Rewind to Amanda & Ben's engagement shoot

Deep into Hillsborough and into Dawson's settlement I drove. Past construction and washed out roads, I thought to myself "This wedding had better be worth it!"

Just kidding, it's always worth it ;) And so it was!

Chocolate dipped strawberries were being handed around as the ladies in plaid buzz around getting ready for the day. Dresses were steamed, hair was coiffed, makeup was made up, and dogs were petted. Okay, just one dog. But he was appreciative of whatever attention he could get on the busy day.

Side note: The bride's shoes might look pretty familiar from the wedding of the weekend before. Except this time they were home-made. Props to the bride for pulling off a Pinterest win on that one ;)

As usual, the men were a bit reluctant to get going "I just have to put a shirt on, right?" Well...close enough I suppose. Each of the groomsmen found a little something in their boots before getting ready. That's right, their boots. They decided that authenticity was more important than high fashion that weekend, and CSA Grade 1 was a requirement for this wedding party.

Back with the bridal party, their matching wedding socks offered a little less protection, but they didn't seem to mind. Thankfully everyone made it through the day without any foot injuries (that I'm aware of), even though they flagrantly disregarded the safety requirements.

We soon found ourselves at Dawson Settlement Baptist Church where family awaited the stars of the day. Once some cute signs were hung onto the kids, everyone came down the aisle, and family and friends witnessed the exchange of vows, love, and a kiss.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Okay, so it was actually afterwards, but I just wanted to say that.

But regardless, back at the farm, we first headed into the barn for some family and group photos. Then when the family had all had their turn, it was on to "the cake". Using some heavy equipment, the groom had constructed his tiered cake of hay bales, which required a surprisingly large ladder to scale.

Although it was around this time of year that the weather had warmed up, and the snow had melted, but it surely was not on this day. The ladies tried their best to not shiver visibly in their flowing dresses, and the men, of course, pretended it wasn't cold at all, but everyone was pretty happy to head back to the warm reception hall when we were done.

At the Hillsborough Golf Club, the wedding day kept on rolling. The hall was decorated with touches of the farm, and I loved the clearly in love cows which topped the cake. Some stories were told, the shoe game was played, and Chinese lanterns (reluctantly) took to the sky, before the dancing kicked off and continued into the night.