Alexa + Jack’s Elegant Wedding in Rural Ohio
A wedding day that was pulled off without a hitch because of an amazing team of creative vendors and an event planner whose resourcefulness was proved invaluable. Alexa and Jack planned an elegant, black-tie celebration on the family farm in Brown County Ohio on a beautiful October day. The ceremony took place in front of a lake on the property and a tented reception was planned after cocktail hour. When an uninvited guest showed up, however, things got a bit challenging. Wedding planner, Lindsey Baer of The Lindsey Baer Company shares her perspective on the day:
Around 6am on the morning of the wedding the tent provider called to tell me that we were under a severe wind advisory and we had two choices: 1) move the location or 2) change the date. There was no way to move the location. We’d been building the dinner tent for weeks. As guests arrived, we directed them to the ceremony tent as quickly as possible because winds were picking up. We had the tent providers in the field with wind meters constantly calculating the wind speed. The sail tent couldn’t take nearly as strong of winds as the clearspan reception tent so we were rushing to get through the ceremony as the highest winds were nearly upon us. The ceremony took place as planned with some gorgeous photos of the bride’s veil whipping in the wind!
Alex Davis Photography
During the ceremony, we flipped a working barn into a cocktail reception space. Bars went up, we dropped the string quartet in front of the tractors, swept the floors as best we could, and it was show time! Guests LOVED the space. Everyone thought it was the original plan. They cocktailed amongst the giant farm equipment and loved the juxtaposition of the classical musical in front of the power tools. In the meantime, the winds were waning. At 7:30, we received the green light to start moving guests to the dinner tent. It was a tad windy throughout the rest of the night. As toasts were made, I remember at one point trying to gracefully position speakers away from the hanging florals over the dance floor which were swaying gently to the beat of their own drum. And, as guests were boarding the first shuttles to depart, temps had dropped and there was some freezing rain but no one seemed to mind. Hearts were warm after a delicious meal and some very energetic dancing from the fantastic sounds of The Stingers. As the bride and groom were departing, the new Mrs. said in passing “I heard you almost canceled the wedding today?!? Is that true?” I said “Yes, five different times!” But, somehow, we prevailed and truly no one was the wiser.
A true lover of paper, Alexa has been visiting Poeme for years and we were thrilled that she chose us to help create her wedding stationery ensemble. She and husband Jack were married on a farm in rural Ohio . Her stationery featured two-ply cotton stock letterpress with gold foil accents. The black envelopes were hand lettered in calligraphy and lined with a delicate sheer vellum.
As a first year anniversary gift, she gave Jack custom stationery with the first measures of their wedding dance, Claire de Lune, foil-stamped on cotton paper.
Alex Davis Photography
Alex Davis Photography
What inspired your overall wedding vision and how all the details flowed together?
My husband and I luckily have a very similar style so our details felt very genuine to both of us. And when trying to make that feel natural in the setting we chose to be married in which very much contrasted with our style (in a wedding venue perspective at least) we knew exactly what we needed to create. With the farm offering a natural and expansive setting, the details needed to be an anchor and give structure to the event and guide our guests and vendors to meet us at our vision and paper was where we had the utmost control of execution.
We wanted to take classic, clean, elegance and stick it in the middle of a soybean field so we relied heavily on the details like our invitations and signage in particular, to give the look we wanted and to juxtapose with the landscape around us. From the day the save the dates went out, I knew our guests would have an idea of what to expect without ever knowing what they were getting into all the way out in Brown County, Ohio.
Amber Bridges Studio Photography
When did you discover your passion for written correspondence, paper, and stationery?
I actually started loving paper in 2009-2010 when I first discovered the store! I lived down the street and could walk over anytime. I think seeing wedding invitations in the windows for the first time as a teenager and really taking them in for all the work that goes into them clicked with me. It is a way to express yourself in the many ways you feel you want to without changing your personal style or redecorating. With stationery, there is something for every mood, style, and feeling.
CREATIVE PARTNERS
Event Planning: The Lindsey Baer Company | Florals: Yellow Canary Floral & Event Design | Venue: Private Farm in Brown County, Ohio | Calligraphy: Paint Jar Productions | Catering: Eat Well Catering
Amber Bridges Studio Photography
Amber Bridges Studio Photography
Tell us what you love about paper correspondence - is it the act of sending something physical, the joy in the design, the way paper and envelopes feel that inspires you?
Getting mail is so fun at any age. I think taking time to sit down and say something with such intent to someone that you're physically writing it down and fitting it into limited space, that’s something that is lost anymore. I know someone is excited to see the letter in their post box, that they're opening and feeling the letter, and then feeling what the words were meant to do to them. Making them feel special is why I love it. Over the years I have received compliments over the notes I send and that means a lot to me because I know they're treasuring them the way I intended and the way I treasure mine. I have kept every card I have ever received. They miraculously still fit all together in one large box organized by year/occasion.
What was your favorite printed item?
It is really hard to pick a favorite, but I just loved my invite so much. After years of loving and cherishing and analyzing every invite I had received, I finally got to create ours and thinking about it even while writing this makes me very emotional. Every detail included and every detail omitted was thought about deeply before I went to my appointments to create them. Similarly to any note I had sent, I wanted each part of this invite to have intent and to mean something, from the envelope and addressing, to the painted edges, to the font choices. It was the best 300 envelopes I had ever licked and mailed. And with Poeme by our side, we nailed it.
There was no doubt in my mind that Poeme and Kristen would be my choice for my stationery suite because her store is one of my favorite places. She has also stepped up under dire circumstances and helped me with some of my most challenging paper needs. She is extremely accommodating for those who are very sure of what they want and can just direct her, but she also is creative and selective enough to guide you or make executive decisions you can trust and run with it. So there was no question who I would call when I needed my one year "paper" gift for our anniversary. Unsurprisingly, I called a little last minute, but within 45 minutes we had nailed down a design over email (so convenient!!) and I had my gift in hand a day before I needed them. Poeme is and will always remain my continued space for inspiring paper necessities.
Alex Davis Photography