• Real Weddings

A sudden change in plans due to weather can make or break some weddings. However, Krista and John  went with the flow and moved their whole event inside the rustic barn at Tinicum Barn. They decorated the space with handmade projects,  and embraced the rustic atmosphere created by the barn itself.
Read on to hear from Krista about their special day, especially their budget breakdown and all the things she would have done differently. Visit the full gallery here to see so much more of this diy barn wedding with heart, all captured by Paper Heart Photography.

From the Bride:When John and I started planning our wedding, we knew we wanted it to be a day that felt like “us.” Neither of us loved the idea of a typical “catering hall” wedding, and I’m into all things vintage, rustic, whimsical and “different,” so getting married in a barn it was! We were lucky enough to find the Tinicum Barn in Erwinna, PA which is a barn from the 1800’s set in a beautiful park.

We decided to do a “first look” to take some of the jitters away – and we were so glad we did! Seeing each other for the first time on our own before the ceremony was an incredible moment that we will never forget.

The day itself went great, the only thing that didn’t go our way was the weather in the morning. We had a bit of rain, which meant we had to move the ceremony indoors as opposed to outside behind the barn like we had planned.

We decided to keep the decorations simple in order to showcase the natural beauty of the barn. We hung lights and paper pom-poms from the rafters and placed muslin table runners (made by my step-mom) and mason jars with peonies and baby’s breath on the wooden picnic tables. I made nearly all of the decorations for the day (with a lot of help from John and our wonderful family and friends) from the heart shaped programs to the DIY photobooth backdrop and props.

Wanting to keep the day relaxed and fun we included yard games, s’mores, a candy bar and a vintage Polaroid style photo booth. Almost John’s entire soccer team from Canada was there so we were sure to include a soccer ball for kicking around.

For our dinner we had an upscale bbq buffet that included sliders, fish taco’s and mac and cheese (amongst many other delicious dishes) and we supplied our own drinks which included a lot of local craft beers. We decided to have all of our food served on school lunch style trays and even used wooden tableware to add to the whimsy.

It was a very small and intimate occasion, which was nice as we got to spend a lot of time talking and mingling with our guests. We felt so fortunate to find all of the vendors that we did. We had put so much work into making this day as personal as it could be, and it was wonderful to see it all come together. We couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Fortunately for us, the sun came out shortly after the ceremony and we got to enjoy the surrounding area. All that mattered to us was that it stopped raining long enough to light our heart-shaped sparklers and enjoy our s’mores outside and we got our wish!

Oh, the budget. John and I knew from the very beginning that we did not want to spend a ton of money on a wedding that, while incredibly special, was just one day of our entire future lives together. We started to draft a rough budget and thought that we might spend 15k at the most. We had (naively) assumed that a very DIY wedding in a barn in PA with a backyard BBQ menu and only around 65 guests couldn't cost nearly as much as more traditional weddings in catering halls with 150+ guests. Unfortunately for us, we were wrong. We quickly discovered that many wedding expenses aren't dependent on how many guests you have coming or where your wedding is held. The caterer, dress, DJ, photographer, officiant, and transportation quickly added up.

Also, we did agree to "splurge" on a videographer that we had not initially planned on having but both decided we wanted (we found Birdhouse Productions in PA who creates cinematic vintage style films with 8mm spliced in, how could we say no?!) Even all of the DIY elements added up quicker than we had anticipated (I made most of the decorations, programs, favors, etc, as well as a Polaroid Photo Booth with a backdrop and props, and even made the centerpieces with one of my bridesmaids). We definitely saved in some places, such as providing the alcohol ourselves, hiring a school bus as transportation for our guests instead of a limo bus, and having no transportation for ourselves (we just drove ourselves from the hotel to the barn), among many others things. When all was said and done, John and I vowed to never add up how much we spent and just be happy that we had such an amazing day. So, because of that, I cannot tell you an exact figure, but I can tell you we were definitely over budget!What The Bride Would Have Done Differently:Looking back, it's hard to think about anything that I might have done differently. Growing up, I was never the girl that dreamed about the perfect wedding day.  When I met John and we decided to get married, all I wanted was a nice day that felt like "us" and resulted in us being together forever. Because of this, John and I were very laid back about everything throughout the entire process, as well as after the big day as we are looking back. The day wasn't perfect, by any means; the rain forced us to move our ceremony from the beautiful backdrop of the stone wall behind the barn to the inside of the barns doors, the bus bringing the guests to the barn was late, my dress was quickly muddied and ripped from the splinters and nails in the barn floor, and our ceremony ended with John and I standing there awkwardly wondering where we were supposed to walk to once it was over do to lack of planning... but, it was an amazing day anyway. I think not stressing about all of the minor details throughout the process made it that much easier not to freak out when things went wrong.

All of that being said, I think it would have been nice to put a little more planning into the actual ceremony part. We were so focused on the details of the reception that the ceremony kind of fell by the wayside. I wish we had a plan B in case of rain. The stone wall back drop where our wedding was supposed to take place was gorgeous, and I felt that the barn doors where we ended up because of the rain was somewhat boring. Had we planned ahead, we could have done something to make it a little more rustic. Also, in retrospect, I might have chosen a different dress. I chose my dress because of how light the fabric was. Unfortunately, that fabric was no match for the old beat up hardwood floors and my dress was quickly ripped and torn.

• Caterer: Dish Catering
• Cinematography: Birdhouse Productions
• DJ: Silver Sound Entertainment
• Dress designer: Marisa
• Flowers: New Providence Florist
• Groom & His Men: Express
• Hair & Makeup: Pin It Up Bridal
• Officiant: Rev. Larry Hall
• Photographer: Paper Heart Photography
• Venue: Tinicum Barn