Wedding Bales: Food & Friends

We hosted our rehearsal dinner at the restaurant in the other hotel from our hotel block. In the welcome letters I crafted, I invited everyone who was checking in on Friday to our dinner. We did not want it to be a very formal affair and we wanted our guests to stop in, have a bite to eat, and say hello.

 Mr. Farmer and I decided to rent a limo bus to transport our bridal party from The Hotel Metropolis to Johnnie's Italian Steakhouse. It wasn't more than a 10 minute trip but we wanted to make it as easy as possible. It's the little things!

Mr. Farmer and I rocking our rehearsal dinner outfits. Living on the farm doesn't allow us the chance to dress up often, so we completely took advantage of the opportunity to get nice and cleaned up. We all loaded up into the limo bus and away we went.

After arriving at the Holiday Inn our friends and family headed to the reserved room, while Mr. Farmer and I attended to the gifts we needed to bring in. We had selected a cocktail type rehearsal dinner with the idea that everyone invited could come and go as they pleased, and we'd be able to mingle with guests.  As such, the room was set up that way, without traditional table and chairs to seat everyone. Upon entering the hotel I was completely blindsided by family members who were very upset and confused about the lack of tables and chairs in the room. They didn't understand the concept of the cocktail style reception. After some frantic panicking, and a very upset Mrs. Barn, we ended up having the event coordinator bring in some extra tables and chairs, and all was right with the world again.

 It sounds minor, but it was stressful that people were so upset about the lack of tables. I had told everyone I thought I needed to about what kind of dinner it was going to be.  Unfortunately, I guess I missed a few key players. Our poor event coordinator for the evening was caught right in the middle of the commotion, and I felt so bad for her. Guests started yelling at her when I wasn't around, and it caused quite the emotional fiasco. A word of advice from Mrs. Barn: Make sure that everyone knows what is going on if you decide to do something outside of the norm for your family functions.

With the table and chair fiasco over with we were finally able to move forward with our rehearsal dinner. We had a fully hosted bar and various different appetizers. We served proscuitto wrapped shrimp with chimichurri, arancini, mini beef sliders, crab cakes, classic shrimp cocktail, caprese salad skewers, deviled eggs, and Johnny's Italian bread with sausage. I feel like we had one other option but I cannot think for the life of me what it was. We also had an assorted dessert display. 

These are the only photos that I have of our food setup because I was a horrible blogger and forgot to bring a camera. All our guests raved about the food and I have to say I was pretty blown away. We tried to select things that were also kid friendly, since we had so many, and the children were the first to say how delicious all the selections were. Win for team Barn (and yay for happy parents)! After everyone ate their fill and had a few cocktails we handed out gifts.

We didn't really discuss what we were gifting our attendants and that's because I wanted it to be a bit of a surprise. I know a few of my gals read the 'bee. The first gift each girl received was a pair of shoes. In blog post that never made the Weddingbee cut, I discussed how I got suckered into one of those side advertisements and found a pair of shoes that I thought were just way too fun. When I showed them to everyone they all agreed, we HAVE to wear those- no matter how silly and tacky they might be, we have to rock them. I gave them the chance to turn them down, however they all voted unanimously, "we want the crazy shoes".

These are no longer available from the website in which I purchased them from, but for those who wanted to know it was AMI Clubwear. Those tricky ads I tell ya! They were on mega clearance so I made sure to tell each girl if they threw them in the trash the next day, my heart wouldn't be broken. I am happy to report nobody has done so. I also gifted each of my ladies a bracelet that I made following Mrs. Rucksack's tutorial (hey girl hey). I made mine slightly different, by using two different sized ribbons (sewed together) and changing it up a tad. I attached a card with a fun quote and that was gift number two. It was also a great way to do something "wedding related" in the earlier months of our engagement. 

The final gift I gave each of my girls was yet another find from Weddingbee. I happened to be perusing the boards when I came across a thread that was kind of intriguing. It was a Diamond Candle ring revel thread. Ummm, say what? Diamond Candle - must find out what this is! So I did a little digging and found out you get a ring inside each candle that is worth either $10, $100, $1,000, or $5,000. Needless to say, I thought hey what an awesome idea so those were added to the list. Knowing that I was going to gift these to my girls, I signed up for their mailing list and only purchased them when there was a promotion going on so that I could be as thrifty as possible. Having a large bridal party can get expensive!

One of the final gifts each bridesmaid received was a Victoria's Secret lotion. I know it might sound silly or insignificant but I include one in just about every.single.gift.I.give to my friends, so I knew I couldn't break tradition now. I also spent some serious time composing each of them a heartfelt message. I wanted them to know just how much I appreciated their love and support. Mr. Farmer did the same thing for his groomsmen and all of them commented on how awesome it was to receive such a well written card. Mr. Farmer gifted each of his groomsmen a set of custom suspenders and a bottle of alcohol, which was incredibly well received.

Fun story time. While Mr. Farmer and I were packing up each gift, we realized that we were one pair of suspenders short. Stupid Mrs. Barn didn't even think to count the suspenders when I received them, to make sure they were all there. Sadly, it was such short notice that Irene was unable to accommodate an additional pair and quickly issued a refund. I frantically ran around town trying to find a gray pair of suspenders without luck. So unfortunately, usher D rocked some black ones. I was a tad bummed we weren't able to match but I totally blame myself for the oversight.

Mr. Farmer gave best man N an extra special gift of an engraved pocket watch. I was pretty surprised because he picked it out all by himself and it was pretty awesome. I later found out from N's girlfriend that N couldn't even read the card because he started to get teary eyed. He waited until he got back to his hotel room to finish reading what Mr. Farmer wrote. Mr. Farmer, I tell you what, just a sentimental teddy bear!

I gifted maid of honor K and matron of honor Fluff something a little different as well. I really wanted Fluff to know how much I appreciated all the help she provided me and how much I value our friendship. I gifted her a few things above and beyond everyone else. Fluff also received:

A Coach weekender pack and tote and a pair of Kate Spade shoes. Mr. Farmer being a huge sweetheart also gifted Fluff something special because he wanted her to know just how much he appreciated everything she did for me. He told her it was a "thank you for keeping her (Mrs. Barn) sane". Say it with me now, "awwww". Mr. Farmer gifted her a custom painted wine glass. with the phrase Girl's Best Friend on it.

K received a pair of Kate Spade shoes as well as a beautiful figurine from Mr. Farmer. I had an extra special gift that I wanted to give her but I waited until the morning of the wedding. When it came to our parents we really struggled with what to give them so we finally decided on a beautiful photo frame. We put an invitation in it with the promise of a formal wedding portrait to follow.

Up next, I reveal one of the biggest gifts of all. A special gift to Mr. Farmer....

Did anyone else have any unnecessary mis-communications? What did you gift your attendants? Did you do something special for your maid/matron of honor and best man?

Missed a recap? Catch up here:

Let's Get this Party Started
Special Cargo
We Rehearse it All

Inquiring Minds Want to Know: Barn After Answers

So in an effort to try something a little different and help out fellow blogger Miss. Border Collie we decided to have a little fun and each answer some “Inquiring Minds Want to Know” questions.  While she was, as she says, complaining to me about her lack of writing material, this idea popped into my head and we decided – let’s go for it! So without further ado here are my After the Wedding answers……read Miss. Border Collie’s Before the Wedding answers here.

1.       What is/was your biggest priority about (or for?) the event?  (Ex: Catering, photography)

My biggest priority was making sure people were well fed and having fun. I know it sounds simple and most people wouldn’t think our menu was anything special (ok a lot of people) but our guests L-O-V-E-D it (the ones that actually said anything to us). Most of our guests are pretty simple people and don’t have a palette for fine dining, that’s just who are families are.  Mr. Farmer tells me all the time, “Meat and potatoes” babe when I ask him what he wants me to cook for our **evening meal. His best man N (who is a total cowboy) INSISTED we have corn.  Apparently you don’t marry a farmer and have a bunch of farmers at a wedding without serving corn, it’s sac-religious.  You just don’t do it, so we served corn. The farmers were happy which means I was happy.

2.       What is/was your biggest concern for the day? (Ex: rain, nobody dancing, guests being bored)

My biggest concern was that everyone was going to hate everything. I was so worried people weren’t going to see the love we have for each other in our ceremony. I was worried people were going to hate the food. I was worried people were going to hate our venue. I was worried people were going to complain about the drive. I was worried for absolutely no freaking reason whatsoever. Not a single person complained about anything and to be honest, I really would be surprised to hear if anyone complained to a bride about her wedding.

3.       What DIY Project do you / did you care about the most?

I like to think I am a pretty crafty person however Mama Barn puts me to shame on her worst days. Because of that I would have to say that our invitations were the one project that I cared about most. Mama Barn really helped by putting a lot of time and effort into helping me figure out what exactly we should do. I would say specifically the envelope liners were my favorite only because so many people commented to me on how awesome they were, and she did them solely herself. As much as I hated the total process of designing and trying to actually decide what to do I really loved how they came out. There are definitely some changes that I would make but the fact that I did this with my mom is what I really love about it. Since Mama Barn is a six hour drive away it was really important to the both of us that she was involved as much as possible and this was the perfect opportunity for a mom’s special touch.

4.       What is / was your worst wedding related nightmare?

The wedding nightmare I had constantly was that all of a sudden it was wedding day and I never had anything ready. The one time my dress wasn’t there. Another time the hotel called to tell me that they didn’t have any rooms for our guests and everyone had to sleep in their cars (horrifying)!  Once there was another wedding going on at our venue and we had to get married in the parking lot of the hotel. Thankfully these were all silly nightmares and nothing even close happened.

5.       Do you think you are going to eat/ Did you actually eat?

I am happy to report that I did eat at our wedding however not much. I did have a lot of food off of stepson R’s plate because we ended up sharing a lot of our food. He liked my roasted potatoes and I liked his fried potato goodness that he was served -I don’t know what they were actually but they were damn good whatever it was. When you are the bride you can eat whatever you want. I justified eating all the fried goodness thinking “well at least I am consuming calories”. It may have been a slight stretch, but at least I was eating!

6.       What is the picture you think you have to have/ What is your favorite picture?

I haven’t started my recaps yet but I will share one of my favorite photos. This was one that when I look at I get insanely happy and I immediately get teary-eyed. When I think back it wasn’t a picture that I thought would have been my favorite only because it’s not a photo of Mr. Farmer and me. Without further ado:

Photo personal – Mrs. Barn and stepdaughter K

7.       What is your biggest fear about what could go wrong vs what was the worst thing that happened at your wedding?

I don’t think I can really think of anything horrifying that went wrong at our wedding. It was all a bunch of really small miscommunications, that nobody would really notice, but if I had to pick one that really bothered me the most it was that my paternal grandparents were not seated in the front row at our ceremony. I didn’t even realize it until I got my pictures and I will say that I was INCREDIBLY disappointed. My poor grandmother and grandfather were seated in an aisle seat like 4 or 5 rows back and it made me so sad. Had I realized that they were sitting there I would have stopped the ceremony and moved them myself to their place of honor. The only thing that I can think of it that they sat themselves or sat with whomever they walked in with. I don’t know what happened but that would be the biggest thing that went wrong.

8.       What are you looking forward to the most / What was your favorite memory?

I would say my favorite memory is of a very special thing that happened during our dinner. I would love to share it but I don’t want to ruin it until I get to my recaps. I will just say that there was not a dry eye in the place and it was a shock of a lifetime for Mr. Farmer and me. I get goose bumps when I think about it and I can’t wait to share it with you guys, but it really does deserve a post of its own. You will know what I mean when you see it, I promise! Stepson R says, “When Mrs. Barn makes a promise, she keeps it so you know she is telling the truth. She’s never let me down”.

9.       What do you think your guests will enjoy the most/ What did your guests mention the most?

Our guests loved a lot of different things about our wedding weekend but I would say that our guests raved about our venue the most. They could not believe that we found such a beautiful place in the middle of a metropolitan city. I am sure some of you would say that Eau Claire, Wisconsin is far from a metropolis but to our friends and family it was. I think just about every guest commented on how beautiful everything was. I saw a LOT of family photos going on after the wedding ceremony was over. It seems that since it was such a pretty place that it was a good time to do it, and I am glad that I have those memories.  I always smile to myself thinking of all those photos in frames that were taken on the day of our wedding and it’s heartwarming.

10.   What do you plan on doing after the wedding is over/ What did you do afterwards?

Once the wedding was over, everyone else headed to the hotel bar to start an after party. Groomsman G and his wonderful wife stuck around and helped Mr. Farmer and I clean up. We had to get everything out of the venue so there was a lot of packing that needed to be done.  Since we knew that we would have to do this, we didn’t have a lot of extra décor that I would have loved to have. I am so incredibly thankful to them for their help. After we packed up, Mr. Farmer and I stopped in the hotel bar for a quick goodnight and retired to the honeymoon suite.

Bonus – depending on how brave you might be: 

11.   Do you intend on donning lingerie for the evening/ Did you use it or crash afterwards?

I didn’t wear any special lingerie per say except for my garter, veil, “something blue” panties, and my “Bride” robe. I wanted to be comfortable under my dress and didn’t want to worry about having to change either. We were so incredibly tired after all the excitement of the day that I knew I wasn’t going to have a lot of energy left afterwards. One of my favorite memories of the entire wedding though was when Mr. Farmer ever so delicately helped me out of my wedding dress and gently removed the bobby pins one by one from my hair. It was such a sweet and loving gesture that I will always remember.

**Mr. Farmer and I have had large debates about what we call meal time. I call it breakfast, lunch and dinner. He calls is breakfast, dinner, and supper. I get lectured quite frequently from his friends that I am in farm country and everyone else calls it “dinner not lunch”. Apparently city folk say lunch and dinner and country folk say dinner and supper.  Who cares, let’s eat!

 Do you think your answers would change much before and after you get married? Pick a question and answer, inquiring minds want to know what you would say!

Wedding Bales: Special Cargo

I have been putting off my recaps for a while for a few different reasons. One of them being what you will read below. I apologize for my absence but hope you can understand why it took me so long to finally get started actually writing them.


Mr. Farmer and I picked up the Barn children the Thursday before the wedding. We decided that we wanted some family time to take advantage of the hotel we were staying at before all the wedding festivities started. The Hotel Metroplis, featuring an indoor water park, Go-Kart track, laser tag, batting cages, arcade and rock climbing? Oh hell yeah, we were going to live it up! We also wanted to take our time getting to Wisconsin. It was a 4.5 hour trip for us, so we wanted to make sure we had the time to stop for plenty of potty breaks and to stretch our legs.

It certainly wouldn't be a Barn trip without a few selfies from stepdaughter K. 

Before checking into our hotel, we made a quick pit stop at the other hotel in our block to drop off some "Welcome" letters. I spent the days leading up to the wedding crafting some thank you/welcome letters that our guests would receive upon check-in. It was also the perfect excuse to use up some of the leftover crafting materials, but more importantly I wanted our guests to know just how much we appreciated their attendance. We finally checked into our hotel about 15 minutes later and immediately the children wanted to head to the water park. We didn't have a schedule to keep so to the water park we went.

We made use of the water park for about 30 minutes before everyone, mainly stepson R, decided it was time to get some dinner and to clean up (hanger - serious ailment I tell you). It was at about this time that I received a phone call that shook my whole wedding weekend. Mama Barn had called to tell me that my uncle had just passed away. He suffered a massive heart attack just 2 days before and he lost his battle.

Mr. Farmer immediately took the Barn children and left for dinner when I received the phone call (so I could have some privacy) and after I "thought" I had composed myself enough I went to join them, only to lose it again at the table. I excused myself and spent some time alone in our hotel room trying to process my emotions. The huge sense of guilt I had was overwhelming. Aunt D had instructed Mama Barn NOT to tell me about anything because she was afraid it would ruin our wedding. Mama Barn knowing me a little better told me anyway, and I am glad she did, however it didn't change how guilty I felt about the whole thing. Uncle R and Aunt D were in my hometown, having traveled from Colorado, when Uncle R had his heart attack. They were there because of the wedding and knowing that was really difficult for me to process.

After composing myself for the final time I put on the best face I could and joined everyone for dinner. The children knowing how upset I was did everything they could to console me. When a 9 year old slips his hand into yours and says, "It's OK he is in God's arms now" and a 12 year old wipes away your tears, there is nothing one can do but smile and be thankful for the gift of life, love and family.

Both children held my hands as we walked to the arcade and seeing how excited they were to be there made my grief a little easier to bear.

Mr. Farmer did everything he could to help me process all of the emotions I felt that day and I cannot thank him enough. I don't know if I could have been able to cope without him at my side.

I am so grateful to these three for being the perfect positive distraction that evening. I was able to put on a brave face and enjoy the rest of the evening playing with the kids, knowing that my uncle would want me to enjoy this time in my life. I didn't want to disappoint the children who had been looking forward to this, so I did the best I could to maintain my normal bubbly mood.

How could I not enjoy the time spent with these three? It really was just what I needed.

Some of our bridal party made the trip early as well and we spent the remainder of the evening greeting them and taking turns racing on the Go-Kart track.

The attendant who was running the track was nice enough to let these two have a little battle of the siblings and it was hysterical watching them fly by each other. He got quite the work out with our group as I don't recall a single match that someone from the Barn crew wasn't racing on the track. The attendant even had an "adults only" race where we were able to go faster than the normal pace. Seeing a bunch of adults racing around a Go-Kart track was certainly memorable to say the least - it was quite the competition.

We ended the evening cheering on stepson R as he made his way up the rock climbing wall, pleading for just five more minutes. Everyone had a GREAT time playing in the arcade and it certainly lightened my somber mood to see family and friends together enjoying themselves so much. I mean, isn't that exactly what we spent all this time planning for - to have friends and family together for an incredibly joyous event? It really changed the way I looked at the remainder of our wedding weekend.


What did you do leading up to the wedding day? Did anyone else have to battle a death in the family just days before your wedding? How did you handle it?

**all photos personal

A Bees Life: Barn Edition

Hive before I get started with my wedding recaps I wanted to tackle a post that was so incredibly helpful to me when I wanted to become a Bee. 

On Blogging

I have never blogged before I started here at Weddingbee, imagine that?! I think we can all agree that's pretty clear. I am sure that I have made a few professional writers cringe. I know I am not the strongest writer nor the best blogger and I am A-OK with that. It's who I am. Despite not being the best I really enjoy doing it and have considered keeping up a family blog afterwards to keep my family in the loop with things going on just the next state over. 

How I Found Weddingbee

Wasting time over my lunch hour.

Photo via Imgarcade

I found Weddingbee via the classified section first. I was checking something out and then eventually moved over to the boards and fell head first into the craziness. Here were all these people experiencing the same feelings as me. I wasn't alone and spent a lot of time reading what other people had to say and any and all advice they could give. I finally found the blog after a few weeks and at first I just didn't get it. A bunch of people calling themselves funny names. That is until I read a few posts. After that I was instantly hooked and devoured any and all posts that I could. I went back and read some of the archives and it only solidified my guilty pleasure. I immediately became enamored with how real these women were and I knew I just HAD to be one of them. 

The Application Process

I saw A Bees Life from Mrs. Panda and immediately went to writing my application and blog. I wrote the recommended posts, submitted my application and hoped for the best. I continued writing though because I decided that no matter what, I was going to document this amazing experience (wishful thinking). Sadly a week later I received a message that I had been rejected. Go figure! Afterwards I became immediately discouraged, stopped writing completely and forgot all about Weddingbee. Well I tried to....

I told Mr. Farmer what I had been doing and he was the one who encouraged me to try it again. I reached out to a select few bloggers who gave some of the most incredible advice and encouragement. I revamped my blog and sent my application again. I waited and waited half expecting another rejection email. Thankfully the Bees are so amazing and a special little bee let me know that she had taken a look at my blog and that I shouldn't be so worried - things were looking good. A day later I received my email that I was accepted! 

Why Mrs. Barn?

Pretty simple really, because Milk Cow was already taken. As soon as the Farm generation was announced I was even more excited to be a part of the community, I mean it's perfect. We live on a farm and Mr. Farmer is a farmer. I knew that Milk Cow was the one I had my heart set on (Wisconsin pride) but sadly after I was rejected I had to wait the 4 weeks in order to reapply and the moniker was selected before I got a chance to resubmit. I saw the Barn and since my name starts with a "B" my new last name begins with a "B" and Mr. Farmer and I constantly say Team B, I knew it was perfect. The barn reminds me of us and our home.  

Photo personal - One of the many Barns the Barns own

Being a Bee Blogger

Being a Bee is absolutely incredible! I have formed friendships that have extended beyond a website about Weddings. The entire community is full of wonderful people all who just want to help. It hasn't always been the easiest for me because well, I am NOT the greatest writer. My wedding wasn't the prettiest, it wasn't the most original, it wasn't very inspired and therefore kind of hard to write about. I've actually been putting it off. So why even bother becoming a blogger for a blog about weddings? 

Because my wedding and my journey was real. I am a real person with real faults and real feelings and that's why I wanted to blog for Weddingbee. My wedding was real, not some staged photo shoot. Every success and every failure. It was real. Not every wedding needs to be the O-M-G most perfect day ever. Granted I gave it my best shot, which I failed at quite frequently, but I became a Bee because I wanted to show people that it's OK to have what you want and that it's OK to not be the most original. Your wedding is yours, and therefore should be what YOU want it to be. If you want every trendy thing out there, go for it. My wedding was more than just one day full of pretty things or my attempt at original ideas. It really was about joining together as a family and the love for each other. You will see that as I begin my recaps I assure you. 

There were times that being a Bee was really difficult. It's hard to put yourself out there and keep writing. People can be so insanely cruel and love to poke fun at those who actually put themselves out there. I can't tell you how many times people have written/said awful things to/about me. Most of the time I had to hear about it from other people, which only made it worse, but those few messages sent directly to me? Mortifying. I knew that I was taking a risk by putting my story out there for all to see but if it helped even just one person, then it was a success and to those who mocked, oh well. Say what you will. It's not like I don't already know. 

The Bee community is one that I will forever be indebted too. It goes far deeper than I ever imagined and I am so thankful that I was selected to be one of the Bees whose journey gets featured. The bond I have formed with this group of people is pretty incredible and that right there negates any of the brief negativity that I experienced. 

Advice for Applicants. 

1. Be you. I know it's a lot easier said than done. I am not naturally a writer, as you can clearly tell. I was told "find your voice". Oh okay because I know what my voice sounds like. Riiiiiiiggghhhhttt. It took a while but once I started writing it clicked. It just made sense to me and I totally understood what all the Bees were talking about. I try to write like I am having a conversation with someone or like I am writing an email (to a friend of course).

2. Have a point. One of the biggest pieces of advice that I received was to have a reason for your post. Why is far more interesting than what you did. The what is better left to the recap posts after you have already shared the why. I try to have a point for every post that goes up. Why did I want to write that post? Why did I make that decision? If the answer was simply because "that's what I did" then that particular post wouldn't go live and I would go through and re-edit it until I had a point.

3. Pictures, pictures, pictures. It's hard to look at a blog post if it's all just text. I like the visual effect pictures have and I try to use them to help breakup all the paragraphs. I never allow a post to go up without a picture, even if it's a silly photo of myself! Or a Princess Jasmine cat riding a magic carpet.....

Image via Buzzfeed - YouTube

4. Just write.  Sometimes it is as simple as writing a few thoughts and then letting it sit for a day or two and coming back to it. Once I did that, I could adjust, reword and rework the whole post. It was a lot easier to edit something knowing that I already started a post, and honestly it was a lot easier to do #1 once I already had some content.

5. Have fun. This is an incredible experience in your life. I have really enjoyed every high and low that I have felt along the way. I tried to put as much emotion into my posts as I could but for the most part I was just having fun. Enjoy it all.

If you are thinking about becoming a Bee I would highly encourage you to just do it. If I can do it, you sure can! For anyone who is considering it, I would more than happily take a peek at your blog.

Good luck! I promise recaps next!

Wedding Bales: Let's Get This Party Started

The week leading up to the wedding was pretty crazy. I sent Mr. Farmer away to enjoy the 2014 All-Star game, get out of my hair so that I could finish up some last minute DIY. Thankfully he returned just in time to help get everything packed up and ready to go. Being apart probably wouldn't work for everyone but it worked for us.

All photos personal

Mr. Farmer and GM JBoy

While he was off enjoying some time with GM JBoy and GM R, I was at home crafting/putting together all those last minute projects that I told myself, "Oh I have plenty of time to complete". I didn't realize just how much I had left to the last minute forgotten until I started running through the packing list in my head.

It was a serious setup. Side story time. You see that beautiful chair right? Duh. Anyways, Mrs. Barn made the mistake of wearing a racer back tank top to stepdaughter K's softball tournament just 10 days before the wedding. Sadly, I did not plan accordingly and got VERY sun burnt. This was my desperate attempt to even out my heinous tan lines. I did whatever I could outside rocking a bandeau top (thankfully we don't really have neighbors). Back to your regularly scheduled blog post....

Thankfully bridesmaid K and best man N were available to lend an extra hand. We went through every glue stick, tube of glue, tape or anything sticky we had available to finish everything. I didn't realize that I would even need an extra hand but poor best man N found himself working with a hole punch and cutting loads of twine just days before our departure. Don't show up to my house days before the wedding and expect to watch your girlfriend and the bride craft - not going to happen buddy. I'll put you to work. Just saying.

Our poor home was totally taken over by wedding supplies & gifts (more on that later)

Despite the craziness, there was something so surreal and exciting about getting all of those things ready to haul to Wisconsin. I couldn't have been more excited and am almost certain that I didn't eat more than 1,000 calories/day leading up to d-day. Do yourself and favor and eat. I know it's hard but just do it. You will thank me later. 

I did take a break during my crafting spree to enjoy a special little package sent by Mrs. Pyramid. 

My bees arrived!!

A very stressed Mrs. Barn - apologies

She sent a lovely card with a beautiful message that has since been stored away somewhere safe.With the bees finally in my possession it was time to pack everything up and get on our merry way.

What did you spend the final days doing? Were you finishing up crafting? Did you and your intended spend it apart like we did?

The Wedding That Never Was: Barn Edition

So while I am awaiting on the last of the photos to roll in I figured I would take the time to do something a little fun. Miss. Hen talked about the "Wedding That Almost Was" and now that I am on the other side I thought it would be fun to let you in on a little secret. The wedding we had was not the wedding I wanted.

Meme creator via Frabz

Craziness, I know!

The wedding that I always dreamed of was thrown out the window the minute I met Mr. Farmer. Why? Well because he is Mr. Farmer and his occupation is, well a farmer. You see the wedding I always dreamed of was a beautiful autumn wedding. If you recall in my previous post I briefly mentioned the harvest season. Well if you were following along (and heck yeah you should have been) you know that harvest season is pretty much the busiest time of the year for any member of the farming community. Since all of his friends and family are farmers, fall was an entire season not available. In fact the reason we were married in July was because of his crazy farming schedule (it was the only month we had a choice of).

So what would have the Barn wedding looked like? Let's play!

The Barn wedding below would have been done on an unlimited budget and obviously weather would not have been an issue. It would be at my in-laws on their big beautiful lawn under a gorgeous giant tent. Very similar to this, ok pretty much exactly like this:

Photo via Top Wedding Sites Tent Lakes Region Tent Rentals

 Christmas lights would have been draped everywhere I could put them. Light would have played a big part in the minimal decor I would have. To decorate the inside of the tent I would have large lighted trees all over the place:

Photo via Uniquely Yours Wedding Designs ;  Let Me Wow You ; Weddingbee via Bee Miss. Bloom

Autumn in Minnesota means the start of shorter days so the more lights the better. I would have tried to incorporate wheat where I could as a design element - hello I am marrying a farmer after all. Something like this would do:

Photo via Martha Stewart

My dress would have had sleeves and been much simpler than what I originally chose. I would imagine something pretty like this:

Photo via Maggie Sottero

The color palette chosen would have incorporated a lot of neutrals:

Photo via Design Seeds

Add a little champagne/gold and perfection. Fall is such a beautiful time of the year that I don't think I would have had much decor, although I can imagine something like this:

 Photo via The Knot Nina Sutherland Photography; Photo via The Knot Sarah Ainsworth Photography

 I've always dreamed of having a big budget that I could spend on having so many amazing pieces however now that I am on the other side, that's what picking a good venue is for. You shouldn't need a whole bunch of decorations to make your wedding beautiful, use what is already there.

There are still some decisions that would have made the cut but the entire feeling of the wedding would have been shifted from a fun bright summer wedding to a rustic warm autumn affair. However, at the end of the day it would still be our wedding and I would still be married to my best friend surrounded by all the people we love most. His family becoming mine and my family becoming his - our family becoming one and that is something that no one or anything could change.

A wedding is simply that, a wedding. No matter all the beautiful things that are associated with such a historical event, the marriage is where the true beauty lies.

Was the wedding you had the wedding you wanted? What would you have changed?

The Secret Life of Bees: Barn Edition

Happy Friday Hive! I know, I know, I am seriously slacking on my blogging. I know, I suck. We had an unexpected second shooter who was able to capture our entire rehearsal dinner and I am not so patiently waiting for those photos to arrive. So, until they do you are stuck with lots of promises to not suck at life for much longer. I am eager to start my recaps and share our special day with the Hive, however until that time I am going to let you into my world and share with you one of my favorite ongoing series posts - The Secret Life of Bees!

I started thinking about this post when I first got accepted to the Bee. I kind of had a moment of panic because well, I am not very interesting and don't really have any deep dark secrets. Having to think of things to share with you - well let's just say it was kind of hard. I don't think I am the most unique person out there (oh who am I kidding I'm boring) but there are some interesting things I can share. 

1. In order to know me better you need to know a huge part of me. I have a special needs brother who is my entire world. Hive meet Brother Barn:

Photos personal 

My brother enriches my life so much more than he could ever understand or I could ever put into words. Being six hours away is tough at times but we certainly try to stay in touch as much as we can. Growing up with him, as tough as it was sometimes (we fought a lot) has taught me incredible patience and understanding, something that has benefited my marriage greatly. My brother and Mr. Farmer have a wonderful relationship and for that I am incredibly thankful. I shouldn't have been worried but people are insanely cruel at times, so I tend to be very protective of my brother and introducing him to a whole new family was a little nerve racking for me. I didn't want to overwhelm him but everyone was fully prepared and the introduction was totally smooth.

 Having him in my life helps me to appreciate the little things in life that are so easy to take for granted. Being independent. Having a job. Getting married. Being healthy. Having a family. Owning a home. All of these are things that my brother wants in life but are difficult for him to achieve or highly unlikely. I love my brother so much and he truly has shaped who I am as a person and as a wife to Mr. Farmer. He is continuously showing me and teaching me things about myself and for that I will be eternally grateful. 

2. I have a seriously love for dill pickles.

No joke - my Instagram photo today - before I wrote this post

There is a jar of pickles in my refrigerator at.all.times. I have been known to eat an entire jar by myself in one day, no shame folks. I am really lucky though because my family has an extensive garden (part of my brother's therapy) where Mama Barn grows cucumbers to make me pickles. Every time I travel home Mama Barn sends a few jars of pickles home with me. She even cuts them into spears the way I prefer because well my mom rocks. I trade her the empty jars for fresh jars. I suppose one of these days that I will have to learn her recipe so that I can carry on the tradition, but until then I am going to enjoy being spoiled by my mama!


3. I hunt.

Out of respect for those that don't understand or agree I won't post any photos but it's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. One of my youngest childhood memories was hunting with my daddy at the age of 5. As women my mother and I are in the minority, but it's so much more than the thrill of the hunt for us. It's a huge part of our family tradition and that alone is what makes it appealing to me. I could care less if I am successful in my harvest or not, but the time spent with my family and friends is invaluable to me.

 I remember being a little girl and telling my grandfather how I couldn't wait to go bear hunting with him when I was big enough. He would say, "Bianca (what my name would be in Polish) when it's time we will go and get you your bear." Well 15 years later I made that dream come true and on the last day of our hunt, I was successful. I did so with my grandfather sitting right next to me, even weeks after a major car accident rendered him incapable of turning his head. He was there because it meant a lot to the both of us and he wasn't going to miss it for the world. Those are the memories that still make me tear up inside and that's the reason I load a gun every year and wear my orange and camo with pride.


4. I am a HUGE dog lover.

It's pretty bad, well I mean it's never a bad thing but I can't even watch an ASPCA commercial without bawling. A movie where the dog dies? Heart-wrenching! I cry big ol' alligator tears. If I know the dog is going to die in a movie, I won't watch it simply for that reason.

Top left: My dad's surprise father's day gift that I picked out for him, Boomer and my Berkley - Top Right: Berkley - Lower Left: Boomer, Berkley and Rocky my brother's therapy dog The 3 Amigos - Lower Right: Berkley in a tutu LOVE!

I grew up with dogs my entire life and my home would not be complete without one. Thankfully Baby Berkley takes care of my need for a cute furry creature, however it's a constant struggle because Mr. Farmer is NOT a dog lover. They don't give him the warm fuzzies like they do for me. He did not grow up with a dog inside the house and is such a neat freak that it some times causes issues. I just want to have Baby B around all the time but Mr. Farmer is more of a pat on the head, good dog type of guy. He likes them but is not nearly as passionate about them as my family or I am. I would rescue a whole bunch of them if I could. In fact I joke that if I hadn't met Mr. Farmer that I would be a dog lady. Between Mama Barn and I - we would totally own a rescue organization if we could.

Mr. Farmer might not be a huge dog lover but he does have a weakness. He is kind of a sucker for a Labrador so of course when stepdaughter K wanted one last year, daddy was oh so happy to oblige. Seriously though how could you say no to her!?

He grew up fast!

So we have our Winchester, K's dog outside and Berkley inside. No need to fret though, when it's cold Winchester does come inside, we aren't heartless. It's the best of both worlds for us. Berkley is still getting used to spending more time outside during the warmer months and Winchester is getting used to being inside at times, but hey it's all about compromise right!?

5. I can't drive a tractor.

Shocking I know! Despite being married to a farmer and spending plenty of hours in a tractor I still don't know how to drive it. I once drove six hours to see Mr. Farmer, woke up the next day and spent 13 hours driving around with him in the tractor planting, only to wake up on Sunday and drive another six hours home. All of that with a pinched nerve in my neck. That's real love right there folks! I literally spent 25 hours on my butt, driving. Seriously though, I haven't the slightest idea how to drive one. Mr. Farmer has tried to teach me but every time I get in the driver's seat I panic. There are too many buttons, levers, gears, pedals and things I can break that I start to have a panic attack. Heart racing, palm sweating, feel like the world is ending and that I could die, it's pretty horrid. That's a really expensive piece of equipment and what if I break it?! Mr. Farmer assures me that I can't break it but I just can't seem to get myself in the driver's seat.

6. I'm a Packer fan.

Big surprise being from Wisconsin and all. Mr. Farmer is a Vikings fan. It's basically forbidden love. He said he would never date a Packer fan and I said I would never date a Vikings fan. Well........it happened. Football Sunday is always an adventure in our household and quite entertaining. I am a die hard and no matter what, refuse to support the Vikes and he refuses to support GB, even though I have the better team (obviously)! Although I think I am getting him to come around because this season he did purchase this for me:

 He has a constant battle going with my mom who sent him a Packer schedule last year just to irritate him. Mama Barn is known for pranks and jokes. He turned around and sent her a Vikings pom-pom only to see this the following day on his Facebook wall:

They really do love each other I promise! This year Mama Barn bought him Vikings duct tape as a peace offering. We shall see how long it lasts. We do have some teams that we can agree on because we both love football but the passion we feel for our beloved teams can't come close. Needless to say we argue nonstop about who has the better team, (clearly I do) and are always trying to get the other to jump ship. Sorry babe it's just not going to happen.

7. I love the number seven.

That Packer jersey above has a number 7 on it for a reason. Mr. Farmer also has a Vikings jersey with the number seven on it as well. You see Mr. Farmer and I have a strange love for the number. We met at a restaurant called Seven (totally our favorite in the Cities) and the first time we spoke since meeting was March seventh. Our first date was April seventh. We were married in the seventh month. We fly out for our honeymoon on January seventeenth. I met Mr. Farmer when he was 37. I was 27 when we got married. It has become a special number to us and we have decided that anything special needs to have the number seven in it. We are weird, I've accepted it.

So there you have it folks. A little light shed on Mrs. Barn. Tell me a bit about yourself and what makes you unique. What makes you - well you!?