A Rustic Backyard Wedding at a Private Residence in Kent, Ohio

Ashley Seymour (24, a pediatric registered nurse) and Drew Helmling (26, a fire fighter) met and started dating when they were high school. Several years later, the couple was going out with a group of friends to Cleveland to celebrate Ashley turning 23. Drew surprised Ashley that night with a diamond ring, and so their wedding planning began. The couple held their rustic wedding at Drew’s parent’s house in Kent, Ohio, where they had the ceremony near the poolside and rented a large white tent for an outdoor reception. During the ceremony, the couple was married and had their wine box ceremony on a wooden platform that Drew and his dad built. The tent was decorated with icicle lights strung from the ceiling with dining tables decorated in ivory and pink linens, which went along with the color palette of blush, rose, champagne and ivory. Hydrangeas that matched the linens were arranged in glass mason jars and positioned on top of slabs of wood in the middle of the dining tables. Guests took home wedding favors of homemade apple butter that Drew’s family loves to make every year, along with light pink cozies that had the couple’s name and wedding date customized on it.