Kylene and Chris love the outdoors.  In fact Chris proposed to her on their annual Thanksgiving camping trip.  When they were planning their wedding Kylene said it was important to them to have a laid back event that reflected their love of nature.  Once they found their venue the ideas started flowing.  Their day included tons of DIY projects that both Kylene, Christ, and their family and friends all participated in creating.  Some of my favorite details are the heart shaped bird seed favors, and the embroidered hoops that Kylene’s mother created.  Everything flows so well together, and these two created an event that was uniquely their own.  A big thank you to Kylene for the details about the day, and to Amy Straka for the lovely images.

Who, What, Where~  Reception and Ceremony: Millcreek Barns.  Photographer: Amy Straka Photography.  Florist: Springar Farms.  Stationary: Nathan Johnson.  Caterer: Maison Cuisine.

Even more loveliness…

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From the bride…

Chris and I met at a Detroit Tigers baseball game.  We were both there with different groups and randomly sat next to each other.  We started chatting and didn’t stop, even when the game got called because of rain.  It was a pretty immediate, meant to be relationship. 

We started a Thanksgiving tradition our first year of dating to use the long weekend to drive from Michigan to Tennessee, camp in the Smoky Mountains, and hike.  We dated for a little over two years when we returned to the Smoky Mountains for our annual trip.  The first night down, Thanksgiving night, we attempted to watch a sunset at Clingman’s Dome but instead arrived to a freezing snow storm.  The next day we tried going back up to watch the sunset but the road was closed.  We settled for another beautiful view of Newfound Gap.  Chris was experimenting with our new tripod that he insisted on getting prior to our trip, while I was enjoying the views of the Smoky Mountains at dusk.  When he came to pose for a picture with me, he got down on one knee.

To keep cost to a minimum, we did a lot of the grunt work ourselves (and pawned it off on our awesome friends and family).  Our best man helped to design and print all of our stationary.  My mom made the embroidery hoop heart that hung by the escort cards.  A good friend and the art teacher at my school painted the boards and all of our signage (road signs, water, tea, refresh, etc).

 My engagement ring is my late grandmothers.  I had inherited it when she passed away.  Chris found out without me knowing and got it from my mom.  He kept the setting the same, which I love, and got it polished up.  I didn’t believe him when he told me it was hers because it looked so new and I remember it so worn.  It was also her pearl necklace that I wore

Favorite moments of the day:

Chris:  The quick moment the two of us stepped outside during the reception to capture the night.  It was fun to look around, with my new wife, and see all of our closest friends and family celebrating our marriage.

Kylene:  Our ceremony.  A good friend married us and she made the ceremony personal and perfect.  It was humbling to have so many people surround us to share in our vows to each other.  It was exciting to finally make those vows to Chris “official”.  Of course everything before and after was fun too but the ceremony meant the most to me!