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Pennsylvania Farmhouse Elopement

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March 14, 2025

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Professional storyteller, empath, casual outdoorswoman, amateur whiskey enthusiast, and travel aficionado - here to document your love story in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and beyond.
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a stone farmhouse with a stucco addition, with pink rose bushes and other lush greenery and bushes in a garden in front of the house

What better way to celebrate your marriage in the most peaceful way possible than renting a beautiful farmhouse for you and your four closest friends?

Intimate weddings and elopements are growing in popularity for many reasons, not least of which being the budget-friendly options that come with planning for a smaller number of people, along with the intimacy of a close knit group. When planning their wedding and discovering that it would be difficult to coordinate all of their friends and family members in the time frame and location they were hoping for, Eddie and Helena instead chose to rent Historic Buck Run Farm in rural Pennsylvania and invite their four closest friends, 2 couples, to be their witnesses and celebrate over a full summer weekend.

Getting Ready

Eddie and Helena got ready separately, in their own wings of the house, with their friends alongside to help them with the final touches. They both did their own hair and makeup, and the house was truly serene when my partner and I arrived.

a brick path cutting through a front garden full of lush greenery and flowering bushes, leading up to the front door of a stone farm house with a stucco addition
dried flower bouquet of eucalyptus, thistle, and other blue and white flowers, in a dry vase on a wooden floor, a wedding dress in the background
bride smiling at herself in the bathroom mirror, while styling her long brown hair
black and white image of a woman (bride, long brown hair) in a white button down shirt, looking in a bedroom mirror to put her earrings in
wedding dress and veil on hangers, hanging on a bedroom door. there is a vase of dried florals set on the floor next to the dress, and a made bed in the background.
black and white image of a woman leaning against a wall, playing with her braided hair, with the bride's dried floral bouquet in the foreground
bride's friend (black floral dress) zipping up the bride's strapless wedding gown
black and white image of a bride (long brown hair, strapless white wedding gown) standing in a bedroom laughing toward the camera
bride's friend in a black floral dress, giving the bride (long dark hair, white strapless dress) a gift
outdoor bird feeder with five feeders, in a garden against a green forest background, with four goldfinches sitting on the feeders
bride's friend bending over to fluff the train of her wedding gown
black and white image of bride's friend (black dress with floral accents) holding the end of a wedding veil while bride places it in her hair, wearing a long white bridal gown
black and white image of bride pressing veil into her long brown hair, wearing strapless wedding gown

Ceremony

Electing not to do a formal first look, Eddie and Helena saw each other for the first time when Helena walked in to the ceremony space. Their ceremony was incredibly special for several reasons. Firstly, they set up in a beautiful open field, with so much space and room to breathe. They found ways to incorporate each of their four guests into their ceremony, particularly by including the Filipino wedding tradition of the lasso in a cord ceremony, as well as a coin ceremony to symbolize sharing worldly possessions.

Perhaps most notably, Eddie and Helena had a self-solemnizing ceremony, which means that they married themselves and officiated their own wedding. Pennsylvania is one of only a few states that allow this, and it is one of my favorite ways to personalize a wedding ceremony and leave couples feeling like they were truly in control of their commitment.

four wooden chairs placed in an open field, with a rolling hill and forest in the background
a clear pond reflecting a blue sky, set in a meadow surrounded by trees
four wooden chairs placed in an open field, with a rolling hill and forest in the background. A large fence cuts through the middle of the field
bride with brown hair walking down the stone stairs of a large farmhouse on a sunny day, holding the hem up of her strapless white wedding gown
bride walking down a brick patio next to a stone wall, reaching behind her to straighten the train of her gown behind her
groom with long brown hair and a short beard, smiling off camera toward the bride, waiting for her to arrive to their wedding ceremony in a field
bride walking down a stone staircase into an open field, with two wooden chairs on either side and two friends on either side smiling at her, and the groom (white shirt, black pants) smiling at her
bride walking down a stone staircase into an open field, with two wooden chairs on either side and two friends on either side smiling at her, and the groom (white shirt, black pants) smiling at her
bride and groom standing in their self uniting ceremony, reading out of a binder to the four friends witnessing their marriage, in an open field on a sunny day
bride and groom holding hands and laughing toward their guests during their wedding ceremony, standing in a grassy field
bride and groom standing in their self uniting wedding ceremony, reading out of a binder in an open field on a sunny day
two wedding guests walking toward the couple to exchange a basket with a blanket, as well as the binder of their wedding ceremony
bride and groom spreading out a blanket in an open field for a portion of their wedding ceremony, while two friends stand next to them
bride and groom kneeling on a blanket during their wedding ceremony, two guests seated behind them, with one guest standing on either side of them to perform a Filipino ceremony
bride and groom kneeling on a blanket during their wedding ceremony, two guests seated behind them, with one guest standing on either side of them to perform a Filipino lasso ceremony
bride and groom kneeling on a blanket during their wedding ceremony, one guest standing next to them reading out of a binder
bride and groom kneeling on a blanket during their wedding ceremony, two guests seated behind them, with one guest standing next to them to perform a traditional Filipino lasso ceremony
two guests seated and holding hands, watching their friends exchange wedding vows in an open field
a basket holding a folded up blanket, sitting on the grass in an open field
bride and groom standing in an open field on a sunny day, facing each other and exchanging vows
two wedding guests seated next to each other and smiling toward the bride and groom
bride and groom standing in an open field on a sunny day, facing each other and exchanging vows
bride laughing and dabbing her teary eyes with a tissue while exchanging wedding vows
bride and groom standing in an open field on a sunny day, reading out of a binder for their wedding ceremony and laughing toward their guests
bride and groom standing in an open field on a sunny day, reading out of a binder for their wedding ceremony and laughing toward their guests
bride and groom standing in an open field on a sunny day exchanging wedding bands

Their ceremony ended not with a kiss, as most do, but with a a hug and a twirl – and then with a group hug of all six friends, before Helena realized suddenly “we forgot to kiss!”

Laughter ensued.

bride and groom celebrating the end of their wedding ceremony, holding hands up in the air and laughing
bride and groom celebrating the end of their wedding ceremony, holding hands and dancing
bride, groom, and four of their friends celebrating their marriage with a group hug in a grassy field

Portraits

From there, we made our way back up toward the house for portraits with each of the friend groups, which descended into more laughter and hilarity, before Eddie and Helena snuck away for some couples portraits across the grounds. There was a beautiful garden and walkway in the front of the stone farm house, and a lake situated in the middle of a meadow, and we wandered as long as we could take in the summer sun.

black and white image of bride walking up a hill, hiking up the hem of her wedding dress
groom and friend helping bride bustle the train of her strapless white wedding gown
bride and her friend laughing loudly toward each other in front of a large stone farmhouse
bride, groom, and four of their friends standing together and smiling toward the camera in front of a large stone garden and farmhouse
groom (black trousers, white filipino traditional shirt) holding bride's bouquet and smiling, while three friends stand behind him next to a garden
black and white image of bride, groom, and friend laughing together, bride doubled over and holding her chest
bride and groom walking up a stone garden path next to a large stone farmhouse. away from the camera, sun backlighting them
bride (white strapless gown, long brown hair, floor length veil) holding flowers, and smiling at the camera next to groom (white embroidered shirt, black pants, long brown hair) smiling toward the camera, on a stone path in front of a lush green garden with trees
bride (white strapless gown, long brown hair, floor length veil) holding groom's face and kissing him (white embroidered shirt, black pants, long brown hair) on a stone path in front of a lush green garden with trees
bride smiling softly toward the camera, long brown hair over her shoulders, holding dried flower bouquet of blue and purple flowers against a lush green background
bride with a long white dress and long veil facing away from the camera, and looking over her shoulder off camera, holding flowers down at her side, with lots of trees and lush green bushes behind her
bride (white strapless gown, long brown hair, floor length veil) holding groom's face and kissing him on the cheek (white embroidered shirt, black pants, long brown hair) in front of a lush green garden with trees
close up of bride's hand holding her bouquet of dried blue and purple flowers, with her textured dress in the background
groom (white embroidered shirt and black pants, with long brown hair and short beard) smiling with hands crossed in front of him, on a stone path with a lush green garden behind him
close-up black and white image of groom's hands straightening the collar on his shirt, focusing on his wedding band
bride and groom holding hands and walking through a field away from the camera toward a pond
bride and groom holding hands and walking through a field away from the camera toward a pond, while groom is twirled in a spin
bride and groom next to a pond, surrounded by tall green trees, dancing and smiling at each other
bride and groom next to a pond, surrounded by tall green trees, dancing and smiling at each other
black and white image of bride and groom next to a pond, surrounded by tall green trees, dancing and smiling at each other while bride swishes her train around
bride and groom next to a pond, surrounded by tall green trees, holding hands and walking toward the camera while smiling at each other
bride and groom next to a pond, surrounded by tall green trees, holding hands and walking toward the camera while smiling at each other
black and white image of bride and groom next to a pond, surrounded by tall trees, holding hands and walking toward the camera while laughing toward each other
bride and groom holding hands and walking up a stone path toward a large stone farm house, away from camera
groom holding bride's veil over his shoulders while she walks up stairs to a stone patio

Dinner and Doughnuts

After all of the formal portraits were done, Eddie, Helena, and all four of their guests quickly changed into their most comfortable clothes (in all cases, pajamas) and ordered takeout for dinner. They popped champagne, told stories around a long table, and truly enjoyed their time together, laughing and celebrating. Our last task of the night was cutting an enormous gluten free doughnut, in lieu of a wedding cake, which ultimately led to even more sugary giggles.

black and white image through a glass window of groom wearing silly large black sunglasses indoors
black and white image through a glass window of bride smiling toward her friends
close up image of several cardboard take out containers and aluminum foil wraps
flowers on a wooden kitchen table with chairs, takeout containers for dinner scattered on it, with a large light fixture throwing interesting shadows on the ceiling
black and white image of groom, now wearing pajamas, holding a bottle of champagne, peeling off the foil to open it
black and white image of groom (in pajamas) just opening a bottle of wine, while bride (also in pajamas) cheers in the background
groom (in pajamas) opening a bottle of champagne, while bride (also in pajamas) cheers in the background
groom pouring champagne into a stemless flute held by the bride, focusing on her engagement rings
bride and groom, both in pajamas, having a toast with their champagne flutes and smiling at each other
groom and his friend, wrapping their arms together at the elbows and holding champagne flutes
groom and his friend, wrapping their arms together at the elbows and holding champagne flutes, laughing
close up bottle of champagne on a kitchen counter, with a cork sitting in front of it
close up image of a large chocolate donut on a plate, surrounded by green indoor plants
view through a doorframe of six friends sitting at a long wooden kitchen table, all wearing pajamas, eating dinner
black and white image of bride, wearing pajamas and sitting at kitchen table having dinner, laughing off screen
large chocolate doughnut on a plate, sitting on a kitchen counter
bride and groom (both in pajamas) laughing while cutting a large chocolate doughnut in lieu of a wedding cake
bride and groom (both in pajamas) laughing while cutting a large chocolate doughnut in lieu of a wedding cake
bride and groom (both in pajamas) feeding each other pieces of a large chocolate doughnut in lieu of a wedding cake
bride holding groom's face and kissing him on the cheek, both wearing pajamas and smiling
close up image of a slice taken out of a large chocolate donut

Eddie and Helena, thank you so much for the opportunity to celebrate your marriage! It was such an honor to be invited into such an intimate and beautiful environment (and I can’t wait to see you for your reception this year!)

Congratulations again!

Vendor Appreciation

Venue: Historic Buck Run Farm
Photography: Anna Claire Photos, LLC.
Florist: Urban Jungle Philly
Dress: the Law Bridal
Barong: Pineapple Industries


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