kristin + joe // landis arboretum
Filed in weddings shot by Ayres Photography on atKristin and Joe’s wedding was the sweetest little DIY celebration ever!! They are seriously one of the cutest couples and their amazing, youthful energy was so much fun to be a part of! We love spending time with couples who aren’t afraid to be silly and really embrace their true personalities on their wedding day!! AND they love Star Wars as much as we do! Bonus!! We had a blast with them at the beautiful Landis Arboretum in Esperance, New York. If you’ve never been we highly suggest you check it out!!
Kristin and Joe were kind enough to share some of their favorite memories from their big day!! As you scroll through their wedding feel free to read along! We really love their sense of humor and excitement :)
Kristin: “We wanted to have a chill, BBQ, mostly outdoor, DIY wedding. Not everything went as planned, but it was amazing anyway!“
Kristin: “Looking at my big sister’s face when I first put my wedding dress on before the ceremony was so emotional for me. Sharing that moment with her still makes me cry when I think about.“
Kristin: “The first moment when it sunk in that I was getting married was when I went to pick up my flowers that morning. I saw the boutonnieres, with their little imperial symbol charm, and it suddenly hit me! It’s TODAY! =First cry of the day.“
Kristin: “Seeing Joseph for the first look was so fun and exciting! I love that we did that before the ceremony with just a few people around. That made it, in my opinion, more special.“
Joe: “Thank goodness for Ben from Ayres Photography!! For if not for him every picture that I would have from that day would have me with crazy eyes due to the Red Bull soaked adrenaline coursing through my system.“
Joe: “I loved the small touches of Star Wars that my beautiful bride put together. Hand painted “Choose Your Side” sign-in art, which is now hanging in our living room, the cups with the Star Wars font as wedding favors that we now use every day, and the boutonnieres and earrings on the fellas and ladies.“
Kristin: “My favorite thing I made is a toss up of our invitation and the guest book painting, which is now hanging in our living room.“
Kristin: “One of my favorite surprises of the day was walking down the aisle. I had asked my brother to play his trumpet for my entrance. ‘Anything,” I said, ‘you choose’. I was expecting maybe something classical, or maybe something jazzy to be different. I trust him with all things musical. He played ‘Part of Your World’ from The Little Mermaid for me, which may sound so silly, but was so thoughtful and sweet. Probably because I wanted to be the Little Mermaid for most of my life. He then planned with all of my friends to have them sing at the end while he played. It was something so special to me that I will remember forever. I am crying as I write this.“
Joe: “When I forgot the ring my groomsmen saved my bacon and the wedding. They went to get it from my car during the ceremony but luckily still before it was needed (perfect timing in my opinion).“
Kristin: “Taking photos with Jenn and Ben after was so fun and relaxing and it gave us some sort of alone time to take it all in. During that time they created some of my favorite photos of the whole day. I mean, Joseph and I are not the most photogenic people… and they made us look GOOD!“
Joe: “Singing and dancing like two kids in middle school to our first song ‘You Ruined Everything’ by Jonathan Coulton… Kristin and I had a moment between ourselves as everyone else listened to the lyrics and got a good chuckle. Then later on we getting jiggy to ‘Kick-Drum Heart’ by Avett Brothers with all the younglings in an impromptu dance contest (which I handily won).“
Kristin: “DJ Pat Del! He made the day flow so smoothly and really added so many fun touches. He took our overall themes and mashed them all into a perfect wedding compilation. He kept the energy up! Not just with songs- he also brought games and hula hoops, added Star Wars everywhere, and really brought together the upbeat silly atmosphere that we wanted to achieve.“
Joe: “The best advice that I got before my wedding, and it really helped me through… Eat everything and drink everything you can before you get up. Because once you get up, that’s it. You’re moving and going and talking to everyone you know. Because you know everyone. You two are the lynchpin of that whole day. Everyone wants a piece of you and you just want a piece of cake.“
Kristin: “I chose Ayres Photography because they have such a clean, beautiful style of photography. They capture natural moments and details beautifully. I love the way they use depth of field. I love how they creatively frame photos. I love that they are simply edited and not over filtered. They are so easy to work with. I do not like to be in front of a camera, but with Ben’s silly one liners and Jenn’s calming presence and creative questions, they put everyone at ease. They made the day so FUN!“
Joe: “Working with Jenn and Ben (why doesn’t Ben also have two N’s?!) was great. The pictures that we had taken were fantastic to my unpracticed eye and were incredible to my wife, who is a wedding photographer and second shooter herself. I know we went out of our way to work with Jenn and Ben and they went out of their way to work with us. Literally, they drove across the state to shoot the wedding. Ben did a great job of making it fun and easy going while trying to keep me grounded enough to not make me look like a lunatic. All in all it was a fantastic day that went by way too quickly.“
Wedding Vendors Include
Ceremony and Reception: Landis Arboretum
Hair: Mel’s Place Beauty Salon
Wedding Dress: BHLDN
Music: DJ Patrick Michael del Rosario