplah, the time to leave came much too quickly. They ran through their guests with the sparklers lighting up the dark country road and waved goodbye to everyone as they began their own journey. We all enjoyed the night even after they left and I must say: I think I need to see this town during Christmas.

Venue: Camp Lutherlyn – Prospect, PA

Flowers: Forget Me Not Flowers