Today we’re featuring Sydney + Derek’s Brookside Farms wedding in Louisville, Ohio captured by K Dawn Photography. And darling, let me tell you: this wedding has it all! A glowing bride, elegant bouquets, sparkling bridesmaids, a starry-eyed groom, silly groomsmen, and a gazillion guests with the biggest smiles ever are absolutely the perfect way to begin Valentine’s Week!
So much happiness!
We’re so grateful Sydney allowed us the opportunity to share her beautiful wedding story, and we love all the background information she provided, as well, including this little snippet of their love story:
When I was young, I thought Derek was the most handsome thing. I would joke to my friends and say “I’m going to marry Derek Pritchett.”
Years later, we officially met at a youth meeting and exchanged phone numbers because of a picture being sent around the group. Nothing happened right away but two years later Derek decided to contact me regarding some dumb Facebook poll. We got to talking and ended up meeting up a couple times through mutual friends.
Eventually, Derek decided he wanted to take me on a proper date. Like a gentleman, he called my dad and asked his permission to take me out. My dad deliberated for days and finally gave me permission the day of the date. So (obviously!) I immediately got my mom and went shopping for a new outfit. After finding a perfect sweater, I got ready for a date with the man of my dreams. On August 14, 2010, Derek picked me up at my house, took me to TGI Fridays, and topped it off with Starbucks.
Exactly five years later, we got to meet at an altar and say “I do.”
First things first: the first look.
The first look has been popular for several years now, but I am absolutely IN LOVE with Sydney’s first look pictures with her dad. I mean, really… how much more emotional/sentimental/unforgettable could this actually be?! Especially considering the story Sydney shared above, I think this first look has poignant significance. The joy on his face is perfectly breathtaking. You can tell he was one proud daddy that day.
For Sydney, the most special time of her wedding, other than actually saying “I do” to the man of her dreams, was their first look. She says, “It was such a special moment between Derek and me. It helped us both relax and not be so nervous for the entire day and gave us that private, intimate time to see each other all dressed up. It was an absolutely perfect moment.”
Sydney purchased her gorgeous dress on eBay. She says, “I went dress shopping for weeks and could not find the perfect one, so I decided to make it myself. I fell in love with the bottom of this Vera Wang gown on eBay. Once it came in the mail, I tried it on and it was beautiful. I knew the style of wedding dress I wanted and my awesome seamstress helped redesign the the gown to fit what I wanted. I ordered lace from Latvia (also off of eBay). Miraculously, when the lace came in the mail it matched the dress perfectly. My mother and I went to Joanne fabrics and bought matching material for the rest of the gown, then my seamstress created sleeves and covered the entire top of the gown in lace, with my personal favorite part: the scalloped lace edge on the neckline. She also covered the back zipper with buttons per my request.”
Sydney had a lot of help from her talented friends in making her wedding uniquely hers. She designed her bridesmaid dresses herself and they were sewn by a friend; all of the bouquets were made by another friend.
Sydney + Derek’s elegant wedding ceremony took place in the chapel on site at Brookside, followed by a reception in the barn. Sydney wanted her wedding to be “a fun Friday night with close family and friends. I didn’t want it to be super formal, just a relaxing, fun night celebrating our wedding. I chose a Friday so that everyone could have that following Saturday to relax because weddings are exhausting. Even Derek and I took that day off, we didn’t leave for our honeymoon until Sunday.”
Sydney planned her beautiful wedding in eight months — while finishing her last semester of nursing school and studying for her boards! She was a busy girl there for a while, but we know that all the time and effort — both in the wedding planning and school finishing! — was worth every minute.