Sarah and Jordan did not want a big spectacle for their wadding. Instead, they opted for an intimate ceremony and meal with their closest family. That didn’t mean they didn’t care about the aesthetics though, in fact they were very visually driven, wanting deep opera reds, black accents, candlelight, and rich textures. They hired Britney of Be You Planning to help them bring their vision to life

“The theme was dramatic, luxurious, and unapologetically red”, Sarah said. “The first time I said I wanted red, Jordan immediately said no, which honestly made me want it more! He naturally leans clean, classic, and understated, and I have always leaned the exact opposite. I love strong colours, statement details, and anything with a little bit of drama, so the vision for the day ended up looking a lot like my personal style.”

They didn’t set out with the goal of being alternative, instead they wanted to focus on building something that felt aligned with their life. They spent the entire day together, starting with grabbing their morning coffee as they usually do, then getting ready side by side.

“I don’t know that we set out to make the wedding feel alternative, but we were very intentional about making it feel like us”, Sarah continued. “One of the biggest things we did differently was that we spent the entire day together. We got ready together that morning, had coffee together, and read our vows to each other privately before anything started. It made the whole day feel calm and personal instead of rushed, and it kept the focus on what the day actually meant to us.”

The ceremony itself was also kept private, only their closest family was there. Between them, they have four children, and so they wanted them involved in every moment. “The heart of the day was really about the six of us becoming a family, so it felt important to keep that moment small and meaningful instead of turning it into something performative.”

The thing they found hardest about planning, was all the little details and decisions, which is why they were so happy with their choice of wedding planner. “When you attend a wedding, you see the big moments, the dress, the ceremony, the reception, but you don’t realise how many tiny decisions sit underneath all of that”, she explained, I was lucky in the sense that once I started to feel overwhelmed, I was able to hire a wedding planner, and that gave me a whole new level of respect for people who plan everything themselves. It’s a lot more work than it looks from the outside!”

The music they chose to play throughout the day followed their usual listening habits, too. EDM, house, 90s hip hop, and country all appeared. Jordan walked in to the ceremony to the Red Clay Strays and they left to Jay-Z. Drinks ranged from a Diet Coke tower, Monster and Dom Pérignon, which they discovered they actually enjoyed the least!

“Our reception wasn’t really a a traditional reception at all, which honestly made it one of my favourite parts. We ordered pizza, partly because it sounded good and partly because it was a reference to one of Jordan’s first jobs, and ended up signing our marriage certificate at the table with pizza and beer in our hands! At some point karaoke started, our niece and youngest daughter both sang, and Kaleigh, who had just officiated our ceremony and also happens to be the niece of Neal McCoy, ended up serenading us with Neal McCoy songs in the middle of the brewery! None of it was planned, it was just all the people we love in one place, doing what we would probably be doing anyway.”

“I think the biggest thing I wish more people understood is that a non-traditional wedding isn’t about trying to be different, it’s about making the day actually feel like it belongs to you”, she concluded. “At the end of the day, it’s your wedding, and it should reflect your life, your personality, and what feels right for the two of you, not what makes other people comfortable.”