written by Dolly Marshall
When Nikki and Kevin were trying to figure out what they envisioned for their wedding day they didn’t know where to begin. All the couple wanted was to remain true to themselves and create something minimal with these words in mind: uncomplicated, natural and comfortable. So when Kevin found their farm venue online, they immediately knew they were “home!”
How They Met
“Kevin was just moving back to PA after a few years living all over, and he was transferred to work at the Best Buy where I had been working for several years. It wasn’t exactly love at first sight since I am quite the extrovert and he was just trying to get acclimated. But, we would eventually bond over our fluency in sarcasm and love of local bars.”
The Proposal
“It was Christmas morning (my absolute favorite day of the year!!!) and he asked me to close my eyes while he went to get my last present. I opened my eyes to my future husband, down on one knee, in the apartment we turned into a home. Just the two of us, in our Christmas PJs – it was perfect! We spent the rest of the day visiting with family and friends celebrating our new chapter.”
Wedding Planning
“We got engaged in December of 2017, and were a little bummed when our venue didn’t have a fall date until 2019. But we waited it out and it ended up being the best thing for us! Having almost 2 years to plan the best day ever was absolutely perfect. We didn’t have to rush or compromise, and we were able to take our time when choosing vendors and all of the details that meant so much to us. We were also blessed with parents and friends who were so supportive of our choices along the way. Planning a wedding is definitely a lot of work, and there were days we contemplated eloping, but in the end our wedding planning process was so much fun!”
The Farm Bakery & Events
“Our venue was, in a word, INCREDIBLE! Neither of us had a real vision of what our venue would look like or where to even start. We just knew we didn’t want anything “too fancy” because that is just not us. To give credit where it’s due, Kevin found The Farm Bakery and Events all on his own! They started popping up on Instagram and it turned out they were ten minutes from where we lived. The pictures online highlighted a gorgeous outside space where the ceremony would take place, some beautiful lighting and natural elements, and a rustic barn that could serve as a canvas for weddings of all styles. We decided to check it out and reached out to the owners, Becca & Chris, to set up a tour. Everyone talks about this “feeling” you get when you find the thing you didn’t know you wanted, and for the very first time in our process I felt that when I set foot on their property. It felt inviting and approachable and elegant and all of a sudden our entire wedding vision popped into my head. It turns out I was a visual bride, not very abstract. And finding our venue was the first time I could picture all of it coming together. It was magic.”
Wedding Inspiration
“Finding our venue really helped us narrow down an “aesthetic” for the day, but our true motivation behind all of the choices we made was comfort. We wanted our guests to feel like we had invited them into our home to share the most beautiful memories with us. We wanted to feel like we could be ourselves even though we were doing a pretty major thing. From the family style dining to the s’mores and bonfire we offered our guests, we wanted it to feel like there were no rules. Just because it’s a wedding doesn’t mean they “had” to do this or that, we encouraged everyone to have the best possible time! We were just happy so many of our loved ones came to share this with us on a Friday night.”
Best Moment
“What a hard question! Some of the obvious answers are: spending the whole day leading up to the ceremony with our best friends, having all of our favorite people in one place for the reception, and exchanging our vows. But if we had to pick just one moment from the entire day, it would be the few minutes we spent alone taking it all in following the ceremony. Our Pastor introduced us as husband and wife for the first time, we walked out of the ceremony and into the bridal suite, and we just stared at each other like “did we just do that!?” My husband handed me the sweetest letter and we toasted to this new life we were creating. And almost on cue, our bridesmaids and groomsmen stormed the room and the celebration had begun!”
Wedding Planning Advice
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Seriously – go back and read that one more time. You simply have to accept that everything won’t go as planned. Your napkins might be just slightly the wrong color, there might be a typo on the menus you proofread a hundred times, and your ceremony might start ten minutes late… You have to remind yourself that you can only do what you can do. I promise no one else will notice all the things you do. And you know what? You will definitely end the day married which is what you set out to do, after all!”
Wedding Vendors
“We were truly blessed. Every single one of our vendors were absolute angels the day of, and all the weeks and months leading up to it. Our venue provided a coordinator who was on top of every single thing – shout out to Jess! Our caterer produced what can only be described as the best wedding food there ever was – shout out to 2 Little Piggys! The DJ kept the party going all night long – shout out to Chris Marx! And our photographer was a dream – shout out to Brad Vassallo! The photos we got back from him are all of the best memories from the best day of our lives. He got all the shots we asked him for, and hundreds more we didn’t know we needed. This team of individuals went above and beyond to help us pull off the greatest day of our lives.”
Vendors | Ceremony Venue: The Farm Bakery & Events | Photographer: Brad Vassallo Photography | Caterer: 2 Little Piggys |DJ: Marx Event Group Hair/Makeup: Symmetry Salon & Spa Cake: The Farm Bakery & Events