We love a good barn wedding. And a wedding with pets. AND a Jewish wedding where the couple goes the extra mile to personalize their ceremony. Put all those things together, and you’ve got one incredible day.
Jacqui and James pulled off the perfect laid-back barn wedding – the bride wanted all the guests to feel “like they were hanging out in their own backyard,” and based on the gorgeous photos from Sarah Diller, we’d say she definitely succeeded.
And how cute is it that the couple got their beloved dogs in on the fun? We’re obsessed with the pics of the pair walking back down the aisle with their sweet pups in tow.
Although Jacqui and James’ wedding was not religious – they were married by a friend, not a rabbi – we love the way they incorporated Jewish traditions in a way that was authentic and meaningful to them as a couple, opting to wed under a chuppah and sign a gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com, while forgoing the traditional ceremony in favor of one the bride wrote herself!
There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll let the bride, who looked lovely in Maggie Sottero, take it from here..
Venue
Jacqui, the bride: I have always dreamed of an outdoor, barn yard, casual wedding. Red Gate Farms located in the beautiful, historic city of Savannah, GA was the absolute perfect location!
Backyard Vibes
I wanted my wedding to feel very comfortable and casual. I wanted my guests to feel like they were hanging out in their own backyard.
Dress
Out of the dozens of dresses I tried on, my mom really did start crying when I put on “the dress,” and we knew it was the one.
Sparkly Sneakers
I am definitely not a heels girl! I am, however, a super sparkly girl! I wore the Kate Spade for Keds wedding sneakers under my long dress! I was so happy I did!
The best part… I forgot to pack socks and one of my bridesmaids happen to have an extra pair she pulled out questioning “I don’t think you’ll want to wear these?” … They were high ankle blue socks. I said in a VERY excited voice “They are my something borrowed and blue!”
The handsome groom
I knew I was going to have a lot of the say in our wedding and I James to feel involved. The very first thing I did was have James pick out what he wanted him and his groomsmen to wear. He chose navy suit, the other element James picked out were floral ties. He found his favorite tie on Amazon for about $7 a tie. I was a little worried they would look cheap so we ordered one just to see. It was perfect! I based the rest of the color palette on the ties James picked out.
Our music choice
Omg we had the best music! The band (our friends) played an acoustic version of Van Morrison’s ‘Into The Mystic’ for the processional. The first dance was ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ by Alicia Keys. The lead singer nailed it as we knew he would. We had several songs the band learned for us. And we had a DJ for backup (because my mom insisted) that barely played at all. He was dancing to the band’s rock ‘n roll too.
Entertainment
We hired our friend’s band, The Brown Goose, to play our wedding and they totally rocked. The band even nailed our first dance which was ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ by Alicia Keys. James even got up and played a few songs with them. It was like a rock show wedding. Everyone loved it!
Ceremony
It was important to me to incorporate Jewish wedding traditions into our non-religious wedding day. I think adding traditions connects you with your past but it’s important to make them your own. During our ceremony James and I stood under a chuppah. Our family and friends also lifted us up in chairs and danced in circles around us during the hora.
Our friend, Steve, married us and James had the entire room crying with his vows. I didn’t have a traditional ketubah signing but it was very special and symbolic to us. My grandparents signed my ketubah and we did not have a Rabbi present. I picked the navy blue room specifically to match what everyone was wearing and it’s one of my favorite designed rooms I’ve ever seen. I wrote my own wedding ceremony which I used my ketubah wording to help me a lot! I loved that they matched.
Hora
Hora was so much – my dress bustle broke so after a while of trying to dance around I just stood in the middle and gave everyone a kiss on the cheek as they passed me. I even made the traditional hora my own!
Photographer
Sarah is an amazing photographer, she made us feel comfortable and got great shots.
Favours
We had an outdoor wedding last November in Savannah, GA. You never know what the weather is going to do in Savannah. We had blankets people could grab with a chalkboard sign that read “To have and to hold in case you get cold”.
Cool story about that chalkboard sign…. I found it on Facebook Marketplace, when to pick it up 10 minutes from my home and the exact writing To have and to hold in case you get cold” that I wanted to use was already on it. It was literally a SIGN and I knew I had to use it! It was also much cheaper then buying a new chalkboard and I loved knowing it was already used for a wedding the year prior.
S’mores and fire pit
We hired our friends band, The Brown Goose to play our wedding. James use to be in the band when we lived in Tallahassee. They totally rocked! The band even nailed our first dance. James got up a played a few songs with them. It was like a rock show wedding. Everyone loved it! Late night taco bar so everyone got to refuel before after party!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Someone told me that it is so easy for the bride and groom to separate on wedding day with all of their family and friends wanting their attention. James and I made a huge effort to stay together as much as possible and that is exactly what we did. He was even the one to accompany me to the bathroom to help me with my dress! We didn’t separate the entire night!
Our wedding day was everything I could have ever imagined!
Jacqui & James’ little white book
Photography – Sarah Diller
Ketubah – Ketubah.com {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – Red Gate Farms
Bride’s dress – Maggie Sottero purchased at Ivory & Beau
Bride’s shoes – Kate Spade
Groom’s tie – Amazon
Band – The Brown Goose
