Love Story: Kaylene and Matt’s Rustic PA Barn Wedding

By Liz,

The tears were flowing as we stood at the top of the hill inside of the barn waiting for Ryan’s cue that Matt had arrived.  We chatted about this big day and how it was finally here.  I gave Kaylene my best advice: to soak it all in!  This was the moment that she had dreamed about for so long.  The man of her dreams, the one who completes her was standing at the bottom of the hill.

We made our way outside of the barn and down the hill.  With tears still streaming down our faces, we soaked it all in together.  The sky was a bright blue and the sunshine was beaming through the big white puffy clouds.  We noted that PopPop definitely had his hands in making that weather so perfect for that special day.

Matt was now in site and with a deep breath, Kaylene was ready for this.  Matt’s smile got bigger and bigger as the anticipation of seeing his beautiful bride grew.  The moment he had been waiting for was finally here.  He turned around and his expression says it all.  He is one lucky guy!

As they soaked it all in, Kaylene’s tears were wiped away and their smiles were bigger than they ever have been before.  This was their time!

Whew… as I cry happy tears just writing this, I can’t help but be incredibly grateful that Kaylene has found the man of her dreams in Matt and that he has blessed our family in such a special way!  I said this in my MOH speech and it could never be repeated enough… Matt, thank you for bringing that smile to Kaylene’s face!

Kaylene and Matt, THANK YOU for the honor to play such special roles in your day.  As the photographer and MOH, Ryan and I feel incredibly blessed to have been a part of such a magical day and such an amazing love story!  You two amaze us and we could not be more grateful to have you in our lives!  We love you!

We would be remiss without saying an incredibly HUGE thank you to Kaylene and Matt’s parents and close family and friends who played such a HUGE role in making their day so AMAZING!  Between all of the incredible woodwork & other handywork, Ed (Kaylene’s dad) put into the barn (so worth every single minute of work!  It is gorgeous!), the daylong marathon of caramel apple making (all of the guests give you an extra big thanks for that one! ;) They were tasty!!), the making of the centerpieces, the leaf cutting and so so so much more… you all made their day extra amazing!

We also wanted to give our good friend and third photographer Brendon a HUGE thank you for filling in for Liz while she performed her maid of honor duties!

Photographers: Ryan and Brendon, Liz and Ryan | Ceremony Venue: Private Residence | Reception & Catering: The Williamsport Country Club | Brides Hair: Savoir Haire | Tuxes, Bridal, and Bridesmaids Gowns: Tanya’s Bridal | Flowers: Nevill’s Flowers | Officiant: Rusty Wolfinger

This slideshow is extra special… we hope you enjoy reliving Kaylene and Matt’s wedding day to the live performance of “The Prayer,” by Jenna and Sean Lorson (Kaylene’s cousins… and I am proud to say they are my cousins too!!!, but not so proud to say they took all of the music talent in our family! ;) )  They are amazing!  (Please ignore the background sound of children crying, they were moved to tears… lol… this was the actual recording from Kaylene and Matt’s wedding day!)  And it is nothing but MAGICAL!!  Please note:  Tissues required. ;)

 

Friday Favorites: Fashionably Chic – Blue Sperry Top-Siders

By Ryan,

When it comes to shoes, I have nearly as many as Liz.  Ok, maybe not quite, but it is definitely close.  Now that summer has officially drawn to a close, we thought it would be fun to share one of my favorite pairs of shoes from this past year.  They definitely got a work out and probably don’t look quite as clean as the picture below anymore! :) I pretty much wore them everywhere.

Friday Favorites: Fashionably Chic – Blue Sperry Top-Siders

Since we moved to Baltimore, we have become spoiled living near the water.  On nice nights during the summer and early fall, we LOVE to sit up on our roof and watch the sailing school race around the harbor. One day, if we don’t get a boat, at least maybe we will learn to sail! :) But first things first, if we are going to live near water and one day learn to sail, a guy has to have a pair or two of Sperry Top-Sider boat shoes.  Plus, what other shoe can you  wear without socks and still look dressed up!  They are definitely the perfect summer shoe and the blue matches our new brand perfectly!  Now we just need to start making friends with people that own boats! :)  As summer slowly fades away, one thing is for sure, I will definitely be trying to incorporate my blue Sperrys into my wardrobe for at least a few more weeks.  Blue Sperrys and Pumpkin Spice Lattes sounds like a perfect pair to me! :)

Congratulations to Sophie, the winner of last weeks contest!

 

 

Kaylene’s Backyard DIY Bridal Shower

By Liz,

As you may have read from this morning’s post, I had the honor of being Kaylene’s Maid of Honor for her wedding this past weekend! Being a Maid of Honor comes a lot of responsibility… planning a bridal shower was one of the responsibilities that I was super excited about!  Fortunately, Kaylene has an amazing group of girls surrounding her, so her shower was certainly a group effort!

We were so excited about her Fun In the Sun backyard shower that we thought we would share some of the details and photos with you! Kaylene is not one who is a big fan of the traditional bridal shower games (Thank Goodness, because I can’t say that I am either!  ;) ), so we decided to have just a few activities instead of the standard games!  Mad libs, secret message popsicle making for Kaylene and Matt, and recipe sharing were all part of the fun! Our cousin Jenna made the most amazing cupcakes and cake balls to enjoy in the afternoon along with some fruit and popsicles before we opened up to the guys for an evening cookout! Dessert before dinner… why not, right?!  ;)  Our afternoon of fun in the sun was the perfect way to celebrate our sweet bride!  Enjoy the details!

During Kaylene’s bachelorette party weekend, we took some time to craft!  While enjoying wine from our DIY chalkboard glasses, we whipped up those cute Cupcake PomPom toppers and tied up the utensils.  Everything you see here was DIY… and so easy and fun! Our inspirations came from Kaylene’s Bridal Shower Pinterest Board that we created for the shower!  Most of the DIY projects can be found in there, but if you have specific questions about how we did anything- you let us know!  We are more than happy to share!

 

My Day In The Life of a Maid Of Honor

By Liz,

When my cousin, Kaylene, called to ask me to be her Maid of Honor, I was blown away!  I was so excited for Kaylene and Matt that happy tears streamed down my face and I could not wait to be a part of their special day!  As I hung up the phone and cleared my eyes, the planner in me (and ok, maybe the Type A side of me) automatically had my head thinking about all of my responsibilities and how I could be the best Maid of Honor ever!  ;)  Believe me, we see a lot of bridal parties, and I know they can have a big impact on the atmosphere of the day!  It was certainly my goal to bring nothing but happiness to Kaylene and Matt’s day.

Last Saturday was the big day!  Kaylene and Matt’s wedding day was nothing short of beautiful… In fact, every moment was quite gorgeous!  ;)  Part of me was a little bit envious of Ryan and Brendon because they were photographing this gorgeous celebration and it just so happens that it was taking place in one of the most beautiful barns we have ever seen!!!  (Ahhh, seriously, it was like a dream!)  But I quickly remembered that the photography was in good hands and it was my job to focus on Kaylene.  It could have been the fact that every time I saw Matt over the last few months he would remind me that I was the MOH and NOT the photographer! ;), or maybe it was the fact that I was really nervous to give my toast (mostly because I knew it was going to be hard to get through it without being a blubbery mess! ;) ),  but I think the real reason it was so easy to just focus on Kaylene was that I would have done anything to make her day as special as can be and I knew that standing by her side was exactly where I needed to be.

My day in the life of a MOH was pretty magical!  Kaylene and I started the day with a good cry… ;).  All of the lovely ladies in Kaylene’s bridal party got ourselves all done up and made our way to the Barn where Kaylene was putting on her dress.   We had ourselves another good cry as we sat in the car and the moments became very real!  We walked into the barn and saw Kaylene’s beautiful dress hanging next to her daughter, Audree’s, beautiful dress and we cried some more.  Once we got ourselves together (I know I was supposed to be the supportive one- but it is in our genes to cry, so I am pretty sure Kaylene was expecting it!  ;) ), we helped Kaylene into her dress and added the lucky penny she found earlier that day to her shoe.  We took a moment to soak in Kaylene’s gorgeousness…  and then it was time for the First Look.

Matt had arrived and was in place.  All of a sudden it became very real for me.  It was at that moment that I knew I was handing Kaylene off into incredible hands.  I knew from that moment on that Matt was there to dry those tears and bring that smile to her face!  As we shared a few words (more tears of course), I told Kaylene how proud I am of her because I knew I was just not going to be able to get those words out later in my toast.  It was the time.  We made our way outside of the barn and took a moment to soak in the fact that PopPop was definitely shining down on us because it was amazingly sunny with bright white puffy clouds and the forecast the day before called for rain showers all day.  We were in good hands!  ;)

I grabbed my camera (for the only time on Saturday!) and observed these magical moments of their First Look from afar.  Kaylene was now in amazing hands and all I could do was capture it so that they can always be reminded of those moments and their amazing love that they share.

The day continued with some time for just Kaylene and Matt together, formal photos, and then the ceremony in such a beautiful location that was SO PERFECT for Kaylene and Matt!  (Can’t wait for you all to see it in the photos soon!)  I thought I was going to cry the entire time, but I found myself feeling incredibly relaxed and just excited!  ;)  There was one point in the ceremony, as Kaylene and Matt exchanged vows and Matt’s brother Eric and I stood next to them that I realized I kind of had an important job.  Lol.  As the witness of their love and commitment, we have a role that extends much further beyond that ceremony!  (Yes, I was realizing this in the middle of the ceremony and of course the tears started flowing again!  ;) ).  The ceremony was perfect and it was finally official, Kaylene and Matt are married!

Although I was still a bit nervous about not being a bubbery mess during my toast, I felt a sense of confidence as we danced our way into the reception that everything I was going to say was going to come from my heart and whatever came out was going to be exactly what needed to be said.  Of course the tears still flowed, but as I pictured Ryan behind the camera sticking his tongue out at me, I held it together!  ;)  I did not say everything I had planned to say, but I knew Kaylene and Matt heard every single word that was in my heart.  That was all that mattered.

And the rest of the night, we danced!  ;)

Whew… what an amazing day!!!  My day in the life of a MOH was certainly emotional, but at the end of the day, I feel nothing but excitement for Kaylene and Matt and honor to have been by their side!

 

 

Casey and Joe’s Patterson Park Tennis Engagement Session

By Liz,

It is always our goal to turn our engagement sessions into a little date night for our couples.  We want to provide an excuse to escape the everyday craziness and do something that is fun and enjoyable!  When we found out that one of Casey and Joe’s favorite things to do together is play tennis… we knew we had to incorporate tennis in some way!

Thankfully, Casey and Joe did not think we were crazy and they went with the idea.  After a friendly match and a bet that resulted in Casey buying Joe some yogurt at the end of the evening, I think we can all say that their engagement session was nothing short of fun and enjoyable!

Casey and Joe have this way of being together that is so calm and comfortable.  We LOVED loved loved how they were able to forget about everyone else in the park and enjoy the time together to soak each other in!

Casey and Joe… thanks for such an enjoyable evening in the Park!  You two are amazing!