The beautiful Mr. & Mrs. Partridge celebrated their spring wedding at Rolling Meadows Ranch in Lebanon, Ohio on April 1, 2017. You may remember Kristen and Corey from their engagement session blog post, where they shared their cute stories about how they met and fell head over heels for one another.
Kristen and Corey chose an awesome new wedding venue, Rolling Meadows Ranch, which has a great rustic vibe. It lends plenty of character and country charm to the ambiance of any celebration that takes place there. So, if you’re in the Cincinnati area, but want to escape the city vibe, opting for a more country feel, Rolling Meadows Ranch might be a great option. The property photographs like a dream as well! It definitely spoke to Kristen and Corey’s hearts, and further enhanced the rustic-chic vibe that they were going for. Kristen even ended up wearing her cowgirl boots with her bridal gown. She originally had a cute pair of bejeweled wedding sandals picked out to wear, but the boots won out in the end, and I think she made the right choice, especially since we did a lot of walking around. We walked on rocks, dirt roads, wet grass, and I didn’t hear a single peep out of Kristen about her feet being sore, as you would imagine they would have been had she worn heels. Nothing against wearing some gorgeous heels, personally, I always recommend a second set of shoes to wear if you plan on rocking out some amazingly flashy high heels. I love a good shoe as much as the next gal, but comfort MUST be considered, as you don’t want to be in pain on your wedding day. So, always be sure to have a secondary pair of shoes on hand, if the flashy ones are starting to wear you more than you wear them.
The day began bright and early with hair and make-up for the girls in the bridal suite at Rolling Meadows Ranch. The very talented Alexis Neuhausser led the glam squad for making sure the ladies looked absolutely flawless. It was a little crowded with 5 bridesmaids and Mom though, so I opted to do many of the detail shots outside, which I absolutely loved. It definitely let me be creative and play around with some of the fun items the ranch offers, like the wooden rocking chairs, and wine barrels.
While I was with the girls, my second shooter was with the guys, who opted to get ready in a suite at The Cincinnati Marriott Northeast in Mason, Ohio.
I put together a custom wedding day timeline for Kristen and Corey that really helped keep us on track and keep the day flowing smoothly. Of course, I always let my couples know that we can’t micro-manage a wedding day down the the exact minute, but having a structured plan and schedule will help eliminate a lot of stress and worry. I always pad in extra cushion time into my timelines as well to allow for all of the inevitable setbacks that no doubt will manifest themselves the day of the wedding.
Kristen and Corey absolutely did not want to do a first-look, and I completely respect that, so I made sure to structure their timeline accordingly. We were able to get all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen portraits done before the ceremony, along with many of the family portraits, so that we could spend more time doing couples portraits and full bridal party portraits following the ceremony. Kristen shares a really close bond with both of her parents, so it was a no-brainer for Kristen to want to have a special father’s reveal of her in her dress to her dad. It was so sweet. She wrote him a beautiful letter that he read beforehand, and he helped fasten a gorgeous bracelet that he gifted her with the day before. It was so heartfelt and special.
The ceremony itself was so bomb. I loved how Kristen and Corey incorporated their own personal vows into the ceremony. I can’t wait to see this on the video we filmed for them as well. They made sure to include Corey’s son, Cooper, into the ceremony, and I’m not going to give away too much, but the guests were laughing so hard, they were wiping the tears from their eyes. Kristen cried, Corey cried, the parents cried, it was just an all-around awesome ceremony, with a really awesome hot-iron branding of the couple’s names and date into a wooden plaque at the end.
Now on to the food. Oh My Goodness Gracious. The food was on point! Truly, how could you serve anything but BBQ at a barn wedding, right? So, Kristen and Corey went with the insanely delicious Hammann’s Catering to pimp out their BBQ buffet. My mouth is starting to water just thinking about how delicious the food was. I actually texted Kristen for their info about a week ago because I have been dreaming about their mouth-watering green beans ever since the wedding day. I called up Beth from Hammann’s Catering, and although she didn’t exactly just outright give me the recipe, she did steer me in the right direction for making up some of my own green beans. Can’t say that they were as amazing, but they came pretty close!
The reception was lively and fun, and we really enjoyed working with Ryan from DJ Butlers. He kept the party bumping, and was really good at communicating with all of the vendors, which is crucial to a happy flow of events during the reception!
We had a fabulous time with Kristen and Corey! They welcomed us into their hearts, their stories, and have made us feel like family! We love them so much, and couldn’t be happier and feel more blessed to have been a part of their special day! I feel like I developed such a beautiful relationship with Kristen and her mom, Kim. They were both so awesome during the planning and coordination process that I have with my clients, and they were extra kind and understanding when my mom passed away! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for entrusting us with capturing your memories and trusting us to guide you along the way. Choosing the right photographer and videographer for your wedding is a very personal and important decision, one that could make or break your wedding day experience and memories. I truly hope your experience with us was just as amazing as our experience with you!
With love and hugs from We Are A Story,
Suzi
Beautiful wedding!!