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Down To Earth Vermont Farm Wedding | Anne Skidmore Photography

rhiannon+ethan

Ethan & Rhiannon’s wedding day, captured by Anne Skidmore, was quite a special one. They chose to have their wedding day on Rhiannon’s family farm in Bondville, Vermont. At one point it was a working farm, however now it is a communal place for family to gather and be together. Having a near and dear place to their hearts, it was quite clear that this was the perfect place for them to have their wedding. There were so many cute and unique aspects to their special day. Rhiannon’s dress was hand made by a seamstress in Vermont and she looked absolutely stunning in the subtle silver wedding dress. Her little nieces wore fairy like dresses and paraded down the aisle before she made her grand entrance. They also had pizza coming fresh out of a transportable brick oven for dinner- it was incredible! To top it off they had homemade whoopie pies for dessert and then barn dancing into the very wee hours of the night!

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Why a Mountain Wedding?

We wanted an outdoor wedding in a unique place. We chose my family farm that’s been in my Grandmother’s family since in the 1940s. It had great views and was a place we would return to again.

Where did you find your inspiration?

Pinterest, Bridal Shows, family wedding photos, and Google Search were key in finding inspiration! We wanted a down-to-earth but not too rustic feeling wedding.

What were some personal details you incorporated?

We did a lot of DIY on our own and with our families. We bought paper parasols and used a stencil to paint peacock feathers on each parasol so the ladies would have some something to shield them from the sun. Ethan’s father made wood rounds from felled trees from their house in Maine and we used those as centerpieces. We hand tied lavender and black wheat to be placed on the chairs for the guests (good bug repellant and pretty)! My aunt found vines and leaves and made the arbor for our ceremony. My Grandmother played the flute for the ceremony music instead of playing the traditional wedding march.

Your favorite moment of the day.

My favorite moment of the day was when our Justice of the Peace turned to Ethan and said “I, Rhiannon” and Ethan turned to him, placed his hand on the JOP’s shoulder and kindly said “I, Ethan”. It made everyone laugh and it made me feel a lot less nervous about being in front of everyone!

Three things you’re glad you did.

  1. I’m really glad we spent the night before in separate rooms.
  2. I’m very glad I had my hairdresser come to me instead of having to travel.
  3. I’m also glad I picked up some light snacks before we arrived; yogurt, pistachios, and chocolate covered pomegranate seeds.

Anything you wish you hadn’t done?

I wish we had more of a schedule- we didn’t print out a schedule of events with times. People became a little scattered during the first dance and when we had our whoopie pies (we had those instead of traditional cake).

What was the best piece of wedding advice you got?

The best advice I got was to remember to eat food. Dinner got a little crazy, so it was really nice to have that advice and to have someone who went and made sure I was eating!

What piece of wedding planing advice do you wish you followed?

Most of the advice we received was useful and thoughtful, so we followed most of it!

Anything you wish you hadn’t worried about?

Family dynamics and drama. I was pretty stressed out about certain people getting along, but people tended to let go of any grudges or ill-will during the wedding.

Anything you wish you had known about sooner rather than later?

I wish we had done more of a rehearsal from start to finish. We realized too late that my name was challenging to say and that the ceremony didn’t encompass everything we wanted to capture.

How did you choose your vendors?

We did research. We asked people what experiences they’d had. We wanted to make sure that we were using local when possible. The tent company was really close to our wedding location, the wood-fired pizza, Pizza Papillo, was based in VT. Flowers were from on-site, a VT farm and down the street from the farm and many were in pots so they still live with us and some of the guests. That came from just talking to a neighbor whose daughter ran a nursery. Word of mouth is great.

I highly recommend Anne Skidmore. She has a very calm and kind demeanor which made everyone feel more relaxed and calm during all the pictures. She has an amazing eye for light and unique photos that are incredibly eye-catching and that you’ll look at 100s of times!

I would also recommend Pizza Papillo. They have the best wood-fired pizza! They are very flexible and easy to work with!

What is your very best advice to other mountain brides?

What is your very best advice to other mountain brides?: Enjoy the planning process. It’s a lot of fun to spend time with friends, family, or your future husband/wife preparing and planning. Keep it light and fun. There will be stressful times when planning, but if emotions start to run too high; it’s time to take a break!

DIY Projects

DIY: hand-painted parasols, chair decorations, mugs for party favors with ribbon and people’s names on them, birdcage for cards, wood rounds for centerpieces, leaf arbor, and we painted the whole barn beforehand. Also DIY ipod music.

Vermont Wedding Vendors

Submitted via Two Bright Lights