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