If lush florals, plentiful candlelight, vintage touches, and endless romance make your heart sing, then this Shady Elms Farm wedding is about to deliver. The barn venue was an absolute perfect match for Bria and Ben, who love everything about farms and even have 10 chickens in their backyard coop. To soften the built-in rustic vibes, the pair filled the space with tons of greenery, taper candles set in antique brass candlesticks, vintage books, and a hanging floral installation above the sweetheart table that is sure to catch your eye. Whimsical details even made their way into the bride’s attire – her Muse by Berta wedding dress from Bridal Beginning featured glitter, feathery applique, and the airiest of fabrics. A custom denim jacket featuring her new last name and a sparkling headpiece completed Bria’s fairytale look. While the details of this feature are certainly something, it’s not “what” but “who” made the biggest impact at this wedding. No doubt the cows of Shady Elms Farm stole the show! The newlyweds got to take some pretty epic portraits in the pasture, a time they call their favorite moments of the day. Subtly glamorous and definitely swoon-worthy, this feature was beautifully captured by Alexa Frankovitch Photography.
About the Couple
We met in 2017 while attending college at Seton Hill University. We had a class together our fall semester, but didn’t end up dating until April 2018.
About a year and a half into our relationship, we got engaged in October 2019 in East Aurora, NY, close to where Ben grew up. Anytime we visit Ben’s family in NY, I make sure we visit my favorite boutique in the most charming town, which also happens to have a beautiful, old barn behind it. That beautiful barn became the backdrop of our engagement, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. We love anything farmhouse-related and have chickens ourselves, so to say that he nailed it would be an understatement. His family even set up champagne for us inside the barn and Ben surprised me with a photographer who captured the big moment, as well as a beautiful engagement shoot after.
About the Wedding
Ben and I have always loved everything about farms and we have 10 chickens ourselves. We knew that a barn venue would be the perfect place for us to get married because it would capture who we are as a couple so perfectly. So we started researching the best barn venues in the area. We had two that we were super interested in touring, and Shady Elms just so happened to be our first scheduled venue (and the only one we looked at!). We fell in love the moment we pulled up to their stunning property, but the cows really sealed the deal for us! Although we wanted a barn venue, we didn’t want a country-themed wedding by any means. I love lots of florals, greenery, romantic feels, and vintage touches, so all of our decor encompassed just that. This included vintage books, brass candlestick holders, floating candles, vintage furniture, and a large antique mirror for our seating chart, just to name a few details. To say that we added a lot of flowers would be an understatement, but they truly turned our wedding into something out of a fairytale, especially since our outdoor ceremony had to be moved inside the barn due to rain. Pink has always been my go-to color, so we had our bridesmaids wear different shades of blush and the groomsmen wore navy suits with a matching light pink bowtie.
Favorite Moment
Everyone laughs when I answer this, but our absolute favorite part of the day was getting to ride up to the pasture to take pictures with some of the cows. I have a huge heart for animals and the cows were part of why we loved this venue so much. This moment (for us, at least) was something out of a dream. They got so close to us and were just so sweet! We got some amazing pictures with them that we will cherish forever. Aside from this dream moment, I was just so grateful to have all of our most-loved people under one roof to celebrate together. We had a blast dancing, laughing, crying, and sharing memories with our friends and family and we felt so loved by everyone who was able to make it to celebrate our love.
