Tony & Nikki / Rustic Farmhouse Backyard Wedding in Rome, PA

Summer Backyard Navy Wedding - Bridal Party

Two years ago, Tony & Nikki celebrated a very special Mother’s Day.
It was special on two accounts: the first being that they had just found out the day before that they were expecting a baby. They didn’t know it at the time, but that baby was a girl, and she would be born on at the end of January in 2016.

So, as they woke up on Mother’s Day, it was so sweet to have that tiny secret to celebrate over. They were about to enter a new season of life as parents and Nikki was overwhelmed. And not just with love for Tony, but with love for their new little baby.

But, the morning became even more special as Tony decided it was time to pop the question. He had recently talked to Nikki’s Mom about proposing and to seek her help in brainstorming ideas. He knew that Nikki wouldn’t want anything too elaborate or over the top. And the more he thought about it, the more he knew that a sweet, simple, private moment was the way to go.

So, as Mother’s Day dawned and the big news of their new baby was still sinking in, Tony confessed his overwhelming love for Nikki. He explained that he couldn’t imagine doing life with anyone else by his side and he asked her to marry him. I literally cannot imagine how Nikki’s heart didn’t burst in that moment. It must have come super close!

This past Saturday, up on Tony’s Dad’s property, Nikki & Tony hosted a beautiful, rustic, farmhouse themed wedding. They promised their lives to each other in a sanctuary of trees – their guests seated on benches that Tony had built. Their guests enjoyed dinner seated at wooden tables that Tony had also created & built from scratch. And then they literally partied until the generators gave out in an elegant, uplit tent. The entire day was simply stunning from beginning to end!

Nikki & Tony: words cannot express how blessed I was to celebrate your wedding day with y’all! You both are so sweet, so thoughtful, so compassionate, and so much fun – I enjoyed absolutely every single moment. Y’all are the best parents to little Miss Coah & I wish the three of you the happiest life ever!

Summer Backyard Navy Wedding

Saturday started off at Nikki’s parent’s house, in Nikki’s old bedroom. I absolutely love when a bride can get ready in a beautiful, memory-filled, comfortable place – it just makes everything so much more fun!

Summer Backyard Navy Wedding

Not going to lie, I was a little obsessive over Niki’s dress! The buttons, the embroidery, the tulle! It was stunning!

I must admit, Tony surprised me a little bit! He looked a bit different than when we did their engagement pictures just a few weeks ago!

Their ceremony site blew me away. Those benches are all handmade by Tony. And the little alcove of trees that they were married in created the most perfect sanctuary!

Let’s just be honest: Coah completely stole the show!

Check out this bridal party! Seriously, this group was so much fun (as if you couldn’t tell from the first picture in this post!)

So, if their ceremony site blew me away, their reception space blew me away while simultaneously knocking my socks off! It was so perfectly elegant & rustic – Nikki’s details were impeccable! But, I cannot lie: Tony’s handmade tables were the showstoppers. I wanted to steal one & tie it to the top of my car at the end of the night – they were so beautiful!

And then, as if the wedding couldn’t get any better: they served tacos for dinner. Best wedding ever award, right there!!

Thanks to a golf cart & some sneaky timing, we were able to get away really quick for some sunset photos. Check out this sky! You might be thinking: sure, that’s a fake, photoshopped sky, it didn’t actually look like that. But I’m serious: it totally did look this magical!

And then, we moved over a little bit so that Tony & Nikki could actually see their party going on and I gave them a few moments to soak it all in & savor the moment. As they did, the sun continued going down & the moon came out – again, no photoshop required folks! This is actually what it looked like!

I love that more and more couples are making their receptions their own & choosing to create new traditions! The shoe game seems to be really popular this year & it’s always a winner! DJ Bob Powell had some really different & unique questions and it was a highlight of the evening!