Today's real wedding couple took on a huge challenge when planning their outdoor celebration. They had some priorities that they just had to have on the day - an owl theme with Star Trek elements and a lot of Irish touches mixed together on a farm in Oklahoma! I admire Hannah and Justin's flair for the extraordinary and you're not going to believe how cute it all turned out! With the help of family and friends (and a few compromises) they both got the day they dreamed of. The talented duo of Jaime and Chase Photography captured all the wonderful details and we get to give you a peek today...
Justin and Hannah met when they were in elementary school together. Their houses were only two miles away from each other, and their families even shared the school runs together! The two were friends in junior high and started dating during their last few years of high school and they've been together ever since!
Hannah and Justin are happy to admit they're a little bit of a geeky couple, so their proposal story suits them perfectly... We both went over to Justin’s apartment to watch an episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, a TV show where 3 guys make fun of poorly made sci-fi films. About ten minutes into the movie the screen suddenly faded to black and George Harrison’s “What is Life” started playing along with a slide show of pictures of us from the past 4 ½ years. Once it ended I turned to Justin and he had his grandmother’s ring in his hand. He asked and I said yes, I was totally surprised!
Hannah's engagement ring and wedding band belonged to Justin's late grandmother. The 'E' pin on her bouquet belonged to her late grandmother, Eilena. They're both beautiful and a really touching way to involve both grandmothers in the celebration!
Hannah looked beautiful in her wedding dress, with lace overlay and embellished belt. She wore her hair down and it suited the dress and babys breathe bouquet perfectly.
Justin's mother is an amazing crocheter, so she whipped up the adorable buttonholes for the bridal party. Aren't they the sweetest?
Since she was a little girl, Hannah wanted to get married in her parent's back yard. Luckily Justin and Hannah's parents were on board too...They own a farmhouse in rural Oklahoma, with about 2 acres of land covered in woods and gardens. When my parents heard that we wanted to have the wedding at the house they were so excited and so amazing when it came to bringing everything together!
Venue decided, the two went about figuring out how to combine their interests into simple decor with the backyard providing natural beauty. Hannah wanted to include her love of Ireland and owls, and Justin wanted to include his love of Star Trek - A seriously tall order to fill!
Hannah's great grandparents are from County Clare, and she fell in love with the country on one of her many visits. Her birthday is on St. Patrick's Day, so Hannah chose green as the wedding colour. For the reception dinner, the couple hired a traditional Irish band to perform and Hannah's Dad broke out Irish flags and Guinness, and the couple served baked potatoes for dinner!
When it came to Justin's love of Star Trek, there was a little more compromise...One of Justin’s favorite things is Star Trek and I knew he’d like to include his favorite show or film in our wedding. Since I wasn’t prepared to do a costume wedding, we decided to add some subtle details for him! Jason (the best man) and Justin had blue and gold ties the colors of their favorite characters, Kirk and Spock, while my Mom created a sign with a Spock quote about friendship!
The ceremony took place under a tree that was planted by Hannah's late grandfather. The two also decided to forego a unity ceremony in favour of planting a tree with soil from both their parent's yards. They carried the tree theme through to their guest book, where they had guests sign their names with a blessing, memory or advice that were hung like ornaments on two display trees. Such a lovely idea!
The couple's friend put together the gorgeous ribbon archway for the ceremony and it looked so romantic flapping in the breeze!
Those confetti cones worked a treat...
Hannah's family home leant itself beautifully to the outdoor ceremony and the couple and their bridal party were able to take some gorgeous photographs in the surrounding land.
We see Guinness!
Hannah and her Mum were DIY queens by the end of the wedding preparations. Hannah illustrated the sweet invitations with little owl versions of the couple, while her Mum hand painted all the wedding signs dotted around the farm to lead guests in the right direction.
When it came to the reception decor, Hannah and Justin carried on the owl theme placing golden owl statues on the tables and surrounding spaces. They then used babys breathe, turquoise and glass vases and antique books as table centerpieces.
The couple shared their favourite sweets and treats with their guests as their desert table.
Hannah and Justin really enjoyed the few moments they were able to spend alone on their wedding day... Our advice for anyone planning a wedding is to set aside time on the big day for the two of you to be alone together. There were several moments throughout the day that it was just us and the photographers at a distance and it really gave us time to soak up the moment and focus on each other. This allowed us to really talk it up and enjoy being with friends and family the rest of the night.
Justin and Hannah are planning a belated honeymoon trip to Ireland in 2015! Congratulations to the happy couple, and huge thanks to Jaime and Chase Photography for sharing their work with us at One Fab Day! To see more of Jaime and Chase Photography's work pop over to www.jaimeandchase.com/blog
The Wedding Details
- Ceremony & reception: Waukomis, Oklahoma.
- Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal
- Photography: Jaime and Chase Photography
- Bridesmaids dresses: Modcloth
- Shoes: J Crew
- Flowers: Enid Floral
- Groomsmen suits: Jos A Bank
- Stationery: Hannah Tuohy Design
- Wedding Bands: Heirloom and JCPenny
- Rehearsal Dinner Band: Kilkenny Road
