Dazzling Classic Christmas Wedding in Indiana

Emma and Caleb’s December wedding held all of the merry magic of the holiday season

The magic of a Christmas wedding was the perfect tone of celebration for this couple. They met in 2013 working together at a local ice cream shop, and the fun friendship eventually sparked into romance in 2017. Caleb’s January proposal in front of Cinderella’s castle at Disney World was a complete surprise for bride, Emma, and started this pair dreaming about their perfect wedding day. With a love for the holiday season and the beauty of the Brown County forest woods surrounding our venue, they knew they wanted to lean into a Christmas theme. In our interview with Emma, get to know how this couple pulled off their perfect Christmas wedding!

The Wilds: Let’s talk wedding decor! Your Christmas wedding looked absolutely perfect. What details did you and Caleb dream up, and who helped you pull it all together?

Emma: When we started planning, we knew that we wanted to have a Christmas theme, but we did not want it to be overdone. We wanted it to feel festive, warm, and cozy for our guests which is why went went for a red and gold color palette. We knew we wanted a romantic feel with warm colors and lighting. Our amazing vendors definitely understood the assignment and completely nailed it!

Our florist, Pomp and Bloom, incorporated red, white, and burgundy blooms along with evergreen and red berries into all of our florals, creating a very merry atmosphere. We incorporated subtle gold touches through our place settings (One World Catering), and signage (Creative in Bloom). Our tables were numbered with small evergreen wreaths with red ribbon and gold numbers.

The Wilds: The details they created were so dreamy! What was your favorite part of it all?

Emma: Our favorite part of our wedding decor was the Christmas tree that Christy from Creative in Bloom and Gina from Pomp and Bloom collaborated on. It was not only beautifully decorated with red and white blooms, but it was extra unique because it also doubled as our seating chart and an extra wedding favor for our guests! Each guest was able to take home a red ornament with their name hand-written in gold. Christy also found and personalized the cutest sleigh to display our wedding favors, and even let us keep it as a special gift! We still continue to receive compliments on our decor, and we are so grateful to our wonderful team of vendors for working so hard to pull it all together!

The Wilds: What were your biggest priorities for the big day? Were there any non-negotiables or vendors that were on your ‘must-have’ list?

Emma: Even though ours was a December wedding, we wanted to have an outdoor ceremony at The Wilds. The backdrop is too beautiful to pass up, and we liked the idea of having a longer aisle to walk down during the processional. The Wilds team gave us great suggestions on ways we could make that happen and still keep our guests comfortable! We rented heaters, provided blankets, served hot chocolate, and kept the ceremony short and simple. I also provided my bridesmaids with white shawls to keep them warm. No one complained for a second about the cold, and once the ceremony was over, everyone was able to quickly move into the warm, indoor reception space for cocktail hour. 

The Wilds: Were there any special Christmas traditions incorporated or special moments with family members that stand out from your wedding day?

Emma: My grandparents all played a special role in the wedding. My grandpa did the welcome message and opening prayer during our ceremony, which is something we will treasure forever. My grandma gave me my great-grandmother’s ring to wear as something old, borrowed, and blue. My nana and papaw helped me pick out my wedding dress. My nana also made her special homemade peanut butter fudge (a Christmas Eve tradition in our family) as a wedding favor to our guests. She and my papaw hand-wrapped each box themselves which looked so charming.

We were also able to incorporate many of our family members and close friends into our ceremony, which made it even more special. My cousin even officiated the wedding!

The Wilds: Do you have any wedding planning advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?

Planning a wedding doesn’t have to be incredibly stressful! Do your research and choose vendors you trust, so that you don’t have to worry about every tiny detail. Ask your vendors for advice because even if you think you know exactly what you want, they may have an idea that will take yours to the next level. 

The sweetheart table was a great option for us since we had a larger wedding party. It was also nice to be together, just the two of us, during dinner so that we could talk and relax before the speeches and dancing started up. 

We also highly recommend doing a first look, and getting as many photos done before the ceremony as possible! After the ceremony, you will want to relax, enjoy the party, and talk to your guests; taking photos beforehand allowed us to do that!

The Wilds: Any ways in which The Wilds team went above and beyond leading up to or during wedding day?

The Wilds team was absolutely wonderful and made our entire wedding experience so easy and fun, from the day we first saw the venue on! When we had to postpone our wedding for nearly a year due to the pandemic, the entire team showed us so much compassion and really helped us make the best out of our change of plans.

Since we had an extra year to think about what we wanted, we ended up changing a lot of our original plans, and The Wilds team was so supportive through every little change. They answered every little question we had, and made us feel like we were important to them and that they genuinely cared about us and our wishes. We could tell that each person on the team loves what they do, and that was so nice to see.

The wedding day itself was so much fun and we did not have a care in the world because we were so confident that everyone on The Wilds team knew exactly what to do throughout the entire evening. Special shoutout to Hailey, our day-of coordinator, she took such great care of us and we cannot thank her enough! This team is a very special group of people that any couple would be lucky to work with!

Vendor Team

Wedding Venue	—	The Wilds Venue
Bar	—	Upland Brewing Co.
Caterer	—	One World Catering
Photography	—	Von Film Co.
Videography	—	Von Film Co.
Florist	—	Pomp and Bloom
Stationery, Signage + Details	—	Creative In Bloom

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