Bryson's 30th Birthday: Ben and Stephanie's Wedding

On my husband's actual birthday, Friday, June 24th, we went to the wedding of our high school friends Ben and Stephanie.  It was an uncharacteristically chilly summer day, and it had rained earlier in the day and was threatening to again.  The wedding was outdoors at a beautiful farm in a town nearby.  Here was the wedding spot:

A farm, you say?  Oh yes.  If you turned your head 45 degrees, this was your view ...

Oh, and during the entirety of the wedding we heard roosters crowing.  It was AWESOME!  (Seriously, I love chickens.  We totally should have had this at our wedding.)

The wedding party all came from back on the pavilion where the reception was located.

Except for Stephanie, the bride, who arrived via horse-drawn coach!

I don't know if I have ever been to a wedding where the couple smiled so much at each other.  Ben, the groom, in particular, looked as if he was going to explode from happiness.

The ceremony was short but very sweet and included a unity knot, which I had never seen before.  The day was mostly overcast, but the clouds parted and the sun came out just as they were becoming husband and wife.  Seriously, it was perfect!

After the ceremony, guests could easily make their way over to the reception.

And were greeted by a barn cat roaming about.

Place cards came in the form of green apples with our names and assigned table tacked to it.  So creative!

And the favors were homemade jam and chutney!  The details of this wedding were beautiful and so coordinated!

While pictures were being taken, some of the wedding party lounged nearby.

While guests were left to enjoy appetizers, have their pictures taken in the photo booth, grab a drink, then mosey back to their respective tables to ogle the cheesecake centerpieces.

It was quite interesting to me to be on a farm like this.  I can't imagine living in this house and having so many weddings take place on my farm.  But I suppose it's all in what you get used to, right?

As I previously mentioned, the wedding took place on Bryson's actual 30th birthday.  Here's a picture of the birthday boy:

The ladies of the wedding party carried pink parasols ... such a lovely touch!

The buffet was great and had a lot of variety ... but all of my carb-a-licious favorites were there.  So I went with that.

As it got darker out, the lights inside the pavilion area became more noticeable and really added to the air of romance.

It was a great time, and though it was weird to be without the kids it was nice to have an evening alone and time to catch up with old friends.  (A special thanks to my parents for taking such good care of the kids and getting them to bed for us!)  Bryson and I were the only ones of our close friends to have kids already and we felt a little old saying we needed to get back to relieve our babysitters, but that's where we are.  Plain and simple.

So, to sum it all up ...

Congratulations to Ben and Stephanie!  May you have many happy years together!

Happy 30th birthday, Bryson!  I hope you had a wonderful birthday.  May this year bring you all the happiness you so deserve!  I love you!