Extreme Landscaping

Andy and I made a trip back to Ohio this past weekend, which as always was a whirlwind but well worth it. We came into town to photograph the wedding of our friends Aaron and Maria who we know from school, so that was wonderful! We also were able to do the senior pictures of our good friend Martin. Beyond both of those photo shoots we also had a chance to see family and friends and talk about our own wedding which is less than a year away now.

Officially- the wedding will be September 18, 2010! So mark your calenders! Save the dates and offical invites will be coming soon so keep an eye out!

Also, getting to walk the yard and see all the yard work my parents continue to do was amazing! We got to have Andy's parents, Fran and Joe, over for dinner at the house friday night and it was wonderful to talk about plans and look at the site of the wedding. We are so excited! Here are some photos from this past trip of the yard, look how quickly things are changing! -Rachel


The hill by the driveway which was cleared of trees and bushes and has now been replanted

The planter at the end of the garden now filled with flowers


looking at the tree we're going to be married under from the driveway


another view of our tree and the garden from the driveway

Looking down the stairs which the old rock has now been removed from and my dad is pouring concrete steps in their place, which are beautiful!

A closer look at the steps, my dad is decorating each one with patterns of stone and bricks

Looking back up toward our tree and the newly replanted hill


looking out from the tree down the valley, which has been cleared out a ton!


Another view of our tree (that's Dan by the way getting into a lot of these pictures)


The tennis court where we're going to pitch the tent for the reception!


Another view of the tent location, we're going to be doing some more tree trimming etc.


On the tennis court looking toward the pool and the storage building (which is going to be our bar!)


My dad looking at all the clearing that he and my mom did around the fence of the pool (making a better path from the house to the tennis court (reception area)


Another close up of the stairs my dad is working on


The path that has been cleared around the outside of the pool fence as a path to the tennis court (reception area)


Another view of the tennis court

Location Location Location

Well, after months and months of trying to figure out the major points of the wedding, like say, where the ceremony and reception are going to be held and what day it's going to be- it's all been decided!

We looked at a ton of reception sites around the Columbus area including Smith Bros, Park of Roses, Clintonville Womens Club, North Bank Park Pavilion, Confluence Park Restaurant, Franklin Park Conservatory, and many others. There was always something about each of these places that didn't quite fit what we needed, whether it was a price issue, or space issue, or something else.

The Ceremony site was easier. We talked about having it at several different locations (some of which were previously mentioned). We knew we wanted an outdoor ceremony but I really wanted to have trees and a lot of the park locations were centered around a cheesy gazebo or something like it and that just didn't work for me. Finally we went back to my family's home in Delaware, Ohio and walked around the yard. As most of your reading this blog know, many of our family members have been married at "the farm" including my parents. Now there is going to be one more wedding there! We found the perfect spot under a sycamore tree below the garden.

Now our attention was turned back to reception site, but after a lot of work and research a solution presented itself- why not just rent a tent and have the reception at the farm too? Perfect! an option which is within our budget and allows us to pick whatever day we want and decorate however we want!

We are so excited and incredibly busy now that this decision has been made! There's still a ton of work to be done but things are moving along beautifully! My parents have been working on the yard like crazy- for those of you who haven't been there in the past month you're going to be stunned at the changes. Check out some of the pictures they've been sending me!


stone work done by my dad between the house and the pool fence


stone work creating a new planting bed by the turn around


another view of the new planting bed by the turn around


stone wall replacement for the railroad ties that used to be the edge of this planting bed at the bottom of the garden


The sycamore tree we decided to get married under! notice the hill behind it- remember all the old dead trees and bushes that used to be there? All gone!



Another view of the tree and the lower garden


do you remember this? If you do then you've known me a long time or have been coming to the farm for a long time because this old stone staircase grew over years ago.



My parents uncovered this to solve an issue we were having with the ceremony- how to get me from the house to the ceremony site without Andy seeing me or it being an strange processional. Being able to come from the house then take this stair case down to the valley then come around the the ceremony site is perfect! My dad is going to redo the stairs so they aren't so irregular (we don't want me tripping in my dress)

The same staircase viewed from the top looking down. I know that it looks pretty dangerous from here but it'll be taken care of.


more stone work from my Dad

Thanks so so so much Mom and Dad for doing all this yard work! The house is going to look amazing for next year and I am so happy to be getting married there!

Everybody- check back soon! I'll be updating this much more frequently with not only wedding stuff but also what Andy and I have been up to in Colorado! I hope everyone is doing well and I can't wait to see you all again soon!

-Rachel