Tag Archives: wedding

Wedding Day | Avon Wedding Barn | Sunflowers and Boots

The bride and groom, Rachel and Mike, are truly lovely people who are without a doubt adored by their family and friends and I am honored to tell the story of their stunning wedding day. The bride chose sunflowers for her bouquets, navy blue as her wedding color, and cowboy boots for her September wedding day at Avon Wedding and Event Barn and the couple planned to get married under the large Catalpa tree on the property. It had started to rain early in the day, almost moving the ceremony into the barn itself but it cleared up during bridal prep allowing for the ceremony to take place outdoors. There is an old saying that rain is good luck on a wedding day, I can’t promise it was the rain, but this wedding day was perfect.

Avon Wedding Barn is a 100 year old Amish built barn located just outside of Indianapolis in Avon, Indiana on a sprawling six acres that includes a babbling creek. The couple had a first look on the bridge over that creek which is located down the hill from the barn. The groom keeps his back to his bride, she walks to him and taps him on the shoulder, I stay back to let the couple have some time to take each other in and enjoy the moment. One of the benefits to having a first look is that couples are able to see each other privately, without the eyes of every wedding guest on them.

The interior of the barn is gorgeous set up for the reception, lights are wrapped around the wooden pillars, party lights hang between the beams, chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and white chairs sit around round tables set with blue table clothes and yellow napkins. Atop the wooden circles are white lanterns containing flameless candles, vases of yellow flowers, small cups of popcorn for snacking and the s’mores favors the couple chose for their guests.

The couple danced their first dance to LANCO’s “Greatest Love Story” DJ Connection had the honor of providing that song as well as the soundtrack for the rest of their day.

The groomsman from this wedding day were so much fun! In some time we had between the ceremony and reception, while capturing some of the more traditional portraits, the guys decided to have some fun with the bridesmaids’ flowers.

Wedding Day | Moontown Brewing Company

Detail photo of the bride and groom's wedding bands tied to a burlap bow and styled in front of the wooden box the couple had made for their wedding day.

Moontown Brewing Company located in Whitestown, Indiana is the perfect place for a couple who loves brewing beer together to get married. Moontown Brewing Company began as Whitestown Grade School and opened in 1895, in 1915 the high school was built, between 1939-1941 a gymnasium was build to connect the two schools. The school closed in 1963 and was used for multiple purposes over the years but was eventually left vacant until 2017 when Moontown Brewing Company began renovations on the property.

The original windows are in place with the steel frames restored and new glass in place, the markings on the gymnasium floor are repainted in their original places, salvaged bleachers (including carved initials) created wood trim, and multiple layers of paint behind the stage are left from plays that were performed at the school.

Photo of the bride in her wedding dress in front of the stage where she would be married. Party lights hang from the ceiling, layers of paint from plays past on the exposed brick wall behind her.

The wedding day began with bridal prep at Studio 2000 on the circle in downtown Indianapolis. Once hair and make-up were complete the girls went back to their hotel room at Home 2 Home Suites by Hilton where Colleen, the bride and her bridesmaids finished up make-up, had a few drinks, ate chips with queso, salsa, and guacamole, and played What the Meme.

This couple chose not to have a first look so we hid the bride behind the fermentation tanks before the ceremony started. The groom, Phil, and his groomsman were on the brewpub side of the brewing company getting their boutonnières pinned on by the wedding coordinator. When it came time to walk down the aisle the couple chose “The Throne Room Theme Song” from Star Wars episode IV, A New Hope.

Bride with her bridal party hiding behind the fermentation tanks in the 1915 Room of Moontown Brewing Company before the ceremony started.
Wedding planner pinning on the groom's boutonniere before the wedding ceremony.

The couple’s first dance was to “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” by Death Cab For Cutie but their first dance was noting compared to their last dance. When I discuss timelines with couples I normally tell them that once you feed your guests, they watch your first dance, and you give them cake they will start to trickle out. The groom told me that would not be the case at this wedding, and he was absolutely correct! The guests at this wedding were the couple’s families, closest friends, and the groom’s fraternity brothers and they all stayed until the end and sang and danced to a finale song. This should not be surprising because when I asked the couple what they were most looking forward to on their wedding day they responded with, “Having all our friends and family together in one place since they live all over the place now.”

The final song of the night, the groom, celebrating with his closest friends and family, was crowned with greenery from the centerpieces.
The groom crowned.

Colleen and Phil are truly amazing people who are clearly very well loved by their friends and family. We were honored to be able to capture their wedding day for them and work with their team of vendors. The wedding planner, Stephanie Smith and Madeline Lewis Designs brought this day to life, DJ Connection provided the music that kept the party going, all of the beautiful flowers were by Lilly Lane Flowers, The Cakehole provided the amazing wedding cake, and Moontown Brewing Company provided catering and beverage.