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Alex and Ryan had a beautiful ECO DIY Wedding beginning with a ceremony at Our Lady of Visitation Parish in Germantown, MD and ending with a reception on a private farm with badminton and a bluegrass band!

Handmade elements really gave the wedding a personal touch. Alex’s hair piece and Ryan’s boutonniere both came from Etsy.

After the ceremony everyone headed down the road to begin the celebration.

The charming private farm was actually the home of one of the bridesmaid’s parents. Alex spent a lot of time there in high school. The Kern’s frequently refer to Alex as their third daughter, so when they heard  about the wedding they offered to host the reception and would not take no for an answer.  The Groom states, “It meant a great deal to Alex and me to be able to start our family on a piece of land that was owned by, what is basically, her extended family.”

The earthy table arrangements were hand made by Alex, her mom and her brother, James. The impressive buds are made from coffee filters.

These are my two favorites photos from the day. One is pure romance. The other is pure joy.

The bridal party was made up of friends, family and “Flat Mike.” This cardboard cut out represented Ryan’s friend, who was going to be a groomsmen until he was deployed to Afghanistan. His wife and parents were able to make this special homage, so that at least a part of him was there for the wedding.

One of the first decisions the couple made was to have games at the reception!

“We tried to keep everything at the wedding as eco-friendly as possible, including only using compostable cups, plates, and utensils, encouraging the caterer to use local produce, and ensuring that all bottles were recycled.”

Instead of a cake, the couple asked family and friends to make their favorite desserts (Mom’s pound cake, the Best Man’s Mom’s peach cobbler, the Bride’s Uncle’s apple pie, etc.), which made the whole thing feel more personal, and helped involve a lot more people in the day, which was one of their goals.

A note from the Groom, “We wanted to make sure the wedding was a true reflection of our personalities so we tried to have a direct hand in as most as possible. We also wanted to have our family and close friends involved in the big day, and it meant a lot that so many people were willing to help in major ways (Alex’s bridesmaids did the table arrangements, Alex’s mom made the hummus and then my family put together the appetizers, Alex’s sister, Emily did her make up, my groomsmen helped to set up and clean up tables, chairs etc., Alex’s uncle drove all the compostables/recyclables to Virginia to be processed, the desserts, the flower, etc., etc., etc.).  We just can’t thank all of those people enough for making our first day as a family so special.”

Ooooo a little bit louder now!