Friedman Farms Wedding - Lauren and Sean
Lauren and Sean’s Friedman Farms wedding just happened this past weekend and I’m so excited to share their story.
The email came through on October 7, 2013:
“…Originally, we didn’t think we needed a planner/coordinator.”
Followed by:
“We are getting married on a Sunday, so normally, the wedding couples have the barn the ENTIRE week prior to the wedding, but we will not. We have access Sunday morning, so ideally, I would like someone there to make sure the vendors get there accordingly to set up their areas, and have someone to help assist with additional decor set up, as well as coordinate throughout the entirety of the event.”
Lauren and Sean were tying the knot on May 25, 2014 at Friedman Farms in Dallas, Pennsylvania. Friedman Farms is a wedding venue that has the ever-desired “rustic charm” with beautiful views from just about every angle. Over the past few years, it has easily become one of the most sought-after venues for the DIY-rustic-vintage couple in NEPA.
Typically, couples have the week leading up to their wedding to access the barn and truly make it their own. Having coordinated weddings at Friedman Farms before, we knew the venue. But, because Lauren and Sean would be married on a Sunday, we had approximately 7 hours to do what we’d normally do over the course of 5 or so days. But after last year’s Open Space wedding, we are fearless.
Lauren works in the destination wedding industry so she had no problem securing her vendors including the fabulous Nina Lily Photography, delicious 14Acre Farm, and DJ Cap Cee. Guests were staying at the Woodlands Inn in Wilkes Barre and shuttles from AJ Limo Coach were used to bring them on-site.
Sean was the incredibly cool groom. From the first time I met him, I received the biggest hug. Lauren was the main planner for their wedding, but he remained supportive and continued to insert his ideas whenever necessary (and they were really good ones, at that).
The wedding party consisted of their closest family and friends including one of the cutest, freckle-faced ring bearer I may have ever seen. Kale will be one stellar groom one day to a lucky partner, I can tell you that much.
Lauren and Sean opted to take “First Looks” (photos of the couple together BEFORE the ceremony) which gave them time to really make use of the landscape and enjoy the party after the ceremony. Plus, you don’t get moments like THIS at the altar.
The bride’s sister, Alicia Leayman and friend, Krystle Quiles did the group’s hair and makeup. Alicia works at Apotheca in Bethlehem which is such a killer salon/boutique for anyone looking for a good place to go.
These fields of yellow… GAH!
Jackie from Blooms Floral Boutique provided the flowers. There some of the most beautiful peonies I’ve ever seen mixed with colors of peach, ivory, pinks and dusty greens.
Oh yeah, Friedman Farms is a working barn meaning there are horses all around and underneath the venue. Nina Lily snuck downstairs to capture a few pictures with the couple.
The ceremony was held in the field behind the barn. Cold drinks and lawn games greeted guests as they arrived and the weather could not have been more perfect. Low 80s and sunshine for days.
Lauren’s Mom had the honor of walking her down the aisle to a new favorite song: “She’s Mine” by Brett Dennen
One of the things Lauren really wanted were the bright paper flowers attached to the giant tree behind them for their ceremony. Since we don’t typically do big installations like this (and we had an entire wedding to set up) we couldn’t guarantee it would happen BUT there was basically no way in hell it wasn’t. Thanks to Brittany and Kasee from the DPNAK team, they pinned, sewed and hung those babies to look just how she wanted them to. It was a proud-mama moment for me.
As the sun began to set and couples were enjoying their meals, the couple snuck out for some fun shots around the property. Then everyone danced the night away, enjoyed sweets of all kinds, and almost drank out the entire bar stock.
…and they lived happily ever after.
Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Nolan! It was our pleasure being a part of your day and could not have more honored to be in the company of such fun folks. Cheers!
photos by Nina Lily Photography
Kind words from the couple:
“Danielle and her team were by far the BEST decision my husband & I made during this entire process. I am a wedding planner, specifically in Destination Weddings. From the beginning, I thought I could do it all. Well, that changed pretty quickly. After finding our venue and knowing what our vision was for our special day, I knew I needed help. We both work full time, and because our venue only really provided the space, tables & chairs, we had to coordinate all of our vendors, which is one of the things we wanted, but doing it by ourselves was just not going to happen.
We hired Danielle for “Day of Coordination”, but she was so much more than that. She provided detailed documents and timelines to help in the planning process (LOVE!). Anytime I needed her, she was there! Just a phone call, email, text, etc. away! Her response time is impressive! I thought I was quick :) She didn’t push me in one direction or the other—she really helped guide us to make the best decisions that were right for us, which is truly unique.
Our venue was Friedman Farms in NEPA on a Sunday. Unlike Saturday weddings, who have access to the barn the entire week prior, we only had it the day of. Yikes! Danielle and her rockstar team transformed the venue and grounds in half of day, which should’ve been a week’s worth of work. We were blown away by the detail. They really helped to turn our vision into a reality and it was absolute PERFECTION! Honestly, to my husband & I, our wedding day was flawless and we owe it to Danielle & her team, among our other vendors, but she was the center of it all and we couldn’t be more grateful! If anything did go wrong, we had no idea! BONUS!
To the #DPNAKWED team, we THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for all that you did to help create a day that will go down in the books as the BEST DAY OF OUR LIVES! Our family & friends even RAVED about you!
We heart you!”
