My Wedding Celebration: an Intimate Spring Wedding at Echo Bluff State Park
It’s hard to think that Ben and I are coming up on a year of marriage, and boy has a lot happened in the last 12 months. From experiencing the loss of a grandparent to adopting a new dog, it’s been a year of sorrow and joy. However, I spent some time reflecting about our wedding day, May 4, 2019, and I thought it was about time that I shared with you all my wedding planning experience: the highs, the lows, the ugly…..everything. Hang on tight. I’m excited to share with you about my wedding celebration, which was held at Echo Bluff State Park in Eminence, Missouri. It was our own version of an intimate destination wedding. I’m going to answer some questions you might have been asked when planning your own wedding!
Also, special thanks to Lighter Focus Photography for working his tail off on our wedding day. You rock, sir.
If I were to ask myself “What is most important to us about our wedding celebration?” We would have said a few things:
We want it to be FUN! A wedding is a celebration; it’s a party. Let’s ditch stuffy traditions that don’t mean anything to us and do something crazy!
We want as many personal touches and details as possible.
We really want our guests to have an experience.
The intimacy of the ceremony is extremely important. We don’t want to gloss over it.
What was the first vendor you booked? Ben and I booked our photographer first, mostly because Ben is a photographer himself. We also knew, before we were engaged, what photographer we wanted to book (you’re welcome, Alan!). :) We, rather, Alan and Ben, immediately clicked. It was so important to me that Ben felt comfortable with the photographer as he is so used to being behind the camera. Alan and him were a great fit; so much a great that the two are now buddies.
How did you pick your wedding venue? When it came to seeking out a wedding venue, we really didn’t have anything in mind. We knew we wanted to get married outside, but that was about it. I put in a few inquiries at some local venues, but nothing felt right. When Ben, perhaps jokingly, suggested we get married at Echo Bluff State Park, I jumped on the idea. Echo Bluff is a very special place for us for many reasons but one being that Ben and I took our very first trip together to Echo Bluff State Park. Picking our venue turned out to be a no brainer, and we immediately booked it.
Why did you choose to do a First Look? Honestly, not doing a First Look never crossed our minds. We wanted plenty of time to take photos. We also wanted to spend as much time with our guests as possible rather than venturing away during cocktail hour to take photos. I think back on things now, and I am so glad we did a First Look. It gave us more time to spend together on one of the biggest days of our lives.
What personal touches did you incorporate into your wedding? Oh my goodness, we had several. Ben isn’t a big fan of cake, so we enlisted the help of our friend, Samantha, to design and make a cheesecake for us! It was s’mores flavored, which was an homage to our first date when we made s’mores by a campfire. We share a love for craft beer (Ben more than me), and we just so happened to have a friend that loves to homebrew. As a gift from our friend, he made a custom-made beer for our guests to enjoy at our wedding - a s’mores stout, to which we called The Dark Side. We still have a few bottles left to drink! We had also planned a float trip the day following our wedding, but due to flooding last year, we had to cancel. We were bummed, but it was totally uncontrollable.
What does the feet washing service symbolize at your wedding? This is such a lofty question to answer, so I’ll try to make it is simple as possible. There’s a story in the Bible from the book of John where Jesus washes the feet of His disciples before He is crucified. In the days of Jesus, washing the feet of another was a lowly human task. However, this act demonstrates humility, a willingness to serve another. Ben and I wanted to express to one another and in front of witnesses that we choose to humble ourselves to each other, to serve each other for eternity, and to love each other like Christ loves His church.
How did you pick your wedding date? Honestly, we wanted to get married in the spring when Dogwood Trees were blooming, but the actual date didn’t matter. We somehow landed on May 4th. It wasn’t until someone asked me if I really like Star Wars did I realize we choose Star Wars Day - May the Fourth Be with You. Whoops. Guess we’ll never forget our wedding date. Since we accidentally picked Star Wars Day as our wedding date, we chose to play it up a bit. Insert lightsabers. Haha!
What was the most difficult part of planning your wedding? I would say there were two things. One was finding vendors who would travel to Echo Bluff State Park as it is quite literally in the middle of nowhere Missouri. The second was narrowing down our guest list (said every couple everrrr). However, we had just about 100 people at our wedding, and quite honestly - it was perfect.
If there is one thing you would have changed about your wedding, what would it be? Oh man. I think I would have actually changed our wedding day timeline a bit. I would have liked to have spent more time hanging out with our guests as we had friends come from all over - from New York City to New Mexico and even Hawaii. We had a small wedding, and honestly, we could have gone even more intimate. I would have had more activities, perhaps an earlier ceremony even. I probably feel this way because we had planned on our float trip as an extension of the reception, but things happen right? Oh, and maybe my wedding colors. Why the HECK did I not go bold like I originally wanted…..actually I can tell you why. Send me a message, and I’ll tell you. Ha ha!
VENDOR TEAM:
photography: Lighter Focus Photography
venue: Echo Bluff State Park
floral design: Farmgirl Floral & Decor
entertainment: Bramy Entertainment
bridal gown & accessories: Ana Marie’s Bridal, Stella York, Betsy Johnson Blue
bride/groom cheesecake: Samantha Jedlow, friend of the bride
cake pops: Buttercream Creations
officiant: Greg White, friend of the groom
hair stylist: Amy Hemeyer
makeup artist: Mac Maupin
rings: Buchroeder’s
groom & groomsmen attire: Samuels’ Tuxedos
bridesmaid attire: David’s Bridal, ASOS, Birdy Grey, Lulu, and Sorella Vita
Hey, I’m Terra!
Born and raised in Missouri, I’m a grateful wife and dog mom to my rescue pups, Hildi & Lola. I’m a true believer in the pursuit of bold dreams, learning from mistakes, and staying curious.
I'm a girl that lives in her Chacos during the summer, and I'm typically always wearing lipstick. Yes, red is my preference! When I'm not helping engaged couples plan weddings, you'll find me on stage teaching Jazzercise classes. Needless to say, creating engaging experiences that leave people feeling good afterwards is my passion. Seriously!
I’ve created this blog and my wedding packages to empower you to plan an awesome wedding day and put all of the stress and obligations straight into the dumpster! Now that sounds like a party.
