WEDDING BLOG

Everything about Andi and Ben’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park wedding was a reflection of their relationship, and it couldn’t have been more beautiful. From choosing a wedding spot close to their hearts to writing their own ceremony (and promising to go to the zoo together once a year!), the wedding was a true celebration of their love. Friends and family contributed to the day in big ways and small: collecting vintage glasses, building the ceremony set-up, and even performing music throughout the wedding. Photographers Mallory + Justin brilliantly captured all of the sweet moments and handpicked details that came together to make Andi and Ben’s wedding a reality.

The Couple:

Andi and Ben

The Wedding:

Hines Hill Conference Center, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

The first look was amazing. Even though we had seen each other in the morning and right before getting dressed, we were both full of anxious jitters as the time got closer. When we finally got to see each other in our wedding day duds, all the stress, worry, and anxiety melted away and we were able to relax and enjoy every part of the day.

I had fallen in love with the necklace and bought it on a whim way before I had the dress. Then I saw the dress and was so pleased it worked with the necklace. Other than that, I wanted to stay pretty laid back.

Our Maid of Honor, Best Man, and family members entered to an acoustic guitar version of “Til There Was You.” My dad I walked down the aisle to an acoustic guitar version of the Jurassic Park theme (my favorite movie), and we recessed to an acoustic version of “Kiss to Build a Dream on.” The ceremony music was played by my college friend Adam Day, who is a musician in Austin. Our first dance was Louis Armstrong’s version of “La Vie En Rose,” played live by our wonderful band.

We got married under a 300 year old oak tree on Ben‘s parents property. It is his favorite tree and an important part of his childhood. When we first got engaged we both assumed we’d get married under the “Mighty Oak” (that is the tree’s name), it wasn’t even a question.

We wrote out our whole ceremony ourselves and wrote our vows together. We wanted our vows to be unique to our relationship. The last line of our vows we promised each other to go to the zoo together every year (that was our first date that we have celebrated every year since the first one. We’ve been on 7 zoo dates already!). We also had our good friend become ordained so that someone we loved could marry us instead of a stranger.

Our photographers, Mallory and Justin, were so much fun to work with. They were so good at wrangling us and all of our friends, and made us laugh all day. After working with them, we wanted to be “real-life” friends with them. In addition to being amazing to work with, every picture they took was fabulous and beautiful.

Congrats to Andi and Ben on their glam woodland wedding, and thanks to Mallory + Justin for giving Junebug a glimpse into the big day! For more forest wedding inspiration, check out Laura and Josiah’s bohemian woodland wedding at the Cabins at Strawberry Hill.