Dorothy told us that there’s no place like home, and for Sam and Morgan, that couldn’t be truer. They knew that the perfect place to hold their wedding was the backyard of Sam’s childhood home. The couple chose to keep their planning as simple as possible, deciding to focus just on the aspects of a wedding that they really cared about: meaningful ceremony with family members involved, hand-crafted decor, and great music. Morgan says, “The small wedding felt like a gathering of loved ones coming together to celebrate the beautiful gift of marriage.” We think that’s the perfect sentiment to carry into our family dinners this weekend, and wish you all the happiest of holidays.
Read on for more from the bride about her wedding day:
“Sam and I knew from the start that we wanted a small, intimate wedding that was meaningful for us and also for our guests. We wanted the ceremony and reception to be somewhere that was outdoors and right along the beautiful Midwest countryside. The perfect location was literally right in the back yard of the home Sam grew up in. Having the wedding in a place so sentimental to both of us added a special element of intimacy to the atmosphere. When it came to planning out the wedding details, we made sure that each piece of our wedding was well thought out and true to our combined aesthetics. We both believe less is more, which helped us disregard some wedding traditions and focus on ones that were most important to us.
Family and friends were greatly involved in the wedding process and during the actual day. My favorite part of our wedding day was the ceremony under this great big tree where the light delicately peeked through the branches just as we were saying our vows. Sam’s father married us, which made our ceremony that much more meaningful. Our close friends sang a beautiful hymn during our foot washing ceremony and our grandfathers prayed a special blessing over us.
We wanted the beauty of our location to be the main focus and our added details to bring a romantic feel into the already gorgeous setting. Sam and his father created our hanging light fixtures so the guests could enjoy their food and company under twinkling lights. The tables were simply accented with fresh greens, burning candles, simple glassware, and ceramics displaying handwritten menus featuring our rustic dinner. We enjoyed wine and listened to jazz music as we mingled with our guests before dinning at dusk. The small wedding felt like a gathering of loved ones coming together to celebrate the beautiful gift of marriage. Our vision for our wedding exceeded expectations; we couldn’t have been happier on that very special day.”
