While a December wedding at Armstrong Farms wasn’t what Christy and Jimmy had originally planned, it ended up being exactly what they never knew they wanted. Thanks to COVID, their first plans for a spring soiree were thwarted and the big day was postponed until just before the holidays. Of course this also meant that their dreams of fresh peonies and a blush, gold, and ivory color palette also got an overhaul. But the magic of the season ended up working perfectly with the touches of glam Christy was dreaming of. The result was a mix of warmth and glitz that blended together perfectly. Christy’s bridesmaids were able to wear the sparkly gold sequin dresses the bride had originally chosen while Tasty Bakery whipped up a wedding cake with a cable knit design. EF Lighting hung gorgeous chandeliers in the otherwise rustic barn while tartan plaid accents peeked through at each place setting. Knowing how much they meant to the bride, Posies by Patti weaved some white peonies into Christy’s bouquet. Meanwhile, the ceremony backdrop was three fresh evergreens adorned with twinkle lights. Holiday vibes meet glamour meets cozy romance in this wedding, which was expertly coordinated by Olive & Rose Events and captured by Dawn Derbyshire Photography and Just Hitched Films.
About the Couple
Like many couples these days, Jimmy and I met on a dating app back in late 2016. We were both ready to throw in the towel on the app, but we ended up swiping right and chatted almost everyday to get to know one another. We both became pretty smitten and after we went on our first date a month later, the rest was history.
As the months went on, we not only became boyfriend and girlfriend, but we became best friends. We decided to move in together in March 2018. What I didn’t know was that prior to that, Jimmy had called my dad to ask him if he could marry me. Of course, my dad said yes. On March 9, 2018, the same day that Jimmy officially moved in and changed his address on his driver’s license, he also went and bought the engagement ring. He had plans to propose a few months later on our family vacation in North Carolina, but he was so excited to do it, he ended up popping the question the same night he bought the ring. In fact, he was so excited, he popped the question in the parking lot of a restaurant on our way in – totally throwing me off and surprising me! I was a wreck and so happy!
About the Wedding
Our original date was set for May 16, 2020 with a guest count of around 150. We wanted a fresh spring wedding on the perfect spring day. Gold, blush, and ivory is what we envisioned, with lots of peonies and an outside ceremony.
Then COVID happened and that all changed. At the beginning of April, we realized that our May wedding was not happening and we worked with our venue on our best options. We decided on a new date of December 12, 2020. While winter was the complete opposite of what we planned, we loved the date, we were able to keep most of our vendors, there are other December anniversaries in the family (including my parents, who have been married 47 years), and we thought that by December, the pandemic would be much better or gone (boy, were we wrong!).
We decided to embrace the beauty of winter and roll with the changes. The more we started shifting gears, the more we really loved the idea of a December wedding. It’s already a season that provides a sense of wonder and magic, so we played on that idea and envisioned lots of twinkle lights, lanterns, fresh greens and garlands, white/ ivory flowers, dreamy chandeliers, gold, and, of course, some sparkle. Mixing the rustic barn venue with a touch of glam was the perfect balance for our winter wedding. We had chandeliers hung throughout the barn, which really elevated the look, along with the gold chiavari chairs, gold flatware, and gold beaded glass chargers. I have always loved the timeless, classic look of tartan plaid, so we used it as our accent “color”. The bridesmaids’ dresses that we originally chose were a beautiful gold sequin and they worked perfectly. My gown was sparkly and long sleeved so it also worked well for the winter holiday season.
One of our favorite things was our ceremony backdrop. Instead of doing a traditional arch, we used three fresh evergreen trees with simple twinkle lights on them, surrounded by antique wooden boxes and lanterns with candles. This made for a cozy, romantic feel in the stone basement of the Fieldstone Barn. I’ve also always wanted a champagne wall, so my awesome brother offered to make us one for the wedding, which was a beautiful focal point.
My florist knew how much I adore peonies and how much I was looking forward to them originally, so she made them the star of my gorgeous bouquet with the most perfect white peonies I’ve ever seen! As the saying goes, what’s meant to be will always find its way. Now that we look back, it’s like it was always meant to be a winter wedding. Even if it’s not what the original plan was, it was perfect and we wouldn’t change a thing!
Favorite Moment
One of the awesome perks of choosing Armstrong Farms as your venue is that you have a “wedding weekend” experience. You’re able to access the barn and farm houses at noon on Friday and can stay on-site until noon on Sunday (they even provide a continental breakfast for you and up to 20 guests on Sunday morning!).
It’s tough to pick a favorite moment of the actual wedding day as there were so many wonderful memories, but we both agree that we absolutely loved our first dance together! It was a fun-filled two minutes that we had practiced and talked about for so many months. So when the time finally came, it was a blast. Our guests seemed to enjoy it as well, which made us smile.
