So today we are sharing Erin and Jared’s Ohio destination wedding. That’s right we travel, nationally. You just let us know, we’ll be there. Destination wedding photographers. 

I don’t know that we have enough time to talk about how many things I loved about this wedding.

So Erin was a bridesmaid from a wedding we shot a long time ago. Alex and Challenor’s wedding here in Richmond, Virginia.

They live in Virginia Beach, but Jared’s family lives in Ohio which is why we traveled there. He actually isn’t from there. His parents moved there and his brother and sister-in-law. Troy, Ohio is actually in really cool town.

We tried.. I think all of the restaurants in Troy. Listen, we didn’t have the kids, so it was basically a vacation for us. 

They included with so many personal details for their wedding. The biggest thing is that their wedding venue was Jared’s brothers property in Troy, Ohio. They worked hard and made this the most beautiful place for Erin and Jared to get married. 

But on top of all of that they encourage so many personal details that made this wedding so them and so unique and so fun. 

The had a lot of family heirloom type details.  She had her great grandmother’s marriage license. And the purse her great grandmother used on her wedding day. She used parts of her grandmother veil, and a necklace her mother had worn. These details just went on and on. 

What I thought was so sweet is that she got ready at Jared’s parents house and they had set up a “bridal suite” for her to get ready.  They decorated the room with all these old picture of past family member’s weddings all over the room.  And it just made it feel so special. 

Destination Wedding – personalized details

My favorite person on detail what is the charcuterie boards. One of Jared’s best friends handmade  25 wooden charcuterie boards to use on each of the wedding reception tables.  They were all branded with Erin and Jarad’s names and wedding date. So not only did this mean that charcuterie was available on every single table during the reception which alone is an amazing detail. But after dinner the boards were removed and cleaned and then brought back out as a gift for the guests. So each family was able to take home their own charcuterie board.

I really liked their rings.  They were puzzle rings.  Jared’s dad and mom have these rings, and they decided to get something similar.  They were really cool. It was three different bands that were working together to create one. And Jared’s dad he was actually the officiant for the wedding ceremony explain the meaning and importance of these bands.

Jared’s dad had to stop in the middle of the ceremony and cry like seven different times. I think they were all crying. It was a running joke of the day but the Walker men our big saps. So many tears. 

I think another favorite moment. And you already know this if you follow us on Instagram. But I forgot to bring a bowtie. I wear a bowtie at every single wedding and I had forgotten to pack it. 

But when we walked into getting ready space Erin called her soon to be father-in-law over and he presented Michael with several different bowtie options for him to be able to borrow for the day.

DIY Wedding ideas

I have another favorite thing.  They did communion at their ceremony. The cup that they used was a family heirloom from Erin’s side of the family. But the bread that they used was a sourdough using the sourdough starter that Erin and Jared had made at the very beginning of their relationship. They started dating right as Covid was happening and like so many people during the pandemic they decided to create a sourdough starter and kept it going all the way to their wedding day and used that to make their communion bread. 

I don’t even think the guests that were there now all these personal details that were woven throughout the day. They were just so many.

And then the biggest one.  Erin MADE her wedding dress.  From start to finish she made her dress.  And her grandmother helped her.  She used parts of Alex’s dress (the bride we shot who she was a bridesmaid for) to create her belt. 

To speak again to Erin and how amazing she is.  Jared was deployed and bought his shirt once he came back. It came the day before the wedding and so after the rehearsal dinner Erin was tailoring the white shirts for the guys.

I thought we did a lot of things for our own wedding.. but we did nothing. 

Other personal details.. 

Their dog Claire came.  Who was also featured on the s’mores tags.  A family friend made a graphic of their dogs face to put on the tags. 

They had a big LED light up sign in the middle of the barn. 

Jared’s brother who owned the barn made their altar out of copper pipe.

Just so many details.. 

I hate to say it, but our pictures don’t even do justice to how amazing the day was. But take a look at some of our favorites. Congratulations you guys.

Invitations | Zola