Nicole and Mike wanted a warm welcoming feeling for their wedding guests. With sunflowers, relaxed attire for the guys and beer kozie favours they were able to achieve the exact wedding they wanted…

Bride & Groom: Nicole & Michael Mitchell

Wedding Date: July 29th 2017

Ceremony & Reception Location: Willow Creek Homestead (willowcreekbarnevents.com) “We had our ceremony and reception at the same venue, Willow Creek Homestead. Mike and I wanted a rustic laid back atmosphere with elements of indoor and outdoor spaces for the guests to enjoy at their pleasure. We fell in love with Willow Creek the moment we arrived. I was a little scared because it was a brand new venue and we were the 3rd wedding to ever be done there but Kim, the owner was like an old pro and amazing to work with.” – N&M

Colours: Grey and yellow

Theme: “It wasn’t so much a theme but a feeling we wanted on our wedding day. We aren’t black tie people and neither are our friends and family. We just wanted a warm welcoming home like feeling for our day which reflected our lifestyle. If I had to say specifically it would be rustic chic. Our guests arrived and immediately were able to grab a drink (alcoholic or not) and casually enjoy the atmosphere and explore the gorgeous grounds and flowing creek. It was perfect! Once the wedding ceremony was about to begin they were encouraged to top up their drinks and take a seat at the ceremony spot. Nothing like a beer in the sunshine in the heat of summer ;).” -N&M

Flowers: “Our Best Man’s sister owns our local flower shop, Frontier Flowers and gifts in Parkhill (facebook.com/Frontier-Flowers-and-Gifts). Angela was a no brainer and she’s amazing! We had lots of greens with gorgeous sunflowers roses and more.” – N&M

Décor: “Myself and my amazing bridesmaids did all decorating the day before the wedding. It was a ton of setup but so satisfying to see my vision and hard work come to life. We used wood slabs, chalk painted mason jars, a ton of burlap, tulle, Edison bulbs, flowers etc. The barn itself was so gorgeous we just highlighted areas. It didn’t need too much. Plus the owner has a treasure trove of beautiful décor options for you to use if you’d like.” – N

Fav décor element: “My favourite décor was the barn itself. It was exactly what I had imagined before I even saw it.” – N

DIY: “We did so much DIY!!! We chalk painted every mason jar for the centerpieces. We made the table runners, burlap bows, seating charts, wine labels, signs for various things, guest book sign – I could go on and on! I was determined to do as much as I could (it nearly did me in) but it was so worth it in the end.” -N

Photobooth: Flash Point Productions (flashpointpro.com)”We loved having a photo booth at our wedding! Guests loved the instant prints and we loved getting the USB copies of them at the end! Hilarious!” – N&M

Officiant: London Wedding Minister (londonweddingminister.ca) “We also loved our ceremony, it was performed by Peter (he has since retired and Kelly has taken over). We aren’t write-your-own-vows kind of people, but his suggestions and willingness to accommodate wording of our choice was amazing. We even were able to do a Celtic hand fasting ceremony to pay homage to our Scottish and Irish roots.” -N&M

Invitations: “We did our own wedding invites on vistaprint (vistaprint.ca) and they turned out amazing and saved us so much money!!” – N&M

Cake: “We chose not to have a cake since our caterer was providing two delicious dessert options and we really weren’t traditionalist on that idea to begin with.” – N&M

Favours: “Our wedding favours were the photo booth print outs and we also had customized koozies made at T-Town apparel (ttownapparel.com) We really wanted something practical that our guest could enjoy during the wedding and after.” – N&M

Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Moore’s Clothing for Men (mooresclothing.com) “The groomsmen wore lovely grey suits. We chose not to have them wear suit jackets for a more relaxed feel and because it was darn hot! However Mike was required to wear one.” – N

Bridesmaids Attire & Accessories: “My girls got their dresses from David’s Bridal (davidsbridal.ca) and shoes from DSW (dsw.com). I was determined to have specific yellow shoes to go with their grey dresses. Jewelry and hair accessories were their choice.” – N

Brides Attire: “My dress came from Sophie’s Gown Shoppe (sophiesgownshoppe.com) in London and my shoes were from China! I found tango shoes in yellow with a specific wide heel so I wouldn’t sink in the grass and low heel so I wouldn’t tower over my groom! Plus they were so comfy! Jewelry was kept simple with tear drop style earrings I already owned.” – N

DJ: “Our friend Billy Banks was our DJ for the night and he was great! He does most of the local gigs from the area we live.” – N&M

Hair and make-up: Alycat Hair and Make up Artistry (alycat.ca) “They came right to my sisters home the morning of and it was an amazing and relaxed morning.”  – N

Catering: Culinary Catering Services (culinarycatering.ca) “They were great to work with and were so helpful with sticking to our budget and the food was devine! Our guests were very impressed.” – N&M

Photographer: HRM Photography (hrmphotography.com) “Our photographer was a no brainer, we were introduced to Heather from my good friend Jenn who has been working with her since she gave birth to her quadruplets in 2010. That’s right, I said quadruplets!! Jenn actually set up our newborn shoot for me after we had our daughter in 2014. So when Mike popped the question back in 2015 I knew instantly I wanted Heather for our wedding. Heather is amazing to work with. She kept the rowdy groomsmen in line and had a tube of lipstick for me for when touch ups were needed during photos. She makes you feel so comfortable but also relaxed with her humour. I loved every single photo she took that day. Every one is a priceless memory and I had 200% confidence she would capture every important moment that day, I never had to wonder if a requested photo was taken or not. Her work speaks for itself and I couldn’t image anyone else there with us on our big day. My husband even had a last minute request for a truck burn out photo (Yes, he loves his truck. It had to be featured.) and she accommodated that with no questions asked and wouldn’t you know, it’s one of his favourite pictures. We can’t wait to work with her again when our new baby arrives in October!” – N&M

Biggest challenge: “Planning with my fiancé away working in BC and managing our two year old with all the meetings! I pretty much planned the wedding and he showed up and enjoyed it! LOL” -N

Fav wedding memory: “Mine was turning down the aisle and seeing Mike in full tears. In that moment I lost it. So no glowing smiley aisle photos for this girl. It was full on ugly cry the whole way down. A close runner up was sharing our first dance with our daughter. It was a beautiful family moment.” – N

Advice from one bride to another: “My advice to other couples planning is to do it in the same province. If you are planning on your own, hire professionals with loads of experience. They might be costly but they know their stuff and run their specific jobs perfectly so you don’t have to worry at all. If I had a chance to go back and redo anything – I wouldn’t! Even with the minor hiccups, they are part of what made our day so great and memorable.” – N

MORE ABOUT HRM PHOTOGRAPHY | Energy, excitement and fabulous love stories are contagious at award-winning wedding photography studio, HRM Photography (hrmphotography.com) (more details in their review in The Ring, here). To find out more, email HRM Photography directly using the form below. 🙂