My Sister’s Wedding Day.

It was a beautiful Spring day for a Florida Wedding. The sun shining, blue skies above, and the prettiest little barn flooded to the brim with rustic southern charm. It was a day my family, myself and my sister had anticipated for years, and finally it had become reality.

My sister and her fiance had one day gone to look into exploring some local wedding venues (never expecting to find one that very day) but, as fate would have it, they came across the prettiest and quaint southern barn nestled in the heart of the countryside of Lithia, Florida. The Sparrow Barn was everything they had hoped for on their special day, and so…..the date was set.

I’ll admit, I had hoped my sister would ask me to be her maid of honor, but I never imagined shed ask me to be even more emerged into the planning and prepping of her big day, in fact, she had asked me to style/help plan her big day. I was honored and so grateful that she trusted me to help make her visions and dreams on her big day come to life. My little sister is the most selfless, caring, and giving person, I couldn’t wait to shower her with the wedding she deserves. And so, The Planning and Maid of Honor duties began.

It was so important to me to make sure that my sister’s big day was nothing short of perfect. I was in charge of planning the bridal shower (Linked here) bachelorette party & wedding. As an older sister and maid of honor, I of course wanted all three to turn out equally as beautiful, however I’d be lying if I didn’t say that my main priority was most definitely the wedding. I’ll admit, I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to pull off a wedding of 180 guests when I lived on the other side of the state, and had no access to the venue prior to the wedding. I knew this was going to be my biggest challenge yet when it comes to event styling, but I knew I had to find a way to style, and help plan my sister’s wedding, letting her down on one of the most important days of her life was simply just not an option. So, I did what I would hope any older sister would do, I got to work! I quickly found that online decor shopping, amazon reviews, and a good old fashioned mood board were now my new best friends.

My sister and I (along with our other two siblings) grew up in a small country town an hour outside of Tampa, FL. Although I transitioned more into the city life shortly after high school, my sister always remained true to her country roots, and her big Day would be a reflection of just that. A southern wedding overflowing with rustic charm for a beautiful Southern Bride…and my sister made just that, a beautiful southern bride.

The sheer white drapes of the venue and wooden palette provided me with inspiration. The vision for my sisters big day came almost instantly. I knew I wanted to keep it simple, yet elegant by incorporating greenery and an array of white & ivory florals with accents of rustic gold and subtle touches of slate blue to a bright and shabby setting. Although this was my vision, I also knew how expensive greenery and florals are, and because I didn’t want to stress my sister on a day that was meant to be enjoyed and not stressful, I started searching…I searched high and low for the best quality yet affordable faux florals and greenery and I could find. We decided to go with faux because the price of real can really be sky high, and it’s always nice to have the left over greenery and florals for future events. Afloral.com’s beautiful and affordable selection of florals and greenery and amazon prime for some last minute orders were hands down my saving grace. I started planning and prepping months before the wedding, allowing myself time to shop around, compare, and start piecing it all together.

My sister had recently purchased some rustic wooden signs engraved with meaningful quotes that she had fallen in love with to style her home. Some were purchased from a local friend of hers that creates some really beautiful rustic pieces, others were purchased from Etsy. We thought it would be a great Idea to incorporate these into the styling of the wedding giving an added touch of rustic charm. It was the exact personalized detail I needed to make this wedding a true reflection of my sister and her husband and the beautiful life & love they had created.

My sister expressed that she had wanted something to cherish and always remind her of such a special day. She had a great idea of making her guest book a customized wooden plank she could hang in her home to remind her of this beautiful milesone in her life for years to come. It was a great Idea, and although i loved this thoughtful touch, the most important and meaningful detail was remembering her father. My sister’s father (my stepdad) had tragically passed away almost seven years ago. I knew this day was going to be a bit sad as it was beautiful for all of us, especially my sister, knowing that David could not physically be with us. I wanted to incorporate her father into her big day as much as possible. I decided to set up a small table in honor of her father. I also knew that I just had to find a way to have her father there with her to walk her down the isle. I decided to create a small vintage framed photograph of her dad to gift to her the day of her wedding and attach to her bouquet, that way he could be right by her side when his little girl says “
I do”. It was beautiful seeing the happiness in my sister knowing that her Dad was there with her on her special day.

For the ceremony, My sister and I both agreed it should be held in front of the beautiful barn doors of the venue, making for a beautiful rustic backdrop. I brought up how much I loved modern day wedding arches, and how I thought it would be the perfect addition to the ceremony, my sister agreed. After calling the venue and speaking with the sweet owner of this charming barn her husband had built all by hand, she agreed to send me over some images of the arch she could provide us with. It was a pretty arch and probably would have worked just fine, but me being the picky perfectionist that I am preferred a more square acrh stained perfectly to match the backdrop of the barn doors, that way the two different stains would not clash in photos. I asked if it was okay if we provided our own. The owner approved. Once again not wanting to stress my sister over wedding costs, I called my father to see if he was up to the task of building the arch, with no hesitation at all, he said no problem, in fact, he had an even better idea. He and my sisters Hubby-To-Be had decided to build it together and make it something that the newlyweds could use in their yard or garden after the wedding. It was such a great idea, and I love the fact that Kaleigh and Erin now have so many things all around them planted in their home to help always remember their special day.

Much of this wedding was a first for me, Creating and styling my first wedding arch, planning & styling a wedding of 180 guests, working a wedding from across the state, photographing the styling of the wedding, but the most important and beautiful was witnessing my sister walk down the isle with the love of her life and knowing that I was able to help her wishes for her big day come true.

This day will always be near and dear to my heart, and although we fought many challenges on this day (such as wind consistantly trying to demolish my drapery & love bugs galore..haha) It turned out to be a beautiful day filled with lots of love, laughter and most importantly,

the celebration of two families now becoming one.

Bridesmaids Dresses: Sheergirl.com

Faux Florals, Candlesticks, & Greenery; Afloral.com & Amazon.com

Wedding Party Photography: Ashley Phillips Photography

Wedding Styling & Decor Photography By Me.