Kansas in the summertime is something special. And that’s especially seen and felt when you drive out to the country and get married at a big white barn, surrounded by golden fields. And then it belongs in a Kansas magazine. Or at least in a blog post.
Erin and Justin’s August wedding day was Kansas at it’s finest. Modern, organic, colorful and fresh.
With sentimental and thoughtful details, and images by Katy Elaine Photography that must be shared.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
“I have a few favorite parts of the day. Our first look was one of them, Erin decided to Ice me during the first look. I turned around expecting her and saw a Smirnoff Ice waiting for me instead. It actually settled my nerves and is a funny memory to look back on. One of my other favorite parts was the reception. My brother gave an epic best man speech and Javen had a fun maid of honor speech as well. Definitely something we will never forget. I also enjoyed all the dancing towards the end of the night. The energy on the dance floor never stopped and it looked like everyone was enjoying themselves (probably for the first time in months). “ - Justin
Oh how we love to hear that. The joy surrounding a wedding day, despite all that’s going on in the world around us.
“My favorite part of the day has to be all the little surprises I planned for Justin and getting to see his reaction with them all. I Iced him for the first look, got the string quartet to play his favorite Kenny Chesney song for our postlude, and had a grooms cake in his favorite flavor and the shape of a golf ball. All fun memories we get to look back on now and appreciate. “ - Erin
“The last dance was something we both loved. While everyone was getting the grand exit together, our DJ started a song and left the room so we could have one last dance together to soak up the evening. It is a moment we will cherish forever.” - Justin & Erin
Every chance we get, we suggest a private last dance! If you’re planning a wedding - do it!
Erin is an artist and we love how her personal creativity and eye for design came out in all the best ways on her wedding day.
“The Barn itself was a great start for our inspiration, it has such a modern look you can make anything work in the space. With a clean background from the barn, I knew right away that I wanted to do a ton of colors for our flowers and keep everything else pretty neutral. With that in mind, it was a lot easier to decide on some of the other details like dress colors and table clothes.”
We loved that she described her floral vision as “anything goes!”
“[Our flowers] had a lot of meaning behind them that most our guests didn't understand or know, but were extremely important to me and my husband. My bouquet had wheat from my families farm (only a few miles away from the Barn!) along with sunflowers, mums and cornflowers, each representing one of my grandparents. Justin's boutonniere had a white poppy to represent his grandpa that had passed, they called him Poppy, so I thought it was fitting. We also brought those flowers and wheat into our memory table with a lantern display that my dad made. Our families loved the extra touch and appreciated the thought that went into that decision. “ - Erin
Lavendar Lane Floral out of Hesston, KS brought Erin’s vision to life in the most phenomenal way.
When I say phenomenal, that word may not even do this floral justice.
And if Erin’s creativity wasn’t already on display, she and Justin chose one of the most unique unity ceremonies that was completely true to who they are.
“Our unity ceremony was also one of my favorite details. I wanted to do something unique to us and not your usual candle ceremony. I know there are some fun ones out there like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, planting trees, and so on. But none of them felt like “us”. I saw an older version of a paint pour unity ceremony and I knew that was what we were going to do, even though there was some reservation from Justin about it getting on our clothes. I even did the paint pour for our guest books, so now they can all be hung together on the wall.
Justin and I had practiced how we were going to do the paint pour a few weeks in advance to see if we really wanted to do it for the wedding. When we were all waiting upstairs as guests arrived I remembered I forgot gloves and ran to find help to locate some and thankfully it all worked out. Once we got to that point in the ceremony I realized I forgot cups to pour the paint in too, so I just whispered to Justin to pour the paint all over instead. It ended up working out fine, but definitely items I should have remembered to bring. “ - Erin
Our couples always give the best advice:
“One thing I wish we did was order two boutonnieres for me. If you’re taking pictures before the ceremony it would be nice to have an extra just in case it gets messed up or if it’s really hot outside. That also goes with the groomsmen as well, maybe get one or two extra (if they’re different than the grooms). And when you don’t need them, take them off and put them in a fridge to keep them nice between photos and the ceremony! You also want to slow down, enjoy the day because it goes fast. I know people say that a lot, but they aren’t wrong. Soak up as much as you can before it’s all over. “ - Justin
“Do things locally! I was currently living in Newton while wedding planning and it wasn’t that difficult to find local vendors (with help from the Barn). I understand it can be more of an issue if you have a destination wedding but it’s so worth it to find local vendors. You meet the nicest people. Along with that, TRUST your vendors! Events are their jobs, literally. If you do a good job picking your people and relaying how you want your day to be, they will make it happen. Lastly, get a day of coordinator. DO IT. I’m someone that loves having everything in order and I thought I might not need a day-of person. But I was wrong, it makes the day even easier and they think of things you won’t (no matter how many wedding articles you read). And if anything happens, you aren’t whisked away to fix it and ruin some of your pampering time! It really is a lifesaver, even if your day goes smoothly. Don’t lose who you are in planning the wedding. There are so many ideas and trends out there, but take time to think about what you want. Even if it’s not something you see on Pinterest or “trendy” in the moment. You can use those tools to help show your ideas to vendors, but don’t be afraid to make it uniquely yours as well.” - Erin
If you take one thing from that…get a day-of coordinator. You’ll thank us, I promise.
What was the one memory of your day that you want to freeze in time and never forget?
“Erin’s ceremony entrance is a memory I’d like to never forget. Even though we did a first look, when the doors opened and I saw her it was such a special moment.” - Justin
“Our last dance is the moment I’d like to freeze in time. I felt like we were the only people in the world for a minute and it was the best way to end the evening.” - Erin
What did you like most about your day at The Barn at Grace Hill?
“Being able to get married, even though there was so much happening in the world!”
We love this answer. 2020 has been a horrid year to navigate, for couples who are planning weddings. And Erin and Justin did it with such grace and confidence.
And when you see these images, it’s a reminder of the joys that DID come out of 2020. I know you can see that true joy on their faces. And that’s what we will choose to remember 2020 by. These two faces. And the faces of all of our other 2020 couples. Because true joy can’t be stolen. And you can always find light in the darkness if you choose to look for it.
The Vendor Team:
Ceremony + Reception: The Barn at Grace Hill @thebarnatgracehill
Photography: Katy Elaine Photography @katyelainephotography
Videographer: Wild Oak Films @wildoakfilms
DJ: Absolute Sound DJ Entertainment @absolutesounddj
Florals: Lavender Lane Wedding Florals @lavenderlaneweddingfloral
Catering: Wichita Brewing Company
Bar: Blue Moon Caterers @bluemoon.caterers
Cupcakes: Cake Affairs @cakeaffairs
Makeup: Katlyn Manos @katlynmanos // Beauty Call Makeup @beautycallmakeup
Hair: Alisha Beilin @beautybylishhh // Curls Gone Wild Salon @curlsgonewildsalonict
Dress: Brooklyn & Co Bridal @brooklyncobridal
Alterations: Lori’s Sewing Cottage (Lori Havens)
Suit: Bonobos @bonobos
Calligraphy: Emilime Designs @emilimedesigns
Rentals + Coordinator: Something Borrowed Events & Rental @somethingborrowedks