On Saturday, September 18th two New Yorkers were wed at the beautiful Pratt Place Inn and Barn in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Shiloh, a native Arkansan, knew she wanted all of her friends and her fiancee, Jonathan, from the North to fall in love with her home state. And from the energy and atmosphere of a Friday night welcome on Dickson Street, to a Saturday cheering on the Hogs as they pulled a last minute victory on the Georgia Bulldogs, to a truly casually elegant wedding at the Pratt Place Barn, I am pretty sure this bride made it happen.
Shiloh wanted to showcase a true Southern soiree in the details of this wedding. They started with a fabulous location, a charming red barn, in the Pratt Place Barn.
Where do we begin? How about with some of the fun pre-wedding details!
Here is the beautiful bride's bouquet, which was adorned with vintage cameo broaches. The bride also wore a vintage cameo ring.
She gifted these truly rustic tote bags to her bridesmaids, each with their personal monogram stamped on the front. The bride and her girls all donned their cowgirl boots for the reception.
Jonathan, the super stylish groom, had a custom suit made for the big day. It was pretty swanky if you ask me. The striped lining was my favorite part, along with bringing in a vibrant lavendar in the guys' ties & socks to complement their navy jackets and pants. Check out his great boutonniere as well!
While we weren't planning on a sweltering evening in September, we got one! We tucked Shiloh & Jonathan's ceremony into a lush nook on the Pratt Place grounds hoping for gorgeous scenery and a shield from the sun. Look at the sweet setting we found. I love this shot of Shiloh and her dad coming over the crest of the lawn to make her way down the aisle.
The simple square arch was a gorgeous pop of bright white in front of the green backdrop.
Time to celebrate! Here they are as Mr. and Mrs!
After the ceremony the guests were invited to a fun cocktail hour on the lawn of the Barn. We set up lawn games, including Washer Toss, Horseshoes, Bean Bag Toss, and Bocce with cocktail tables at each station for guests to set their drinks while they played a round. On the patio of the barn, we draped bales of hay with navy linens and set up stations for checkers games. These games were played late into the night. I must say, this was a hit, and probably my favorite part of the wedding.
Have I mentioned that this bride LOVES piggies? We served a beer called Pork Slap {thanks to Shiloh's wonderful parents for going out of their way to find this on the East coast} during the cocktail hour just for its fun can. And, it's one heck of a beer according to S&J!
On to the reception details...
Guests were greeted as the Barn doors opened to a fun display of escort cards, with a custom burlap banner reading "PLACE," the couple's last name, hanging above. Each card had the guest's name and their table assignment inside the outline of the Natural State. We displayed these in old barn wood frames and green grass mats.
You may have noticed that the escort cards had famous names on them. Did you know that these are all famous Arkansans? {John Daly, Bill Clinton, and Maya Angelou to name a few.} Shiloh named each table for one of our stellar natives, and provided each table with a quick bio on their host. They were all beautifully displayed in golden frames.
There was no mistaking whose seats these were. The bride and groom each had custom burlap banners for their seats at the head table.
The layout we designed for this room truly showcased the scale of the Barn. We chose two very long banquet tables running parallel to the Barn and a head table that ran across the front of the space. These tables were topped with gorgeous, simple tall arrangements of baby's breath and white larkspur.
The tabletops were filled with mason jars of candlelight and a variety of white and creme garden flowers. The gorgeous {and I mean GORGEOUS} feminine lace linens laid perfectly over the rough burlap to make a great contrast of texture and color. For a fun piece of interest, we chose a tiny gingham print in navy in white for the napkins, and tied them with jute.
The head table even had a few piggies, just for the bride, that we found at a local antique store.
This custom menu was the perfect display for a true Southern meal of barbecue. And of course, another piggie detail!
Shiloh chose her hometown band, Mr.Cabbagehead and the Screaming Radishes, to get (and keep) the dance floor hoppin'.
I'm pretty sure they did just that! This is a shot of the crowd dancing even BEFORE dinner began!
The bride's cake was sweet, simple, and stunning. I had the opportunity to surprise Shiloh and Jonathan with the vintage fireplace mantel display of family wedding photos just behind the cake. They were super excited that this detail came to life!
Shiloh surprised Jonathan with a really great groom's cake. He loved it!
Some Chi Omega sister love...
Now for some Razorback love...
As the guests were leaving we paid one last tribute to the great state of Arkansas in these state-shaped sweets from the bride's hometown bakery of Paul's in Van Buren.
We ended the night with a beautiful sparkler send-off!
Congratulations to Shiloh and Jonathan! It was a treat to be a part of such a fun day with you all, and I appreciate you and your lovely families. THANK YOU to all of the incredible, hard working wedding pros who made this such a tremendous success.
Photography: Benfield Photography (Thanks for all of the gorgeous shots! You can read their blog posts about this wedding here, here, and here!)
Videography: NILO Productions
Location: Pratt Place Barn
Flowers: Jules Design Events
Rentals: Festivities
Catering and Bar: Catering Unlimited
Cakes: Rick's Bakery
Music: Mr.Cabbagehead and the Screaming Radishes
Photo Booth: Vintage Photo Booths
Cookies: Paul's Bakery
Paper Products: Ashley Tucker
Guest Transportation: HETXNA
