A Dairy Farm Wedding in North Carolina

This wedding came to me by way of Facebook. That's right. It happens to be a friend's wedding. A real friend--not just a virtual one--and I adore it. The jewel tones, the rustic, rural setting, and the flowers. Oh, the flowers. Plus, it has a unique setting--a dairy farm, The Inn at Celebrity Dairy in Chatham County, North Carolina.

The bride, Emily, is a travel writer with her hand in the Lonely Planet guide books. So much of the wedding was done by her and her husband, who are apparently incredibly talented because it looks damn-near professional. It was all captured by Michael Moss.

So, let's get right to it.

Emily and her friend made the paper bunting to string from the porch.

Emily and Jamin had a candy bar with treats from all of the places the couple has visited together including France, New Zealand, Thailand, Australia, Laos and Cambodia, and Canada.

Their DIY flowers are such an inspiration to try and, well, do it yourself. Emily had a box of dahlias shipped in from Swan Island Dahlias in Oregon and brought the rest in from a local farmers' market vendor. The rest being zinnias, lemon basil, eucalyptus, and globe amaranth from Perry-winkle Farm.

Jamin's homemade and home-labeled "Goat and Pig Hot Sauce"

If there's one thing I know about Emily, it's that she's a major foodie. She tried to drag me to a rural green chile festival in New Mexico some 400 miles away. But, that also means her wedding guests ate well.

The bride on their food:

Classic North Carolina pig pickin' with a modern twist--heirloom pig, from Cane Creek Farm in Saxapahaw, NC. It was cooked by a local pitmaster along with a bunch of locally-raised chickens. The sides--mac n' cheese, NC slaw, green beans with pine nuts, three-color potato salad, cornbread, and watermelon--were from Celebrity Dairy. Appetizers included Celebrity Dairy's own goat cheese served with crudites and North Carolina red pepper jelly. Dessert was a variety of pies from the amazing Scratch bakery in Durham. For drinks, we had colorful watermelon, cantaloupe, and lemonade aguas frescas (Mexican juice drinks) from a local taqueria, plus kegs of local beer from Carolina Brewery in Chapel Hill, and wine from Trader Joe's.

Instead of buying small chalkboards, Jamin spray painted pieces of plywood with blackboard paint and then put them in thrift store frames.

Vendor Guide

Venue: The Inn at Celebrity Dairy, Chatham County, NC // Bride's Dress: Nicole Miller // Bride's shoes: Ariat cowboy boots from Nashville's Boot Barn // Bride's Hair: Amy from Syd's Hair Shop, Chapel Hill, NC // Flowers: DIY, bought from Swan Island Dahlias and Perry-winkle Farm // Groom's attire: J. Crew seersucker suit and Calvin Klein shoes // Food: Cane Creek Farm and Celebrity Dairy // Dessert: Scratch bakery //Beer: Carolina Brewery // Photographer: Michael Moss

Inspired

We spent the last week in the pastoral landscape of Upstate New York to see my husband's family for Thanksgiving. One of our favorite things to do in the Finger Lakes region is, simply, drive around. There's nothing better than a gorgeous, historic barn next to a lolling weeping willow with a pond, a silo, and grass that reaches in all directions.

As a born-and-bred city girl, this bucolic image renders feelings of a simpler life, filled with beautiful antiques and barefoot children in cotton dresses (or shirts, as it may be).

As I mentioned before, my husband and I dream of building a barn home. And after our trip, I'm finding it impossible to do anything except for sketch the layout, sift through images online, and picture our adorable homestead.

So, I thought I'd share my recently-found inspiration here to give you a better idea of what we want to do. There's just too much eye candy out there.

Greenwich Barn from Heritage Barns

I love the barn above for its windowed room. While the one above is used as a sitting room, we plan to have a room like this off our kitchen to be used as a greenhouse.

Grovernors Corners Barn from Heritage Barns

My favorite look is what you see above: white walls with barnwood accents, made modern by polished concrete floors. This flooring option is ideal: we can put radiant heat under it, it's easy to clean, and is also more affordable than, say, wood floors for a new house.

Hops Barn from Heritage Barns

The window is just drool-worthy. But wait until you see the surprise inside:

A windmill ceiling fan. Genius! I love the re-use of this farm element.

From a Southern Living 2009 Barn House

I can't say that I necessarily want kids bunks like this--inspired by train sleeping cars--but I want our house to have inventive, creative functional spaces. A climbing wall for the kids, perhaps? Or toy-storing window seat benches? Or...?

A Colonial Barn renovation

This is a must have in our house. So far we want it in our living room, in my office and in my husband's painting studio. Which room's going to win?

Kipp Barn by Heritage Barns

A stone attachment (smaller than the one above) to a wooden barn would round out the textures we're looking for. Plus, it adds a bit of English country cottage to what will be an otherwise fairly modern structure.

Would you live in a renovated barn structure?

Gilt Groupe's Wedding Shop

One of my favorite websites, Gilt Groupe, a place to buy designer duds, modern home decor, and luxurious vacations at deep discounts, is currently selling wedding-related items in their wedding shop through Sunday, October 24th. This means everything from your dress, your jewelry, your honeymoon, and even your beautifying treatments could cost you way less than the retail price.

The catch: Gilt.com is a member's-only site and you have to be invited to join. If you'd like an invite, feel free to e-mail me at barnwoodandbirch@gmail.com.

In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite items (that aren't sold out yet!) from their bridal shop:

From the "Fine Jewelry" Sale

From the "Fine Jewelry" Sale

From the "Runway Bride" Sale

From the Bridesmaids: "Black and Ivory" Sale

From the "Head to Toe: Shoes, Clutches and More" Sale

From the "Costume Jems" Sale

From the "Flower Girls" Sale

From the Bridesmaids: "Reds and Pinks" Sale

From the Bridesmaids: "Black and Ivory" Sale

From the "Runway Bride" Sale

From the Bridesmaids: "Greens and Blues" Sale

Which items do you like?

A Barnwood & Birch Wedding: Kyle and Julie

I have a special treat for all of you today. Back in August, an adorable couple, Julie and Kyle, made their way to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to get married. I coordinated the wedding and, today, it was featured on Style Me Pretty. The bride (and groom) have amazing style and working with them was a walk in the park. Julie and I were on the same design wavelength the entire planning process and I was thrilled to be a part of this unique and gorgeous wedding. So, without further ado, I present to you the first official Barnwood & Birch wedding.

The bride collected antique, amber-glass apothecary bottles and jars to hold succulents and flowers.

The ceremony rug was an adorable way to make the ceremony space their own. Plus, they can use this rug in their home afterward (and smile every time they see it).

The Buckeye Seeds came from Julie's grandmother's backyard. According to Julie's grandmother, the seeds mean "good luck" in Native American tradition.

Various pictures of both sets of grandparents graced the table settings.

The mugs, from Anthropologie, had the couples' initials "J", "K", and "H".

For more gorgeous photos from Julie and Kyle's wedding, head to Barnwood & Birch's portfolio page: here.

Vendor Guide:

Venue: Encantado Resort, Santa Fe, NM // Bride's Dress: Priscilla of Boston // Photographer: Jesse Leake // Flowers: Andrea Soorikian // Paper Goods: Suann Song of Simple Song Design // Menswear: Brooks Brothers