Late August at The Farm at Dover, and the garden past the barn was still going full tilt: tomatoes ripening on the vine, herbs thick enough to smell from the aisle. Rebecca carried dried wheat in her bouquet instead of the usual late-summer blooms; Matt had a stalk of it tucked into his lapel. Between the two of them, the whole day tipped a few weeks ahead of the calendar into harvest season. Rebecca and Matt asked us for “a day of bourbon and lace.” Vintage dressing, dark pours, string lights: that’s exactly what they got.
Rebecca is a therapist who owns her own practice in Chicago, which she’ll tell you is one of the things she’s proudest of. Matt works in industrial manufacturing, a job description that gets a polite nod and a quick subject change at parties; Rebecca just calls him a “transpondster” and leaves it there (if you know, you know). What they actually share is a serious commitment to bad jokes. The two of them trade dad jokes and puns the way other couples trade compliments, and it shows. Ask either of them a simple question and be ready for a pun back.
We’ve photographed a lot of weddings, and it’s rare for a couple to get through the entire day without one stressed-out moment. Rebecca and Matt didn’t have one. They laughed getting ready, laughed through the ceremony, laughed all the way through what they themselves describe as “questionable dancing.” Seventy-five people stood up with them at the ceremony, a solid number: big enough for a real crowd of friends, small enough that Rebecca and Matt actually got to spend time with all of them instead of just waving from across the room. By the time the sun dropped behind the trees, the light was coming through the branches in that late-day gold that photographers chase all summer, and everybody was still laughing.
In the front row of the ceremony sat one empty chair, Rebecca’s late father’s cowboy hat resting on it in his place. He passed away 23 years ago. Rebecca’s sister walked her down the aisle. It was quiet, and it was one of the more affecting things we’ve photographed all year.
Here’s the full day, start to finish:
One of our favorite things about The Farm at Dover, on full display at this wedding, is how the whole property comes alive after dark, not just the barn. Tom and Juan, who own the farm, light different corners of it differently at night: a table strung with market lights under a tree, a lit stretch along the side of one of the old wood barns with a foosball table set up for anyone who needs a break from the dance floor. Guests wandered the whole property in twos and threes all night with drinks in hand, which is exactly the kind of evening a “bourbon and lace” wedding calls for. It’s the same barn where we photographed Julie and Ryan’s wedding at The Farm at Dover a few years earlier, and the place keeps giving us reasons to come back.
Doodlebooth set up during the reception, sketching quick portraits of guests who wandered over. It’s a nice way to give people something to do between dances, and it naturally split the crowd into small, easy clusters all night. All Occasions Catering & Bubb’s BBQ handled the food, and dessert alone was worth the trip: an ombré blue-and-white cake, a full macaron table, and a spread of cookies. Laurel greenery draped over the head table, and the same lush florals carried through the ceremony arch and onto the tables. As favors, guests went home with small potted vegetables and herbs that Rebecca and Matt had grown themselves, a nice nod to the garden the whole wedding practically grew out of.
By the time we packed up around midnight, half the guests were out hanging out under the market lights, in no hurry to call it a night. Fitting, for two people who spent the whole day making sure nobody wanted to leave.
Vendors from the day:
- Venue – The Farm at Dover
- Catering – All Occasions Catering & Bubb’s BBQ
- Doodle Portraits – Doodlebooth
