Martha and Colton were married in April 2019 at the beautiful Summerfield Farms! The weather was not our friend on their wedding day, but looking at the gorgeous photos below, you would never know! Check out Martha’s thoughts on their wedding day and enjoy the photos!
Planning – Carly Marie Events
Photography – Becca Kate Photography
Venue – Summerfield Farms
Catering – Painted Plate
Florist – Floral Designs by Eddie
HMU – Dianne Hargrove and Melinda Crews of The Hair Affair of Raleigh with Brittany DiCello of The Finishing Touch
DJ – K2 Productions
Rentals – Party Reflections
Desserts – Maxie B’s
Transportation – Triad Trolley
Favors – Mrs. Prindable’s Gourmet Dipped Apples
Officiant – Liz Grimes of All Faiths
Bridal Dress – Essense of Australia
Bridal Salon – New York Bride and Groom of Raleigh
Bridesmaids Dresses – Adrianna Papell
Groom + Groomsmen outfits – Leinwand’s of Elizabethtown
Bride’s Shoes – New York Transit
Bride’s Jewelry – Prep Obsessed
Why did you choose the venue you chose?
Colton and I initially got engaged on May 26th, 2017 and shortly after began searching for venues. Summerfield Farms was the very first venue that we happened to tour and we loved it. Colton is active duty military and there was a lot of uncertainty with his potential upcoming schedule, which as result made us pump the brakes on wedding planning temporarily. We did not want to get into the midst of wedding planning and have an issue with the wedding date. In August of 2018, we finally began wedding planning again. We toured other venues but always felt our hearts and minds coming back to the idea of Summerfield Farms. It was a venue that we felt couldn’t be beat by the others we had seen. We were comparing each venue to it and knew that it meant it was the venue for us! We were so excited to secure our date and were beyond thrilled with the venue on our wedding day.
Any other vendors you chose for a special reason?
When it came to our wedding day it was important to us that we had top-notch vendors who were not only talented but produced quality results. My father is a hairdresser and was unexpectedly diagnosed with a rare aggressive stage IV cancer at the beginning of December. My Dad has been my sole hairdresser for my entire life beyond those who have briefly touched my hair for various competitions or events and we all knew that he would be the man to do my hair on my wedding day throughout my years of growing up. After he was diagnosed we were unsure what condition he would be in for our wedding day and were simply praying that he would be present. As result this turn of events brought a special need for someone to fill the potential void of my hairdresser on my special day. My Dad could only think of two ladies who he felt could fit the bill, Dianne Hargrove and Melinda Crews of The Hair Affair of Raleigh, who have been great long time friends. We were so grateful for their willingness to help, going above and beyond with outstanding hair and make-up for all of the ladies.
The other vendor that was crucial in my eyes was the florist. I have a genuine, deep love for beautiful, real flowers and I was certain that my wedding would be adorned with them from the tables to the chandeliers, cross and wine barrels. My Dad was raised in Sanford, North Carolina and owned a florist shop at one time. When the time came to make the decision for a florist we knew without a doubt that we wanted a long time friend from Sanford whom my Dad previously worked with, Eddie Baker to produce the florals for us. He blew us away on the big day with the many arraignments he created out of Floral Designs by Eddie and I was so thrilled to have a long time dream of having gorgeous flowers on my wedding day fulfilled.
Another vendor that was special to us was our photographer. In high school, I was blessed to discover the Young Life organization through a Young Life leader who approached me after school one day. At the time her name was Alex Troxler but she has since married and gained the Valencsin last name. Alex became a great friend over the years, who I have treasured for many reasons. Through knowing Alex and meeting her family, I was introduced to her sister Becca who would eventually start Becca Kate Photography out of Greensboro. When we started the wedding planning process I loved the idea of having Alex who was instrumental in my religious journey at one time do our prayer before dinner and thought it would be perfect if Becca was available and willing to be our photographer. Her husband and second shooter, James was actually one of our Young Life leaders in High School, along side Alex. It was neat to see him after many years and have him along for the ride as well.
It was terribly special to us that we had the ability to have family and friends involved in many aspects of our wedding day but beyond the florals, photographer and hair/make-up we needed others. We chose professional vendors who had amazing reviews, photos and presence in the event and wedding world from Carly Marie to K2 Productions, Maxie B’s, Painted Plate, All Faiths and more.
What was your favorite part of wedding planning?
I truly enjoyed each aspect of the wedding planning process from securing my vendors to choosing the small detail items like table linens, colors, place cards and more. I loved being able to design my whole wedding from the top to the bottom with the help of many talented people along the way.
What was your least favorite part of wedding planning?
There really wasn’t a least favorite part of wedding planning but if I had to choose something then I suppose it would be the payments! Haha. In all seriousness though, I was blessed in that I feel like there was not a negative or least favorite part of it all.
Did you have a theme or “vibe” that guided your planning?
I honestly did not have a certain theme or “vibe” that guided the decisions for our wedding day. If I had to put a name to the theme of the wedding ceremony and reception, you may be able to consider it glam farmhouse in a sense. I was raised with horses and studied livestock in college, so I knew I wanted a barn wedding in some form or fashion without the rustic aspect. I am a lover of all things neutral and wanted a majority of the wedding to have neutral tones with color being featured in the many various flower arrangements. There were certain aspects of the wedding reception and ceremony that I had dreamt about and knew I wanted before we event truly began the design process but a good chunk of it simply fell into place along the way.
What did you want your guest experience to be?
I am a people pleaser and when designing the wedding a big important factor to me was the guest experience. I genuinely wanted people to feel comfortable, have a great time on the dance floor and enjoy good food and beverages while celebrating our nuptials. Our wedding day brought on unexpected challenges of severe weather, which produced downed trees, a power outage an hour before the ceremony and more. Our amazing vendors all stepped up to the plate in their own unique ways to pull off our wedding with the help of generators. I believe everyone was worried about me throughout it all but I was internally worried about the guests and their thoughts. It was a wild day but it ended up beautifully perfect according to everyone!
What was your favorite moment of your wedding day?
The whole wedding day was my favorite as cliché as it sounds. I had such a good time getting ready with my friends and family. It was nice chatting and laughing with Dianne, Melinda and Brittany for my hair and make-up. I couldn’t have had a more perfect photographer with such a great attitude, Becca to help me brace the heavy winds and rain for our photos. Carly and Penn made the day seamless behind the scenes and were instrumental in the success of it all, making it perfect. It was neat to see our family friend Eddie orchestrate wonderful flowers as I had hoped and then simply being able to celebrate with everyone. Liz produced such a beautiful and meaningful ceremony for us. Mike the DJ was fantastic, as well as our wonderful caterers Painted Plate. I also can’t deny how much we appreciated the toasts, which not only warmed our hearts and made me cry happy tears but also made us giggle. I was so tickled and thankful to see the whole day come together producing many memories and moments that we now have to cherish for years to come.
What was your favorite personal detail or item on your wedding day?
My favorite unique and sentimental piece was actually our favors, which were Mrs. Prindables Gourmet Caramel Dipped Apples. Throughout my life for holidays, special occasions and more it was a common occurrence to give and receive them. The tradition all started with my Grandma back in the day, who has since passed. It was neat to be able to tie in the apples for our wedding event as both an ode to her and to hopefully pass on the love of them to others, as they were able to take one home to enjoy and discover how good they truly are themselves. We were thankful that Mrs. Prindables has all sorts of dipped varieties available for purchase, which included the adorable bride and groom designs that we provided.
What was your favorite part of the décor on the wedding day?
Picking a favorite décor item would be tricky as there were so many items that I was obsessed with. For the reception I loved utilizing the wooden farmhouse tables for our head tables that were adorned with the greenery and flowers with the pretty glass gold-rimmed charger plates and candles. In terms of the ceremony, I was smitten with the chandeliers featuring lush draped florals, in addition to the alter back drop featuring the white drapery outlining the barn doors with the two wine barrels on each side with beautiful arrangements and I can’t forgot the cross in the center that Colton and I spent the time to create for our wedding day.
What was your first dance song?
Over and Over Again by Nathan Sykes (feat. Ariana Grande)
