Rustic Wedding at the Farmhouse at Grand Colonial by Ashley Gerrity Photography
Ashley Gerrity Photography gracefully captured this flourishing day that celebrated a new era for Kim and Chris! This couple will make you a believe in true love, and their captivating love story is one for the books! The Farmhouse at Grand Colonial was the perfect backdrop for this Fall wedding, complete with beautiful foliage on the terrain, and intricate details during the reception that set the tone for this whimsical day. Keep scrolling to see the beautiful elements behind this rustic DIY wedding, and don’t miss this couples beautiful beach proposal video which is totally worth the watch!
How They Met:
“We met our freshman year of college, we lived in the same dorm, Lippincott at Rutgers University. Chris lived on the 3rd floor and Kim lived on the 2nd. Chris first noticed Kim when she was playing soccer in the 2nd floor lounge with her roommate, and he and his friends got mad because they were trying to watch a movie (but it was Kim’s floor’s lounge). Kim first remembers Chris when they were watching a scary movie in his room with a group of friends. When the movie ended he walked downstairs with her and pressed a button on a small Halloween toy that screams when pressed, scaring her and she nearly fell down the stairs. From that moment on they texted and hung out frequently. And the rest is history! (Chris gave Kim a button that screamed just like the one he originally scared her with as a wedding gift.)”
The Proposal:
“Chris let Kim believe that he planned a weekend down in Cape May for her birthday. Little did she know, he had other plans. The day started in Wildwood at the Amateur Sand Castle Contest followed by dinner in Cape May.
Dinner was amazing, complete with candles for Kim’s birthday. Chris left the table to go to the bathroom but did not return. About 5 minutes after he left, the waitress brought Kim a card with a “I” on it. The card contained a letter for Kim, instructing her to return to the Star Inn, along with a map and a key.
Back at the hotel Kim found another card with a “II” on the door; inside this card were instructions to go into the room and see what was inside. Rose pedals lined the floor leading Kim to Chris’s laptop with a card on it saying press play. Kim watched the 10 minute video that Chris created with clips from everyday that year, stating all that he wanted to say about their relationship and what a future together would mean to him. Once the video was finished and Kim wiped away some tears, she opened the final card that contained a final message and map that led Kim to the beach. Here Chris stood awaiting her arrival and ready to pop the question!”
Wedding Planning Experience:
“The most difficult part in planning our wedding was preparing our guest list as we both come from LARGE families. Chris is from a large Irish family and I am from a large Italian-Irish family. Once our list was cut down to about 260 we had to find a place large enough to fit everyone. While there are plenty of places to hold this many people, I did not want a classic ball room hall. I wanted something with a rustic but romantic feel. When we found our venue, The Farmhouse at The Grand Colonial, we knew it was perfect. It had that perfect rustic feel outdoors, and in the hall where cocktail hour was held. All of our other vendors seemed to fall into place once we found our venue and we were extremely fortunate that our families allowed us to plan our wedding without any outrageous demands that would complicate the process.”
Wedding Inspiration:
“I love the rustic DIY feel, and wanted my family and friends to all have a part in my wedding day. Once we found our venue we knew we would be able to incorporate the talents of our family and friends. My mom was able to make our flower girl dresses and my veil in which she incorporated lace from her wedding gown. My grandfather built various sized boxes that we used for the centerpieces, and my father and I stained them adding “Love” and “KGC” (our monogram) onto them. To make our day even more special, my mom, aunt, great aunt, and Chris’ grandmother sewed squares that our guests could sign onto our guest book and later sew into a quilt.”
Best Memory:
“Walking into our ballroom as Mr. and Mrs. Prior I got butterflies in my stomach for the first time that day. The morning was so full of excitement and preparation for the mass that I don’t think I had time to comprehend that joy I felt for becoming Mrs. Gunning! Once we had a moment to ourselves and were about to walk into the ballroom the significance of the whole day hit me and I just looked at my husband and said “were married!” telling him that I was jittery for the first time that day.”
Wedding Planning Advice:
“Enjoy it! It is truly a wonderful time and it goes by way too quickly (I would do it all over again just to relive my wedding day). Make your self a time line with a checklist for the tasks that need to get done by those dates. I had a revolving time line with a different checklist almost ever week. This may seem a little crazy, but everything was done on time and this way you won’t miss anything. Take each task step by step and don’t let the little things stress you out, everything will get done on time! (Of course I stressed a few times, but much less than I thought I may have).”
Wedding Vendor Experience:
“We truly had amazing vendors! We have no complaints about any of them. Everyone was responsive to questions and concerns in a timely manner.”
