This Outdoor Bloomington Wedding Will Leave You Speechless: The Real Wedding of Rae Winters and Ryan McClain

Photos ByEmily Hary Photography

Written By

Chrysa Keenon

Date

January 8, 2020

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Rae and Ryan met through mutual friends. Once a romance blossomed, they knew it would be forever. During a hiking trip at Turkey Run, Ryan wrote “Will You Marry Me” on a pair of colorful sunglasses, poking fun at Rae’s optometry career. Talk about rose-tinted glasses!

The couple knew they wanted a fall wedding, but wanted to stay on budget. They expanded their venue search from Indianapolis to Bloomington, and fell in love with Abram Farms! The two lofts for the bridal party and outdoor space was a large draw for this couple. From there, they made a goal to use as many local businesses as possible!

Rae’s hunt for her dress took her through a variety of stores, but as soon as she saw this dress on the rack, she knew it was the one! She says, “I loved that it was unique with the lace pattern and scalloped hem and that it was also very comfortable and light!”

what we love

This couple kept it cool by serving ice cream at their reception! Rae explains, “We used to get ice cream at The Chocolate Moose when we first started dating, and we wanted to include parts of our early relationship into the wedding day.”

Advice from the couple

Rae confirms that having a wedding on a budget is possible! She says, “Set a budget and stick to it. Pick a few things that you are willing to splurge on, and then identify things that aren’t as high on your priority list that will save money (for example, we did plastic plates and utensils instead of china). Also, see what your venue can offer. Our venue had lots of decorations for us to choose from previous weddings and we were able to cut our spending back.”