Aloysius and Jennifer put so much of themselves into their rustic Southern Pines wedding.
I’m not talking about your run of the mill DIY projects here.
Wish and Jenn’s family BUILT THE BARN that the wedding ceremony was held in specially for the wedding.
They felled the trees from her parent’s property, sent them to be milled, and built the whole structure by hand.
That, my friends, is commitment to having the perfect wedding!
Still, even when you go to great lengths to craft the perfect event, there are some things that you just can’t control – like the weather.
We had a wet summer in North Carolina and Wish and Jenn’s wedding day was no exception. It was wet. A little rain, however, could not dampen the spirits or the party.
Jen’s parents house was the perfect venue for this casual back yard wedding. We were able to have the couple get ready on-site and do their first look session and portraits near the house and grounds.
The weather even more or less cooperated with us and we got an opportunity for some great sunset photos after the ceremony.
Jen and her family spent the year leading up to the wedding collecting different interesting pieces of china for the reception dinner.
It was so cool to get to look around the reception hall and every place setting was unique.
Wish also had a hand to play in the reception decor.
He built each of the tables for the reception dinner from scratch. One of the guests liked them so much that he offered to buy them all after the wedding!
As a wedding gift, Jen gave Wish a pair of silver cufflinks. With all of the excitement of the wedding, it wasn’t until weeks after the wedding that she remembered to tell Wish that she had them specially engraved!
The bracelet and earrings that Jen wore were a gift from her sister, Kathryn.
Most of the guests at the wedding took a cue from the bride and groom and wore their rain boots!
The walk down the aisle from the house to the barn was a bit muddy, but with help from her dad Jen managed to make it to the altar without a problem 🙂
Wish and Jen had one of my all time favorite guest wedding book ideas.
They had a flag carved and guests could sign the piece that will later be displyed in their home.
This was the one and only time that Jen’s high heels made an appearance on the wedding day. 
Both the ceremony and reception sites were full of beautiful rustic details, like these lanterns with stag motifs and bunches of colrful flowers and candles decorating the spaces.
The stag motif was repeated in their Save the Date cards and atop the altar for the ceremony worked into the floral garland
A variety of burlap sacks the couple collected covered the hay bales that served as seating during the wedding ceremony. Candles in mason jars lined the aisles.
For me, this rustic Southern Pines wedding encompasses laid-back elegance and Southern charm.
