Kristy & Jordan = The Little Chapel at Haven Ridge

A Magical European Inspired Wedding Day  |  Kristy & Jordan  |  May 6, 2024

HOW IS THIS REAL LIFE?! My sister just married her best friend, and their wedding was beyond our wildest dreams of absolute PERFECTION!!! All week my family has been recapping how incredible Kristy & Jordan’s wedding was – it was the most beautiful, happiest day!!!! The word everyone has been using to describe their wedding has been “MAGICAL” and it seriously doesn’t seem real!!!

Side note – if you missed seeing their romantic field Engagement Session, click HERE to view! Also, Kristy’s beautiful Bridal Session on the water is also on the blog, HERE if you missed it!
 
When Jordan & Kristy started planning their wedding, they decided a small 50-person wedding would be so intimate and perfect for them. As self-proclaimed Research Queen, I immediately started googling “venues for small weddings” – and stumbled upon the most picturesque little chapel and thought: “THIS IS IT.” But the problem was, Kristy was hoping for a wedding close to her city, and I had NO IDEA where this venue was located yet! Once I saw that the venue was literally 15 minutes from Kristy’s house, I was in tears and called Kristy screaming into the phone that I FOUND HER VENUE!!!!!! I sent her photos and she fell in love!! We toured the incredible venue & property as a family, and heard about the green glass Solarium that would be built for receptions and loved the vision. Kristy immediately knew it was THE VENUE, and Jordan agreed!

We spent the next 6 months planning out all the details (my first foray into pretending to be a wedding planner and wow it’s hard haha) and our family was all hands on deck! I designed the invitation suite, the signage, the menus & programs which was so fun!! My sister Angela baked & decorated their stunning wedding cake – as gluten free, dairy free, so Kristy could eat her own cake! Thanks to great advice from our florist friend (Brushed by Bec) and beautiful flowers from our groom Hunter’s family farm (Curtis Flower Farm) all of us Lievense girls designed all the flower compotes, grounders, and bouquets!! My mom made their Unity Braid Signage, and even altered my dress! The morning of the wedding, my family (minus Kristy) along with 2 of my mom’s sweet friends (Helen and Anne) decorated the entire reception! It was truly amazing how it all came together somehow!!!

The day started off at our airbnb at the venue, where us girls got glammed by my sweet bride, Karey (Beauty by Karey) and she did an incredible job as always – and is so fun to hang out with too!!! Jordan and his guys got to hang out at the new Tiny Cottage at the venue so they had their own space!

Seeing my sister get ready as a bride was so special, she was RADIANT. My dad had a sweet First Look with her, and we prayed together as a family before starting photos!

Since it was raining off/on all afternoon we were praying SO HARD for the rain to stop – and Kristy was such a good sport getting out into the rain for photos with us girls. The rain stopped mostly when it was time for Kristy’s photos outside, and we were so thankful! (Our 3-month old niece, Stella, was such a good girl and got cute photos with her Aunt KK!)

One of the reasons Kristy loved this venue was the idea of THAT MOMENT of those heavy wooden chapel double doors opening as she entered. It was such a beautiful moment seeing Kristy BEAMING at everyone, and Jordan as she walked in. The ceremony was officiated by Pastor Brian Tippett, and he did an incredible job. Kristy had a violinist and cellist for the ceremony music and it was soooooo beautiful.

As we walked out of the ceremony, the SUN WAS SHINING! Whattttt?!!?! How! Thank you God!!!! It was a 79% chance of rain during our ceremony and reception, and during that timeframe, it didn’t rain a DROP, and the sun was out. Wow, what a miracle!

We photographed family portraits, bridal party in front of that GORGEOUS solarium, and then the most MAGICAL Bride and Groom portraits in front of the solarium, and then in the field with the glowiest light backlighting them!!! WHAT A DREAM!!!

They kicked off the reception with yummy food, the cutest COFFEE TRUCK serving speciality espresso coffee drinks to the guests, and then we snuck Kristy & Jordan back outside for photos IN A ROWBOAT on the pond. Like are YOU KIDDING ME. I can’t get over these. MAGIC!!!! 🙂

The reception was so much fun as we danced, ate wedding cake, and Jordan’s family even surprised Kristy with rolling out a bar cart of Kristy’s favorite locally made caffeine drink, “Sunshines”, for all the guests!!! The night absolutely FLEW BY, and before we knew it, it was time for a sparker exit! We were supposed to have a bonfire with smores, but it was starting to thunder & weather rolling in! So Kristy and Jordan gave hugs to all their guests, and ended their night with a private last dance surrounded by candles. It was the most perfect way to end a perfect day!

Then the skies opened, and it downpoured the rest of the night. God provided the weather we needed, when we needed it. So thankful!!!

WHAT A PERFECT DAY! Phillip kept saying it felt like we were in Europe, and it was the most incredible place. THANK YOU to the venue owners and coordinators, the entire Bradford Family for supporting us, helping us with so many hands-on things, and giving my sister the most amazing day. We are forever thankful to you, Mollie and Joe!!! I can’t wait for ya’ll to see all my favorite photos below. ENJOY!!!!!!!

One last thanks to our vendors:

Wedding Cake: Angela Avery, sister of the bride
Photography: Tiffany L. Johnson Photography, sister of the bride
Florists: The Bride’s Family (Flowers from Curtis Flower Farm)
Videography: Phillip Johnson, brother of the bride
Hair & Makeup Artist: Beauty by Karey
Musicians: Sarah & Medb (Ceremony & Cocktail hour)
Catering: Dolce Family Catering
Belle’s Brews Coffee Truck, Chelsea Elliot
Officiant: Brian Tippett, Peace Church Wilson
Coordinators – Rachel Ekker & and Kristin Johnson

Wedding Venue: The Little Chapel at Haven Ridge (Mollie & Joe)