Sarena & Devan’s Whimsical Forest Wedding

WeddingWedding photographyCreative wedding photographyOutdoor wedding

Feb 1

Neon signs. A dreamy forest ceremony. Hip bar trailers. Iconic guest outfits. Put it all together and you get one of my favourite weddings to photograph of the year. A full vendor list can be found at the end of this post.

When I punched “Wheatfield Estate” in to my GPS and I realized it was 2 hours away, I thought to myself “Ashlyn, girl, what have you gotten yourself into?! How did you take this wedding on without knowing how far it was?! Sparta?! What even is that?!”

Literally surrounded by farmland, Wheatfield Estate feels like your own magical forest oasis. As a photographer, this venue was a DREAM to shoot at. Throughout the grounds, you’ll find a restored cottage and what reminded me of whimsical fairy houses, which can serve as a bridal suite, personal item storage, and a home base for the Bride and Groom to have some quiet time together before joining all of their guests. Aside from all of the practical uses, they also provide an amazing backdrop for wedding photos.

Sarena and Devan got married on September 3rd, 2022. It was a HOT, sunny, end of summer day. The canopy of large, beautiful trees at Wheatfield Estate provided an abundant amount of shade, resulting in INCREDIBLE lighting for photos.

Aside from the main structures, a tented wood planked pad, and the ceremony arch in the forest, Wheatfield Estate is a blank, earthy canvas for you to bring your vision to life. Sarena and Devan had INLY Events assist in curating the day according to their vision and it was carried out beautifully. One of my favourite elements to photograph that INLY brought in was the natural wood benches for the ceremony.

After the ceremony, guests were free to roam the forested area of the grounds where they would find a bar, lawn games, hors-d'oeuvres, a DJ and seating. Sarena and Devan enjoyed some quiet time alone after the ceremony, and then joined me for photos while their guests continued to enjoy cocktail hour. Their vibe and aesthetic fit the venue PERFECTLY, and they absolutely killed their portrait session (even though they went on about being awkward, but I don’t think I’ve ever worked with a couple who hasn’t gone on about how awkward they are hahaha).

As cocktail hour came to a close, guests took their seats under the tented reception area, and another bar trailer was opened. There were speeches, singing and lots of teary eyes. I have never attended a wedding where there was a lack of love. However, there are some weddings you walk into and you can feel the love and support so heavily, it even makes me emotional. This was one of those times. The formalities concluded with the first dance. Sarena and Devan put their own spin on it and asked everyone to join them on the dance floor.

To wrap up our photography coverage, we did some quick creative shots against the neon sign and had Sarena and Devan pose in one of the bar trailers. Just by chance, one of the guests came up to them in the trailer and started chatting, completely unaware we were in the middle of a shoot hahaha. However, I continued to snap away and that truly candid moment ended up being one of my favourite shots of the day.