Elizabeth & Tom's Farm Wedding in Prince Edward County

This was the most fun wedding I’ve ever been to.

During wedding planning, many couples face the conundrum of feeling pressure to do things they don’t want. Some elements have no interest or meaning personally, and other elements may cause tension in the family or community. In my experience most couples muddle through and do it anyway, due to pressure from society and/or tradition. Tom and Elizabeth, on the other hand, decided to do things their own way. What’s more, they went about it in the most organized and laid back way.

Building a wedding that aligned with their values, interests, and personalities was important to Elizabeth and Tom.

I think their own words sum it up better than I ever could:

“We love biking, puppets, board games, beer, and burritos. Tom loves juggling and ukuleles. Elizabeth loves trying to make things herself, and sometimes goes overboard. The theme for this wedding is ‘all of the fun’ and is a mash-up of all the silly things we love. We're hoping to create a space that's casual and light hearted, but also meaningful and inclusive of the wide variety of guests that are coming.
Special things that we've built in that reflect these ideas include:

Pedal powered sound system & bike themed clothing
Non-traditional dress for the men (western shirts! including a bike themed one, a dinosaur themed one, and a steam punk themed one!)
Planting a white magnolia tree as part of the ceremony
Stations with bocce ball, juggling clubs, hula hoops, and board games
A scavenger hunt, crafts, and a puppet show in lieu of speeches
Making lots of the decor ourselves (a monster-themed card box, the bunting and bolo ties, the huge piles of jam as party favours, the place cards)
Having our friends camp with us on our wedding night!

We've also been intentional in drawing on the services of independent, small, local businesses that share our values. The meal is all local/organic/vegetarian. The desserts are from friend who is a raw vegan chef. Small Pond [Arts] is an artist retreat centre run by dear, creative friends. The shirts and rings came from small independent places. The flowers are local. And most of the above (including the photography) are female-run enterprises.”

I must add, Elizabeth once blogged a DIY craft project for 52 weeks in a row (mentioned in my post of their wonderful engagement session), so of course they made all their own paper lanterns and flower arrangements. And Tom works in tech, so it’s no surprise that their homemade scavenger hunt included QR codes painted on rocks scattered about the farm grounds.

A few of my personal favourite moments included:

Elizabeth’s bouquet included ivy grown from a clipping from her mother’s wedding bouquet
The officiant’s mention of the zombie apocalypse
The recessional: they had planned to walk through a field and the farmer who mowed the path through the field the day before made it a twisting, winding, turning aisle much to everyone’s delight!
Tom’s surprise ukulele and song for Elizabeth
Elizabeth’s surprise video messages to Tom from friends who couldn’t attend
A bunch of guests’ surprise video messages throughout the night for Tom & Elizabeth to receive later
Sitting around the campfire late into the night making s’mores and singing along to live guitar
And the moment when they had to decide whether to turn off the bicycle power for the night, and decided they had faith that their guests would come through for them (they kept the bicycle-power going, and guests were practically lined up to take turns spinning!)

Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about this wedding. Just look at the freaking photos & enjoy!

Bride's vintage red shoes and groom's ukulele.

Bride getting her hair and makeup done in the farmhouse.

This beautiful hand-built belt went perfectly with Elizabeth’s red vintage shoes and Tom’s chain-stitched shirt, both from Fort Lonesome.

Bentwood wedding rings by Stout Woodworks, and vintage family heirloom jewelry for the bride. Homemade DIY bolo ties for the groom and groomsmen (Tom’s BFF, officiant and bride’s dad).

Gotta love when the bride and groom choose a jumping shot for their formal family portrait.

Hay-stacks were laid with hand-packaged linen for guests to sit on.

There was an adult scavenger hunt and one for kids. In both cases, everyone was highly entertained during the cocktail hour!

Elizabeth and her friend Jill made homemade jam for the party favours, and she also sewed all her own wedding bunting.

After a highly entertaining puppet show (in lieu of speeches) the newlyweds thanked their guests, and had a few surprises for each other.

The next morning I went at sunrise to take some more photos of Small Pond Arts. The natural beauty of Price Edward County, combined with sunrise, and with my very full heart of happiness for these two special people…

This was a magical day. Elizabeth & Tom, I am so honoured to have been there documenting these moments and I wish you a lifetime of love, laughs, and bicycle-powered adventures!

Check out Tom & Elizabeth’s engagement session at Tommy Thompson Park (AKA Leslie Spit).
For another outdoorsy wedding, check out Rosemary & Alastair’s summer camp wedding.
For another indie weddings with a vegan twist, check out Bebhinn & Ian’s intimate wedding at Le Select Bistro.

Click here to read Elizabeth & Tom’s reviews of their wedding photography experience!