Soft Shades of Blue and Orange Filled at This Rustic Wedding at County Line Orchard in Hobart, Indiana

Lilly and Raymond's wedding at Country Line Orchard in Hobart, Indiana, was a cheerful explosion of flowers and colors. Soft shades of pink, orange, blue and green delighted the eye at every turn as the couple said "I do" after eight years together. "I'm a city girl who loves rustic decor," says Lilly. "When I told my now-husband I wanted a barn wedding it took some convincing. Once we saw County Line Orchard we knew we had found our barn! It was rustic and cozy while still having all the amenities like air conditioning! We set our date for July 4th, 2020. We were excited to have our wedding on July 4th and have a celebration with fireworks! We, unfortunately, had to postpone our barn wedding because of COVID-19. We still wanted to get married, so we got married on July 3rd, 2020, at a park near the house I grew up in. It was a small celebration but we loved it. We wanted our guests to still be excited about our postponed barn wedding so we gifted apple cider donuts from County Line Orchard to give everyone a little taste of what was to come. And then, on July 3rd,2021, our year anniversary, we finally had our barn wedding! My uncle who married us the year before also performed our vow renewal. He was able to keep our ceremony very personal and at the same time still very spiritual." 

Lilly explains that she envisioned a rustic-chic aesthetic for the big day. "Our ceremony had an arch made from wood sticks and a beautiful flower arrangement. We put buckets of baby's breath down the aisle. There was also a weathered lemonade stand for guest to help themselves. I created a program for the ceremony and put them on sticks so guests could use them as fans. It was hot out and I wanted my guest to stay hydrated and cool," says Lilly. "For the reception, I had everyone's names on paper hearts and clothes pined the hearts to shutters my mom and aunt made. They put wood stands on the back of the shutter and added chicken wire to the back to make it easier to pin the names on. We used the same shutters for our remembrance pictures. The table centerpieces had wood rounds with two small glass vases and candles. At the bars, I made chalkboards with remembrance drinks. For the remembrance drinks, I wrote down the name of the person who had passed away and their favorite drink. Our guest were able to order drinks in honor of our loved ones." 

The music and dancing at the wedding reception was an especially memorable part of the celebration for the couple. "The most anticipated moments for me were when our wedding party made their entrance and the dances with my parents," recalls Lilly. "Picking a song for the wedding party to walk into was so difficult. We finally picked the song "24K Magic," by Bruno Mars. They walked in all together once the beat dropped and brought out their best dance moves. And then I shared a first dance with my mom as it was important to me that my mom was included. We danced to "Lilly Belle," by Frank Sinatra, a song she sang to me growing up. Raymond's mom was unable to be at the wedding so he danced with my mom. This was also a very special moment. The grand finale was the dance I had with my dad. Our DJ mixed three Beatles' songs together. We didn't do a traditional slow dance. It was fun and entertaining. In the last song, "Twist and Shout," we asked all our guests to get on the dance floor with us to get the party started!"

Looking back on their garden wedding at County Line Orchard in Hobart, Indiana, Lilly and Raymond encourage current to-be-weds in the midst of wedding planning to always remember that "your wedding is about you and your spouse and the love you share. In a perfect world, we would all have the best Pinterest wedding ever, but that's not real life. Everything works out, don't sweat it! When COVID-19 hit I thought our wedding was ruined. Then we opened our eyes and realized how lucky we were to have this opportunity. With so much going on in the world, I'm happy we got our day to put all the craziness to the side and enjoy time with our loved ones. We are so blessed!"