Andy & Brian’s Laid-Back, Vintage-Style Wedding at Lakewood Farms

Andy (short for Andrealyn) from San Francisco and Brian from Chicago met via their mutual friend Chris in August of 2012. Several months later, at Chris’ wedding, the two met again and went on their first date the very next day. In June of 2016, Brian asked for Andy’s hand in marriage on the eighth hole during a round of golf — one of their favorite pastimes. “The proposal was a hole in one,” she says.

The couple planned a wedding ceremony and reception at Lakewood Farms. “We wanted a single location that was beautiful, but not too uptight,” Andy says. “My family guest list was only 18 people, and I’d always wanted a simple backyard wedding. But Brian wanted a good party that his family guest list of 180 could stay at all night and dance til the sun came up!” Lakewood Farms was a perfect match.

For their wedding style, Andy says: “We wanted something that felt like it could have been 100 years ago: Long tables, family-style seating, lots of flowers, mismatched china, lace and burlap, hanging lights overhead, and a dance floor like a barn raising in the center of it all. We used green as the primary color with touches of black, white, kraft paper, and neutral fibers to keep the décor simple and make the party the focus.”

On the day of the wedding, guests arrived at 3pm and were greeted by lively music and invited to grab a cocktail before choosing their own seat for both the ceremony and reception. “The tables were set up in long rows with the dance floor at the center, with large oaks strung with lights overhead and an expansive view from the top of a grassy hill. We tried a lot of floor plans, and we loved the overall layout and flow in the end. Keeping the tables long and family style, with no assigned seats, and having everyone stay in the same place for the ceremony and reception — it allowed for easy transitions and kept everyone together the whole time.”

Andy and Brian’s brother-in-law officiated the ceremony, and the bridal party walked in to the sounds of a lone bagpiper playing a theme from “Braveheart” — a surprise gift from Andy to Brian. When asked “Who gives this bride?”, Andy’s family responded in unison, “We do!” Rings were exchanged, a glass was smashed to honor Brian’s mother’s Jewish heritage, and the newlyweds exited to the tune of “Scotland the Brave.”

Then everyone grabbed another drink or topped off their glasses with the small bottles of Prosecco stationed along each table. Brian and Andy sat at a private table, allowing their bridal party to sit at the long tables — which seated 24 — with their respective dates and families. For drinks, the couple stocked the bar and offered two oversized mason jar dispensers filled with signature drinks: bourbon apricot iced tea and whiskey apple cider.

For dinner, Andy and Brian purchased a whole pig for roasting, then made the rest of the food themselves. “Cooking is a major way for me to show my love,” Andy says. In addition to the pork, there was roast chicken, brown rice and quinoa pasta salad with homemade pesto, savory pie with mozzarella, zucchini, and tomatoes, and more. In addition to a naked cake for dessert, Andy made gluten-free peach upside-down cake and blueberry pie. Later that night: apple cinnamon donuts.

In addition to making the food, Andy and Brian tackled a bunch of DIY projects to make their day unique. They made the tabletop arrangements, garlands, signage, music playlist, and bagged mints as a party favor. Andy says she actually would have dialed back on some of the décor, if she could do it all over again. “We planned everything ourselves and did a lot of DIY projects, but the one thing I wish we hadn’t tried to DIY was to manage the day ourselves with only the wedding party and family. We didn’t need a wedding planner, but we did need a day-of coordinator.”

Following dinner, there was dancing. One of Andy’s favorite moments was Brian’s mother-son dance: “Brian’s mom passed away when he was young, so we decided to ask all the women who’d loved him like a son to join him for the mother-son dance. So many women came up that we had to play the song twice. It was beautiful.” Brian’s favorite part of the wedding was also the dancing — all of it! “When I was a kid, I was notorious for asking every lady at a wedding to dance — young and old,” Brian says. “I’d dance to every song at a wedding if I could. It was important to me that the party didn’t have a hard stop and that people could keep dancing if they wanted to. It was so awesome to finally get to dance at my own wedding with a wonderful woman who’s excited to be dancing with me for the rest of her life.”

[table]
Invitations~Carla Hill
Rehearsal Dinner~Lakewood Farms – Food delivered by Double D’s
Ceremony & Reception~Lakewood Farms
Cake~Gooseberries Fresh Food Market
Flowers~Ordered bulk from Floral Explosion and Costco
Golf Cart Rental~Above Par Golf Cars, LLC
Photographer/Videographer~Bright Image Studio
Formalwear~Men’s Wearhouse
Rings~Arman Jewelers
Vintage Plate Rental~All Star Rentals
Rentals~ Area Rental & Sales
Flower Donation~Petals for Patients
[/table]

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave