Botanicals Are The Backdrop for This Bucks County Greenhouse Wedding

Photos by Sarah Brookhart

We’re all for a little greenery at a reception, and this wedding has a LOT (which means we love it even more). Botanicals are the backdrop for this Bucks County couple’s earthy-yet-elegant affair last August at Hortulus Farm in Wrightstown, with event planning by Arielle Fera Events. See all the beautiful plant-filled photos by Sarah Brookhart below.

Sometimes, though you don’t realize it, what you’re looking for is right in front of you. That was the case for Kirsten Fitz- Maurice and Ryan Engelhardt, childhood schoolmates who needed 13 years of post-high-school run-ins — at festivals, bars and baseball games — to start dating. The pair matched on Bumble, and a few weeks later, Ryan, a middle-school teacher, was on his way to Kirsten’s house for their first date. “There was a startling familiarity,” Kirsten, a pharmaceutical project manager, remembers of the evening. “Like we’d been waiting our whole lives to catch up.” Ryan’s feelings were even stronger: “I left knowing I was going to marry her.”

Seven months in, the couple headed to Europe for a 12-day vacation through France and Italty. Such a rendezvous could — and did — lead to suspicion of a proposal by Kirsten’s friends and family, but she assured them Ryan planned to pop the question at Christmastime. So she was just as surprised as some back home when he got down on one knee in Paris.

Their wedding was, in many ways, about the generation that came before them; Kirsten and Ryan drank from her parents’ champagne flutes, and Ryan’s wedding band was recast from his father’s. Blushing bride protea, seeded eucalyptus, ranunculus, hydrangea, tweedia and hops — wrapped in ribbons from Silk & Willow as well as from Kirsten’s grandmother’s wedding flowers — made up the bridal bouquet. (The couple also used the cake topper from Kirsten’s grandparents’ wedding on their three-tier lemon pound cake.)

The welcome table was decorated with vintage lace, greenery provided by the venue, and a sign embellished with a quote from poet Tyler Knott Gregson. Oranges, a symbol of good fortune and fertility, were a theme throughout the day. The bride herself lettered the leaf-shaped escort cards attached to the fruits. The parents of the bride, illustrators by trade, created the original artwork and typography for the invitation suite, which was printed by Darling + Pearl letterpress studio.

 A dinner of seared corvina, braised brisket, and seasonal vegetables was served at long farm tables underneath candlelit vintage chandeliers covered in dried hydrangea. To pay tribute to Philadelphia — and to satisfy their soft-pretzel-loving families — the couple included a late-night pretzel bar stocked with six different kinds of dip.  The couple agrees that writing their own vows was the most touching part of the celebration, but only Kirsten had prior knowledge of the most surprising: the 1962 Rolls-Royce she rented as their getaway car.

THE DETAILS

Venue: Hortulus Farm | Photographer: Sarah Brookhart | Event Planner: Arielle Fera Events | Florist: A Cottage Gardener | Cake & Caterer: Jeffrey A. Miller Catering | Bride’s gown: Rue De Seine from Lovely Bride | Groom’s tux: Men’s Wearhouse | Hair & makeup: C.E. Facial Artistry | Transportation: Advanced Limousine Services | Videographer: Shutter and Sound | Music: DJ Justin Byrne at Synergetic

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