The Wedding Story of... Betsy & Tom Wallis

Betsy Baird and Tom Wallis’ love story began in 2007 after the two connected on eHarmony.com. For the first two years, the couple made their relationship work by traveling back and forth to Muncie, where Betsy lived, and Indianapolis, where Tom resided, before Tom made the permanent move to Muncie.

 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward to June 2011, when Tom and Betsy were at Betsy’s parents’ preparing to help host a family reunion. “Tom insisted on taking my parent’s dogs for a walk around the pond close to their home,” Betsy recalls. “We had so much to do before all the guests arrived, and I kept reminding him of that, but he wouldn’t budge, so we finally went on a walk.”  

 

Betsy later realized what Tom was up to, especially when Rosie, the Golden Retriever, jumped into the pond. “Tom quickly managed to get her out of the water, and I immediately realized he had tied my engagement ring around Rosie’s collar,” Betsy says. “It was a bit overwhelming with everything that was going on, but of course I was ecstatic when he got down on one knee and proposed.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Tom and I wanted either a June or September wedding and having been together for four years we didn’t want to wait an additional year to get married, so that left us with September.” Betsy said. “So, call us crazy, but we set a date 90 days after we got engaged!”

 

As planning quickly got underway, Betsy and Tom decided to get married near her parent’s house in Tipton County Woods where she grew up.  “I loved that we had a blank canvas to create the space we dreamed about,” Betsy said.  

 

Trips to flea markets, stops to local antique stores, and “pinning” ideas on Pinterest helped inspire a modern yet vintage feel for the couple’s September wedding.

 

 

 

 

When their wedding day arrived, the blank canvas Betsy and Tom imagined turned into a one-of-a-kind view that set the scene for their wedding in the woods - except for one key factor: the weather.  

 

“Before the ceremony, when we were taking pictures, it was really cloudy and windy and the radar was not looking good. There was probably enough time to get the ceremony in before the rain came but I was too nervous to risk it,” Betsy remembers. “So, I had to make the call to move the ceremony under the tent where our reception took place.”

 

 

 

 

Vintage details unique to Betsy and Tom were used throughout the wedding day. During the ceremony, the two planted a tulip tree (the state tree of Indiana) to symbolize their growth as a couple and the joining of their two families.

 

At the reception, a brown and ivory palette with pops of color from the floral helped create a classic, elegant atmosphere as the newlyweds celebrated with their 350 guests. Burlap or lace runners covered the tables that were topped with groups of vintage bottles, flowers and votive candles.

 

Adjacent to the reception tent, another tent was set up with vintage furniture pieces including a hand-made photo booth, created from vintage doors. Photographs from the couple’s parents’ and grandparents’ weddings hung from a vintage frame below a sign that read, “This is how our story begins...”