A Charming, Rustic Wedding at West Overton Barn in Scottsdale, Pennsylvania

When April (23 and a substitute teacher) and Matt (23 and a graphic designer) met in middle school concert band -- he played in the percussion section and she played the clarinet -- they probably didn’t know they’d be spending the rest of their lives together. The couple started dating in high school, and finally became engaged one evening while on vacation in Ocean City, Maryland. Then it was time to pick the venue. “We wanted to have a natural, summer background,” April says, so their ceremony location, Charter Oak Church, fit perfectly with their ideal. ?(The deck of the church overlooks the Laurel Mountains.) Choosing the reception venue, West Overton Barn, was easy. “The moment we looked at it, we completely fell in love and booked it right then and there.” The couple made many of the accents for the wedding: the wooden disks that the cookie platter and centerpieces were placed on were cut by Matt with wood that had fallen in April’s Cook Forest farm. What was the most special and treasured detail of the day? “Matt’s mother helped us make a memory tree to display at the reception,” April says. “The tree included pictures of our loved ones that have passed away. It was a really special display for both sides of the family.” This, too, was made from a real wood branch and painted with burlap leaves. The collaborative effort truly made Matt and April’s wedding one of a kind.