Ohhh Say Can You See… how unbelievably stunning and festive this Fourth of July wedding is?! For Ally + Ellis, the 4th happens to be their favorite holiday. What better day then to host the best day of their lives?? These Vermont mountain lovers chose the intimate and rustic Mad River Barn for their festivities. With smoke bombs, lots of DIY projects and a rad wedding party lineup, sparks were flying and it wasn’t just because of the fireworks! A shared more with us about the inspo for the day:
Well with Ellis being a brand guy, and Ally being a type-A creative person, we started the planning process with some Pinterest boards to develop our “wedding essence”. We combined our individual and combined tastes and ended up with “Vermont Modern Woodsy Bohemian Chic”. Aside from the design of our wedding day, we mostly just wanted to have a giant dance party with all of our best people. Everyone knows how much we love to dance and our band (Stax from East Coast Soul) did not disappoint. It was one sweaty party.
Ready to see the day through the lens of Leslie Swan Photography? Scroll along with us and let’s take a look!
Sleek Bridal Beauty
A was a total vision in this chic, form-fitting Made with Love Bridal gown. Her photographer says that E knew this was *exactly* the kind of dress she would go for!
A + E weren’t afraid to play with color for their Fourth of July wedding! A Schoolhouse Garden brought in some stunning and vibrant Summer blooms like peonies, roses, veronica and ranunculus.
Wedding Party
Seriously crushing on A’s bridesmaids lineup! We’re loving this mix of patterns in shades of red, blush and gold! Perfect for a Fourth of July wedding without being too stereotypical.
E and the boys were bringing the moody blues! He looked super handsome in a navy suit from Suit Supply.
The First Look
Rainy Weather
A + E didn’t let Summer storms keep them from having the perfect day! They moved their ceremony inside at the last minute and it was even more cozy and magical.
Ceremony in the Barn
Our ceremony. As we mentioned above, we ended up having to make the game-time decision to move our ceremony indoors due to thunderstorms and torrential rain. And even though the weather really wasn’t a stressful moment, we think moving our ceremony into the pavilion was a complete blessing. It was quiet with the rain falling outside, everyone felt really present, and it was so much more intimate than we had imagined. The colored smoke bombs & sparkler send-off were also great moments that we’re happy we did!
Remember how we said A + E took on a lot of DIY projects for their day? It definitely took a village of loved ones to make the magic happen. They share:
We both love creating things so we wanted most of our day to be something we created together and also with our friends and family. We reached out to one of Ally’s best friends to help design the invitation and paper goods, Ally’s uncle created the signage on neon acrylic & our welcome board, Ellis’s mom designed the arbor and ceremony space (our ceremony ended up being inside), our families helped us set up everything for the reception and our biggest project was a floating branch & gold dipped feather chandelier. The gold-dipped white feathers were a common theme and represented all of our loved ones who couldn’t be with us that day.
Smoke Bombs Away
A + E had the most amazing patriotic photoshoot complete with red, white and blue smoke bombs. If you’re wanting to include something similar on your big day, check out our feature for Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Smoke Bombs!
Processional: The band played their own rendition of “Despacito” as the wedding party walked down the aisle. The bride walked down to the band playing “River” by Leon Bridges.
Recessional: We wanted a “good vibes, let’s get this party started” song to end our ceremony as we started the party, so we recessed to an instrumental Kygo song.
First Dance: “Real Love Baby” by Father John Misty. The Band said they had never played it before, we had never heard their version, and they nailed it!
Make sure you give yourself the opportunity to enjoy the time leading up to your wedding day. We booked an Airbnb with our families for the week leading up to the wedding and had a huge river tube float in town and a cookout. If we have one regret with all of the DIY projects, its that it was a lot of work and we didn’t have much downtime because we were so busy setting up. Also, trust your vendors and have clear communication about what you want your day to look like. Our photographer, band, florist, and venue made our vision possible and helped us have the best day of our lives!
A + E had so many unique details in their decor. Serrato Signs created these hot pink table numbers and other signage for the day.
The perfect way to end a Fourth of July wedding day? A sparkler send-off of course! Congratulations Ally + Ellis! The GWS team is wishing you both the very best!!
photography: Leslie Swan Photography // venue name: Mad River Barn, Waitfield, Vermont, USA // planning: Mad River Barn // florals: A Schoolhouse Garden // wedding dress: Made with Love Bridal // groom attire: Suit Supply // handmade details: Serrato Signs // catering: Mad River Barn // desserts: Mad River Barn // music: Stax from East Coast Soul