TIMELESS + DREAMY OUTDOOR SUMMER AFFAIR

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Mar 15

Emily + Will had brought their timeless wedding vision to life at Hawthorne House with an outdoor wedding and party no guest will forget! Their attention to detail throughout planning was impeccable and it shows in the relaxed getting ready photos- they truly thought of everything before the wedding day so that when the day came, they could simply enjoy it! This dreamy summer wedding started with the cutest proposal story and Emily leaves some golden nuggets for all you currently engaged couples on how to enjoy planning and bring the day of your dreams to life!

Photo by Kymberly Janelle Photography — *Photo by* *Kymberly Janelle Photography*

What is the proposal story?

After four years of dating all through college we both knew engagement was the next step for us. It was the first week of our senior year of college and my maid of honor, Brynn who was my roommate at the time asked Will and I if we wanted to take pictures so that she should could get some practice, I was a little suspicions but she takes pictures all the time and asked a few of our other roommates and boyfriends so it was not obvious. On August 30th 2019 all day my friends we trying to keep me distracted, asking me to run errands with them and making me try on outfits to wear for pictures. That day I thought that maybe it could be happening but everyone was acting so normal it made me think there was no way, now I know that they all knew about the engagement and I am still surprised everything went to plan! Will picked me up to leave for pictures and the plan was for Brynn to meet us there. I am not going to lie I was really annoyed with Will on the way there because I kept saying everyone is going to think we are engaged after these pictures and we won't be.... little did I know we would be! When we got to the park Brynn said she was running late and would be there soon, Will suggested that we get out of the car and we started walking to this area where a picnic blanket was set up with flowers and a box that is special to us, that is when I knew. We sat down on the blanket and talked for a little and then Will got the ring out of our box and asked me to marry him! Of course said yes but was in complete shock that it was actually happening! Soon after Brynn came out from the bushes completely covered in dirt (a real friend lol) and had been taking pictures the entire time. We stayed there for a while and then facetimed all of our family and friends to tell them the big news. When we got back to my house my roommates had the house all decorated to celebrate and it was a day we will never forget!

How would you describe the vision for your wedding?

I always had a vision of my wedding and when we toured The Hawthorne House it was exactly it, I wanted a light and airy wedding with a lot of greenery and classic details which is exactly what the venue is with the white house, chapel, gazebo and so many trees surrounding. I always dreamed of having an outdoor wedding and when I saw the gazebo I knew it was going to be perfect for it!

What one word would you use to describe your wedding day?

Bliss

What is your favorite memory from the wedding day?

We have so many memories from this day but for both of us our absolute favorite was our first look & vows. I have always wanted a first look because I love those pictures and just the time to be ourselves together. Leading up to our first look I was so nervous but as soon as I was walking up to Will I was so excited and that moment after we saw each other was so special to us, those pictures of the first look captured our relationship perfectly!!! Right after our first look we did our vows together. I do not like to be the center of attention and with a day all about us I knew that I would never be able to say my vows in front of everyone during the ceremony so we decided to do them privately and I am so happy we did!! Having that time together before the ceremony to say our vows was so meaningful and was the perfect way to lead into our marriage.

What was a last minute addition you are SO glad you made?

The car that we left in was a very last minute addition and I am so happy we did it! It was so fun to have a send off and have a car waiting for us to leave in. We used Pech Limousine and rented a 1964 Rolls-Royce which Will was very excited about so it was fun to have a little special addition to our wedding, and the pictures leaving in it are some of my favorite!

One other very last minute addition was that we originally were not going to get the extra time to get ready in the suites at The Hawthorne House but when we did our final walk through I knew we had to because the remodel of them is STUNNING. Getting ready in a beautiful setting at the venue on the morning of the wedding just made it that much more special because I got to see everything getting set up and it was so fun to be in that space with my bridesmaids! Not to mention the guys loved getting to play Mario cart and that made for some fun pictures.

What is one thing you are glad you did throughout the planning process?

I did so much of the wedding planning on my own and had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted the day to look like but the best thing we did was get a day of coordinator! We had Breanne from Hitched Planning & Floral as our coordinator and she was absolutely amazing! She is the sweetest person and honestly made me feel like I was the only bride she was working with throughout the entire process. She helped us finish up all of the little details, made us an amazing timeline, and made our wedding day flow perfectly! We were also originally supposed to get married June 5th but covid did not allow that to happen. Rescheduling our wedding was extremely stressful in the moment and having someone to help us figure everything out and plan through a pandemic was so nice and in the end we had our dream wedding day!

What one piece of advice would you give to engaged couples?

My advice would be to enjoy every second of being engaged and to not stress on the little wedding details because it goes so fast and that time being engaged is so fun and special.