Apple Orchard Wedding: A Casual Celebration by the Pond’s Edge

When you have access to a beautiful pondside apple orchard why wouldn't you get married there? Liesl and Blake's simply casual wedding beautifully wove together her childhood memories with a subtle apple theme. Ashley West Photography captured the love and laughter of the day perfectly! Don't miss out, click here to visit the full gallery.

About the family owned venue

We chose to get married on my family’s beautiful property, Varian Orchards. On it sits the house where my mom grew up, where my grandma has lived for seventy years, and the barn where my grandpa pressed fresh apple cider. I have so many childhood memories, running around the property, grabbing an apple as I whizzed passed a crate full of them, and continuing on down the hill to jump in the lake.

We started the ceremony a few minutes early. This worked in our favor, because just as our officiant Lee was wrapping up his final comments on our new marriage, here comes the rain. Though I would have preferred the rain to not happen at all, the perfect timing added character to our day.

About the Wedding Planner

I met my rockstar of a wedding planner Maria, of Elegant Events by Maria, on a total whim. I happened to see an ad she had posted in an Akron/Canton wedding magazine, and I called her to see if she could meet up later that day. We weren’t entirely sure yet if we wanted to use a wedding planner, but the second she bid farewell to us after our first meeting, it was a complete no-brainer.

I was able to have the tented wedding I had been dreaming of at a very meaningful place. In keeping with the apple orchard vibe, our food tables were planks of wood laid across apple barrels. To add a personal touch, our favors were jars of apple butter, homemade by my Grandma Ginny!

About the Flowers

The centerpieces, bouquets, boutonnieres, etc. were everything I love. They were soft and interesting, eclectic and elegant. I adored every bit of the details Lori of Reilly's Originals put into our day. (She even added fresh flowers to the cake for us!)

I am SO happy we did lanterns! It was beautiful and such a fun way to end the night, with an intimate group of friends and family who were still there.

Honestly, my best snippet of advice for future brides is to go with your gut when making decisions. I over-thought some things that cost me way more effort and frustration than they were worth. For example, I tried to decide on our favors for almost 2 whole months. I was all over Pinterest and wedding magazines trying to think of cute, unique, affordable ideas. My bridesmaids were helping me look up ideas as well. Eventually, I had a running list going, but nothing felt quite right. But then the best idea was the most obvious one (and the first one I thought of): having my grandma make apple butter! And the sweet lady worked hours and hours to make huge batches, put them in the stout little jars, and seal them. Gram put in even more time when she added the labels and ribbon. This was by far the most personal, cozy, meaningful little favor that was mentioned. It would have saved me so much time to just go with my first instinct!
Also HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER - they will help you get the most bang for your buck, help you make good decisions for budgeting, and relieve ALL the stress of your wedding day. Because we had Maria, I did not experience an ounce of stress on my wedding day - I knew she had all the details under control. She had a plan B, C, D, E, F, & G for anything and everything.
Finally - do not consider rain to be the worst thing that could happen on your wedding day. Actually, don't even THINK about what could go wrong during your wedding. Even if something goofs up, it will be just fine, I promise.
My strap broke right before Blake & I made our big entrance into the tent for our reception - and it was dangling for the toasts and the cake cutting. But you know what? It is a quirk of our wedding day - it gives our day character - and I love that about it.
I'd be happy to show some percentages in order to show how much of the total budget was invested into the wedding! This is most, but not all of it.
Rentals (tent, chairs, tables, etc.) - 26.8%
Catering - 14.9%
Flowers & Decor - 14.2%
Photo & Video - 11.8%
Dress, Jewelry, & Accessories - 8%
Stationery - 6%
Wedding Planner - 5%
Ceremony Music & DJ - 4.7%
Cake - 1.7%

• Cake: Checkerboard Cheesecake
• Caterer: Waterloo Catering
• Cinematography: Mike Jones
• Coordinator: Elegant Events by Maria
• Flowers: Reilly's Originals
• Makeup: Tim Wilkins
• Photography: Ashley West Photography
• Stationery: Pink Tomato Press
• Venue: Varian Orchards