melanie & adam's rustic country wedding | wisconsin wedding photographer

There are moments in life that you experience, and sometimes you can never find the right words to describe it.  This wedding is one of those times in my life.  I counted down the days for Melanie & Adam's wedding day and when it came, it was more meaningful and more heartfelt than I could have ever imagined... Melanie & Adam are one of the most sincere and kind-hearted couples that I have had the privilege of meeting and the fortune of photographing.  Their engagement session (featured here on A Northwoods Wedding) is one of my favorite's to date.  The love that Melanie & Adam have for one another and their faith and spirituality is so inspiring and so refreshing.  I absolutely loved spending their wedding day with them and witnessing their love and interaction with their family & friends - it was truly incredible.

Melanie & Adam, thank you so much for letting me document this special time in your life, and allowing me to capture it through my lens. From the start, you had felt that God had brought us together, and I could not feel more blessed that our paths on this earth have crossed... It was truly an honor to be a part of your amazing day and I wish you many blessings as you start your new journey together... I hope the preview of images below tells the story of just how incredible your wedding day was...

{A very, very special thank you to my amazing sister and assistant for the day, Melissa!  I appreciate you more than you will ever know!!!! Love you!}

XO, Rachel

p.s. See more of Melanie & Adam's wedding day, featured on A Northwoods Wedding here.

From the Bride:
Adam and I got engaged a little over a year after we first started dating.  Although I had never been one of those girls that had every detail of my wedding day planned out years in advance, it was always a dream of mine to someday have an outdoor wedding and preferably with a barn.  My dream came true when we found our perfect venue:  Bright Lake Farm (owned by Kathy & John Marty).  It had the natural charm we were looking for and was so picturesque!  It had a large groomed field to fit our almost 300 guests, a quaint red restored barn to hold the guests for the reception, and the Marty's opened their cute doll-house looking home for the bridal party to get ready in.  The property even had a bonfire pit so guests who weren't inclined to dance could gather round and roast s’mores.

With the help of so many family and friends, inspiration from Pinterest, and the creativity, heart, and effort of the Marty's, we began to construct a DIY wedding.  Both Adam & I are pretty down to earth so we knew we wanted our day to feel relaxed and we wanted to include memories from our years growing up, as well as honor both sets of our grandparents through photos and memorabilia.  We love summer time, lawn games, and hosting dinner parties, so we thought that replicating that casual setting on a larger scale would be the perfect way to celebrate with our friends and family.  

The overall theme of the wedding became known as "rustic elegant" and we began collecting vintage odds n’ ends, anything from lace to mason jars.  For the colors, I knew I wanted the bridesmaid dresses to be various shades of teal and blue, with punches of bright cheery sunflower yellow for their shoes and in their bouquets, so that set the stage for the rest of the wedding accents.  A good friend of my mom's did all the bouquets and centerpieces, and my green thumb aunt brought beautiful pots of flowers and plants to stage around the property and inside the barn.  And John and Kathy at Bright Lake Farm poured so much of their heart into our big day - they couldn't have been more invested if they were our own family, and when it was all said and done they felt like family:)  Kathy was so attentive to every detail, and having a background in design, she added so many creative touches of her own, and the punctuation to my vision.

We chose Famous Dave’s BBQ for the reception and we couldn’t have been more pleased with their service and fabulous food!  And for dessert, my cousins made a variety of different items – even gluten free and vegan desserts, and everything ended up so fun, colorful and amazing!  Drinks included lemonade and a fun root beer keg.  And for our dance, we chose Toby Robinson with Pro Sound Entertainment and we could not have been happier!

We feel very blessed to have had lots of help and support from good friends and family members in order to make our day so special.  So many went above and beyond with lots of personal touches!  We wanted to have a unique, relaxed day, and our “down-home affair” came together better than we could have ever imagined!  It was full of emotion, lots of laughter, catching up with friends and family, and a spirit of thankfulness for all that God has done in our lives!!!

Melanie had her grandmother's wedding dress on display... such a beautiful and touching tribute... 

   

I just love this color combination!

The weather could not have been more beautiful - a perfect 72 degree day.  And the farmhouse where everyone got ready was so lovely!  I loved every detail in every room!

A light lunch was served as the bridal party got ready...

Even though the guys and gals were getting ready in the same house, Melanie & Adam did not see each other prior to their first look :) 

The guys were downstairs...

The gals were upstairs...

Melanie & Adam's first look...

A special blessing over the bride before the start of the ceremony....  

The barn was beautifully lit and so enchanting... 

And the dessert table was AMAZING!!!

After dessert, Melanie & Adam snuck out with me so that we could take some shots in the setting sun...  The light was so magical!  

We then ventured over to a nearby open field... 

Congratulations Melanie & Adam!  Wishing you every happiness in the world!  I can't wait to hear about all the amazing things you two accomplish together!