Rustic Country Wedding at The Inn at Fernbrook Farms
Lauren and Paul tied the knot in an outdoor ceremony followed by a tent reception at The Inn at Fernbrook Farms. This rustic farm venue was the perfect location for this easy-going couple to relax and enjoy their special day with all their friends and family.
With a color palette of purple and mint, this laid-back event features tons of DIY details from the multitude of wedding chalkboards to the burlap banners all the way to the wedding programs. Be sure to read on to hear so much more from Lauren about their special day, especially their full budget breakdown. Don't miss any of the adorable details of this rustic country wedding (like their dogs' blue bow tie!) by perusing the full gallery here, all fabulously captured by Pat Furey Photography.
From the Bride:It felt like an endless search before we finally found the perfect wedding venue, which ended up being The Inn at Fernbrook Farms in Chesterfield, NJ. The property is unique and absolutely gorgeous. Fernbrook is a sustainable working farm with beautiful gardens and a cozy Inn. It's truly a magical place and I loved that we had the entire property to ourselves all weekend.
Our rescue pup, Louie, spent the morning getting ready with us. He was picture-perfect in his bow tie collar and had a great time roaming the farm and attempting to herd the cow and goats.
For the decor, I was drawn to a rustic country feel, but I also wanted everything to come across as refined and classically beautiful. I love the cool calmness of grayed jade, so I chose that as a main color and paired it with deep, rich purples. The flowers by Twisted Willow were one of my favorite details of the day - they really helped pull everything together.
I used the design from my invitations to create DIY programs and menus. All in all, creating my vision for the wedding was a huge labor of love and we couldn't have done it without a lot of help. It truly was a perfect day (and perfectly documented by our photographer, Pat Furey!).
The ceremony was perhaps my favorite part of the day. When I walked down the aisle with my father, Paul surprised everyone by serenading me, playing his guitar while singing "I Will" by The Beatles. I thought I would be able to hold my emotions together, but I immediately started crying when I made eye contact with Paul. At that moment, I had never experienced such immense feelings of joy and love. To top things off, Paul's father officiated our wedding and we each wrote our vows. From start to finish, the whole ceremony was tailored to us and very personal.
My mom and I spent months collecting antique medicine bottles, vases and jars from family and friends to use for the table centerpieces, which were then filled with a mix of flowers, herbs and succulents, making each tablescape eclectic and unique. The catering company, Max Hansen Caterer, sourced vegetables and fruits from Fernbrook Farms to create our wedding menu.
My mom was beyond amazing throughout the entire planning process. She spent countless hours designing and writing each chalkboard sign and seating card. She also made her famous habanero finishing sauce for the "To Hab & To Hold" wedding favors, which were a big hit with our guests. I can't even begin to describe the amount of love and work that went into creating each jar of sauce adorned with hand-stamped tags and hand-tied in cloth.
Instead of toasting with champagne, we opted to toast with a tequila liqueur, Agavero, which everyone loved. My dad is a tequila connoisseur, so that was an outstanding touch at the reception. It's definitely fun to step out of the box and do something people haven't seen before at weddings.
My mom designed a lot of really awesome burlap pennant banners that we hung throughout the reception tent and inside the Inn (a gift banner, s'mores banner, L&P banner, etc). She also designed a "thank you" banner for us, which we had planned to take photos with and use for our thank-you cards. Unfortunately, we got so wrapped up in everything else that we forgot to use the banner! I was really bummed about that, but lucky for us, our photographer Pat took a gazillion other amazing photos for us to choose from. Otherwise, the only other thing I would have done differently would be to have extended the reception time by at least another hour. Everyone was having such a blast and our band had the crowd so amped up that no one was ready to leave at the end of the night. I wish the party could have gone on well past midnight and I know many of our guests wished it had too!
Read on to see how much this rustic country wedding cost. Please note that costs change as the years go by, and prices are subject to change. This is just one couple’s breakdown to give you a rough estimate on how much a wedding like this may cost you.
Budget Breakdown (excluding vendor tips)
Venue Rental: $5,500 (reception & ceremony sites)
Catering: approx $27,500 (170 guests @ $160 per person plus rental upgrades and vendor meals)
Alcohol & Beverages: $4,300
Extra Tent & Bistro Lighting: $1,420
Live Band: $6,500
Photographer: $5,600 (included engagement photos)
Flowers: $3,680
Hair & Makeup for Bridal Party: $675
Bride's Dress, Alterations & Accessories: $1,500
Save The Dates & Stamps: $150
Invitations, Stamps & DIY Materials: $825
Tequila toasting shot glasses: $200
DIY projects: $1,500 (homemade sauce favors, programs, menus, chalkboard signs, seating cards, table numbers, wedding confetti bundles, burlap banners, photo guest book, candles, s'more supplies, candy bar)
Shuttle Service for Guests: $500
- Band: Richard Bascomb & Phase One
- Bridal Gown: Allure
- Bride's ring: Pico Jewelers
- Bridesmaid Dresses: Nina
- Cake & Caterer: Max Hansen Caterer
- Cakes & Catering: The Inn at Fernbrook Farms
- Flowers: Twisted Willow
- Groom & His Men: Express Men
- Groom & His Men: The Grunion Run
- Groom & His Men: J.Crew
- Hair & Makeup: KLP Hair Designs
- Officiant: Robert Nonni (groom's father)
- Photographer: Pat Furey Photography
- Tent Rental & Lighting: Miller's Rentals