We kicked off this year’s weddings with Jaren and Kalie’s beautiful wedding at the Harvest View Barn at Hershey Farms. This wedding, probably more than any other so far, felt sort of like a fun, relaxing Lancaster County family reunion vibe. Well, that might be in large part because I found out at during the reception that I’m distantly related to the groom, like 2nd cousins once removed, I’m pretty sure. Add to that, running into a few other family friends who were attending the wedding, and it just made the day even more fun. I’m so grateful we were able to be a part of this beautiful, slightly rainy day. Kalie and Jaren are one of the sweetest couples we’ve had the pleasure of working with, gracious and easygoing the whole day, even despite the last minute change of plans with hair & makeup, and the arrival of rain during their outdoor ceremony.
…Which leads me to my deep thoughts for this wedding blog…
A good wedding day, like a good marriage, is a comedy of errors. Before you go trying to stick me with a pitchfork, let me explain. In classic literature there were two kinds of stories, comedies, and tragedies. A tragedy is generally a story where all is going well… until the last moment, and then everything falls apart in a horrifying, terrible, and altogether traumatic way. A comedy on the other hand, is when all seems to go wrong, but yet, in the end, it just kind of snaps together into this beautiful thing, all the more amazing because of how much played into getting you to this point.
A little secret for you all, I’ve never been a part of a wedding day that didn’t have some sort of issue behind the scenes. In many cases the vendors are able to stop the bride and groom from ever hearing about any of these things (sometimes with the help of the mother of the bride, although sometimes we have to keep it from the mother of the bride too… haha), and the wedding day seems like it went without a hitch. We’ve been privy to many of these miniature catastrophes, from a father of the bride driving around lost on his way to the wedding and needing to be guided over the phone to the ceremony, to a groomsman not having pants an hour before the ceremony starts, to countless other, in retrospect, humorous, guffaws. Sometimes though, we the vendors, are unable to fix a problem before it reaches the bride and groom, or in this case the entire wedding… like rain... during an outdoor ceremony. The best laid plans of mice and men, am I right? We gave the groomsmen an umbrella for Kalie and Jaren if it started raining, but in true man fashion, it wasn’t raining that hard, so the umbrella didn’t come out. Little did the groomsmen know, that to a bride, a little rain can be a lot, given all the work that goes into the hair, and the makeup, and the dress, and… well... everything. So, even though we tried to plan ahead, even though we had the best intentions, the plan wasn’t successful. However, Jes, the venue planner, who doesn’t normally end up in wedding photos, walked up to the front with an umbrella, during the ceremony, to help keep Kalie dry. Of course, after this happened, it stopped raining, and Jes promptly left the ceremony… and then it started raining again, but this time the best man quickly offered his umbrella. In the end, Kalie and Jaren were happily married, and honestly, didn’t even seem to notice the rain at all.
There are so many lessons in this wedding. So many ways to see how to live as husband and wife. First, you can plan all you want, something will go wrong. Second, if everything seems ok to you, check in with your spouse anyway. Third, If the two of you see someone struggling, even if it feels out of place to offer assistance, offer anyway. Fourth, learn from your mistakes, but more so from the good actions of those around you. Lastly, no matter how big the bump seems while you’re standing in front of it, keep your eyes on your goal, and what could be a tragedy, will instead become a comedy. That little speed bump was just another stroke of the artist’s brush, making your day, life, or marriage, into the beautiful thing that everyone around you can see from afar.
Kalie and Jaren, I pray you love each other with reckless abandon. The kind of love that makes everyone jealous, that makes everyone around you ask how you do it. I pray you tell them the truth - you love, because He first loved you. I pray that when you see the chance to help others, you take it. And when help is offered, you accept. Be wise beyond your years, and kind beyond all measure. Be gracious, to everyone, but above all, to each other. Because, from personal experience in this comedy of errors called marriage… Grace is a marvelous thing, maybe the best of things.
God Bless.
After all the getting ready, Kalie did First Looks with her bridesmaids and her dad. And then we got ready for her big First Look with Jaren. I just love this part of the day, where everybody finally gets to see each other and all the built up nerves and anxiousness is allowed to fall away as the bride and groom get to embrace, react however they want (no one is watching closely), laugh, relax and just take in the moment.
Following the First Looks, we started Jaren and Kalie’s portraits, which were absolutely stunning. I just have to say how beautiful this property is…Seriously, the grounds of Harvest View Barn are just beautiful! And I need to put in one more plug for doing a First Look with your future spouse… We were able to get basically ALL of Jaren and Kalie’s portraits done before the ceremony, and I’m so glad we did, because while it threatened to rain the whole time we were snapping portrait pictures, the rain held off until the ceremony and we ended up with all these beautiful portraits, that we might not have gotten if it had started raining a lot after the ceremony.
I don’t see too many full bridal party head tables anymore, and I miss it! I loved that Jaren and Kalie had their whole party join them at their table! Make sure you take note of the amazing donut and fritter table, so yummy! I don’t usually feature many bridal party entrances on the wedding blogs, but I just had to share a couple of my favorites here, especially the bubble entrance, how cool is that! I’m totally going to suggest people do that more often!
Sunset portraits have my heart :)
Jaren and Kalie, thank you so much for allowing us to document your beautiful day, we feel so honored.
We wish you all the best. God Bless
Ceremony & Reception | Harvest View Barn at Hershey Farms
Dresses | Kennedy Blue
Hair & Makeup | Pure Joy Salon
Groom and Groomsmen Attire | Men's Wearhouse
Florist | Splendid Arrangements
Catering | Mission BBQ