A Rustic Fall-Inspired Celebration in Northwest Indiana: The Real Wedding of Taylor and Daniel Courtaney

Both Taylor and Dan were on their high school's swim team and dated briefly, but Dan graduated two years before Taylor and joined the Navy whereas Taylor graduated and pursued a career in nursing. During the COVID lockdown, Dan and Taylor found themselves back in Valparaiso, Indiana. When Taylor's family was having their bathroom remodeled, the team ended up bringing in Dan to help. They began social distance dating during the lockdown and later, after meeting very frequently for dates, Dan and Taylor didn't want to spend any more time apart. Dan asked Taylor to marry him in December 2020!

When Taylor and Dan got engaged, Taylor started her planning process by bouncing ideas off her older sister who was also wedding planning. Once Taylor solidified her vision from Pinterest and TikTok inspiration, her first goal was to get vendors locked down. "We wanted to get married outside so the fact that the venue offered that with a good back up plan was great," Taylor raves. "The grounds were so beautiful and the ability to have the ceremony and reception at the same location drew us in." Luckily, their venue came with a preferred vendor list, which helped them narrow down the search. And the list provided perfect vendors like their amazing DJ, Arrested Sounds, who had everyone dancing all night long!

The next thing on Taylor's list was to get a dress. Taylor shares, "I went in knowing I wanted an a-line style with a long train. They helped me find the perfect dress that had detailing on top and a long train." The dress she chose was the fifth dress Taylor tried on. Even though she continued to try on dresses and even tried another bridal shop to ensure it was the one, Taylor ended up coming back for that dress at the end of the day. We think the dress perfectly accentuates her natural beauty!

From extensive wedding theme research on Pinterest and TikTok, Taylor decided she wanted her wedding to be a rustic, elegant fall-colored wedding. We think this couple nailed the theme! We love the way the rusty red color they chose for the main color of their décor pops against the elegant white on their reception tables. Choosing to have an outdoor wedding was also the perfect choice as it allowed natural lighting to fill the space and make everything more elegant!

 

what we love

Taylor and Dan ended up doing plenty of special touches for their big day including a choreographed father-daughter dance and personalized vows. "We ended up doing a first look which we were on the fence about at first but we are so glad we did it. It was such a special private moment together," Taylor says. This allowed them more time with their guests at the reception as well. You can see all the stunning details of their day as well as their special touches in the beautifully crafted video Peace Love Films put together!
 

Advice from the Couple

Taylor and Dan advise, "I would say to lock down your venue, photographer, DJ and hair/makeup as soon as possible. Try to remember throughout the planning process that this is your day and you will not be able to make everyone happy. Do what you want to do as a couple so you can be happy on the day of. We spent extra money on photographer/videographer and budgeted in other areas as we realized those would be the only memories we will have of the day and we will be able to look at them for many years to come. Now that it is after the wedding I am so glad we spent the extra money for those. I would also say make expectations clear on the day of the wedding and who has what job to help make the day run smoothly (setting up decorations, who will make sure gifts get taken home at the end of the night, etc.)."
 

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