This Indiana Love Story will Make You Believe in Soulmates: The Real Wedding of Ashley and Carl Martin

Both Ashley and Carl took the opportunity of a slowed-down world to look for love amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. They met over Facebook dating and knew immediately that they were meant for each other. Carl proposed to Ashley at a corn maze in October. "As we walked the maze, he commented, 'A maze is a metaphor for life. If we can get through this, we can get through anything.' Then, at the end, he dropped to his knee and asked me to be his wife. I 'squealed' according to him and cried tears of joy before saying 'yes'," Ashley gushes.
 

"I plan corporate events as part of my day job so I had crossed paths with an event planner who specialized in weddings," Ashley says. "I knew right away that I wanted her to plan ours." The planner was able to keep them on track while Ashley created the wedding of her dreams. Ashley pulled inspiration from Pinterest, Instagram, Etsy and even WeddingDay's blog! Since there was a global pandemic during Ashley's planning, she utilized Facebook because wedding shows and expos were not happening
 

The theme and color scheme came easily for Ashley. "I love color and have always cherished the blend of old and new so we tried to modernize our ‘farm house’ wedding with a chic wildflower theme," Ashley admits. Their venue was the perfect backdrop for their wedding. With an outdoor space for the ceremony and a barn with high ceilings and plenty of room, Ashley and Carl were sure this venue would keep their guests safe.
 

Ashley knew what she was looking for with her other vendors. "We wanted to prioritize minority and women-owned vendors whenever possible," Ashley explains. And many of their vendors fit in one category or another. Luckily, their florist actually checked both boxes! The only issue that they really ran into was ordering the invitations from overseas. Despite some setbacks, rush delivery kept Ashley and Carl on the timeline their planner created for them.
 

 

What We Love

Ashley and Carl were able to add their personality to their wedding. The blue in their color scheme came from Carl's fraternity, they added a memorial table for relatives that have passed and had hand sanitizer for all guests. Yet, Ashley raves, "My favorite crafty detail however was the program we printed and made into the shape of a fan. It came in handy when the day turned out to be 90 degrees!"
 

 

Advice from the Couple

"Don’t wait until the last minute to decide on and order your invitations!" Ashley advises. "I would also suggest watching wedding videos on YouTube and searching by your city to discover and see visuals of options available. This really helped Carl and I get on the same page."
 

 

 

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