Bailey + Robert: A Vintage Mountain Wedding at The Mast Farm Inn, Valle Crucis, NC
Bailey + Robert had a beautiful May wedding in the Blue Ridge Mountains at the historic Mast Farm Inn in Valle Crucis, NC. We loved working with these guys! So many beautiful, real, authentic moments that we were blessed to be able to capture! Here are some highlights...
“Robert and I met at Appalachian State University our freshman year in 2008. We dated briefly early on but then went our separate ways - sort of. We were both involved in the same groups at school and we had many mutual friends. Junior year, we each entered the lottery to go on an International Alternative Spring Break trip and coincidentally we both chose the trip to Egypt when our numbers were called in the lottery. There were only 12 students on the trip, so we spent a lot of time together that week in Egypt, but this still wasn’t the magical moment for us :-) When we returned, we each had loved the experience so much, we separately applied to be leaders for a trip the following year. We were selected along with about 20 others to be leaders, and since we’re both creatures of habit, we decided we would rather lead a trip together since we knew each other than to lead a group of students into a foreign country with someone else we didn’t really know. So, a year of planning commenced. We tossed ideas around for destinations, landed on Ecuador, and then had to do all the logistical planning - budgeting, marketing, travel coordination, and so on. If you think it may be a little awkward to spend all this time with an “ex” and then corral a group of college kids through a country where you’ve never been before, you’re right. But it went so well - we had a great group, Ecuador was gorgeous, we volunteered with a fabulous host organization, and we came home so happy with how it all turned out. It was about a month later that we realized that what we had just experienced was what it’s all about - we had become really good friends, had to make some tough decisions, had seen each other at our best and our worst and still wanted to see each other again. We started dating right before graduation in 2011, and the rest is history.”
“One of my favorite things about the “look” of our wedding was that the bridesmaids all got to choose their own dresses. I gave them a picture of an old-world map for color inspiration and just asked that they choose a knee-length dress. My bridesmaid, Lauren, helped me coordinate everyone so there was a good mix of colors, and i LOVED how they turned out. Some girls already had a dress they could wear and some bought a new dress, but I wanted them all to wear something that made them feel beautiful and that they wanted to wear. It worked out perfectly - they all looked gorgeous.”
“I really wanted to write our own vows, and Robert was okay with that but only if we could say them privately and not in front of everyone. So instead of a “first look,” we decided to do our vows privately early in the afternoon. We both spent the morning each with our best friends, and then everyone went away and it was just the two of us. Robert walked around the corner of the Granary and my heart stopped - that was when it really felt “real” that we were about to make promises to each other for forever. That could have made for a very serious moment, but when both of our vows started with “...who would have thought years ago over PBR’s...” we couldn’t help but laugh. We hadn’t shared our vows or even what we were thinking about writing with each other before the wedding day, so although it seems a little silly, that was the moment that I knew without a doubt that we were meant to be forever.”
“Robert had been saving a special bottle of Maker’s Mark since college, hoping that someday he would get to open it when Appalachian State won another national championship. Somehow the bottle made its way into our bags for the wedding and ended up in the groomsmen cabin for the weekend. Before the guys came down the hill for pictures and for Robert to do his vows, someone decided it would be a great idea to pass the bottle around. All the guys took a swig - a last hoorah before the big event.”
“Before the ceremony started, the girls walked across the street to the main house, and I went upstairs to the little sunroom at the front of the house to wait for everything to start. Lots of our guests were hanging around downstairs and out on the porch, so I felt like I was hiding out upstairs. Eventually all the bridesmaids came upstairs to sit with me, and it was some of the sweetest time I had all day. I wasn’t very nervous before they came upstairs, but whatever nerves I did have melted away. I have the kindest, most caring friends. They made the day so special.”
“Our goal from the beginning of planning our wedding was to have good food, good drinks, and good music. And, we wanted everyone who was at the wedding to feel comfortable and “at home.” Needless to say, Mast Farm Inn’s food and drinks were impeccable. We couldn’t agree on a band or a DJ during planning, so we ended up having our guests request songs when they sent back their RSVPs, and we made playlists for every part of the day - we got so many compliments on the music, and Robert’s groomsman, Aaron, was willing to be our MC for the evening. Danielle and Mast Farm Inn also did a great job creating lots of spaces for people to hangout - we had a dance space surrounded by rockers, our yard games by the pasture, a fire pit, and a spacious tent for the few times it rained.”
“We had planned and planned and planned for the whole wedding and reception to be outdoors under the stars. Of course, the whole week before the wedding, it poured rain so we decided to go with our backup plan - a big tent. We weren’t thrilled about it, but it seemed like the best thing to do. Robert really wanted everything to be outside, but it looked like we weren’t going to get to do anything outside. Then the day of the wedding was absolutely gorgeous - sunny during the morning and clear enough to have our ceremony outside. Even most of the reception was clear; it rained during our speeches, but otherwise everyone got to enjoy the beauty of the mountains. Plus, everybody says rain on your wedding day is good luck!”
“I expected to get a little teary-eyed when my Matron of Honor, Jodie, gave her speech at the reception, but I had no idea what kind of tricks she had up her sleeve. Jodie and I were roommates throughout most of college, but our senior year it was just the two of us in a little apartment. On Wednesday nights we would order the Wacky Wednesday special from Hungry Howie’s Pizza and sit on our living room floor with pizza, cheesy bread, and probably a rerun of Friends on TV. This tradition is something we talk about to this day (unfortunately the closest Hungry Howie’s is an hour away, and we live states apart from each other now), and something we both miss dearly. Well, during her speech, Jodie told everyone that after college when she would crave pizza on Wednesdays she couldn’t figure out if it was because she really wanted pizza or if she was just missing those times together - a sentiment that I totally empathized with. Then, her sweet husband, stepped forward with little Hungry Howie’s pizza for me! I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house, and I know I’ll remember that for the rest of my life!”
Bailey + Robert's advice for brides + grooms?
“Let yourself have fun! Surround yourself with the people you trust to help get things done, and it all falls into place. Then you get to enjoy yourself and relax.”
Wedding & Reception Venue, Dinner & Lodging: The Mast Farm Inn; Coordinator: Danielle Stabler Deschamps at The Mast Farm Inn; Catering/Cake: The Mast Farm Inn; Floral: Peggy Mendel; Hair: Canvas Beauty Bar; Dress: Willowby Watters/BHLDN (Penelope dress); Shoes: Betsey Johnson; Groom Attire: Mens Wearhouse; Transportation: River & Earth Adventures; Honeymoon: Pacific Northwest; Officiant: Benjamin Rainey (bride's uncle); Photography: Revival Photography