BIG RED BARN. CALEIGH + JAMES
It’s been a little while since I rolled into a barn wedding.
Once upon a time I was at the big beautiful barn at the Pratt Place Inn more often than I am at Crystal Bridges. Barn weddings from Vermont to Texas were something I absolutely loved, so much so in fact that the first hard cover book I ever had a wedding published in was literally called “Barn Weddings” by Rustic Wedding Chic. (click that link to snag your very own copy) These days however big venues and modern architectural locations have replaced my evenings out in big dusty fields watching sunsets between distant trees. I’m not sure I knew I missed it, until last weekend.
Truth be told I’d never even heard of the Big Red Barn.
This venue smack dab in the middle of Northwest Arkansas is evidently a little bit exclusive. A kind of If you know you know type of place but one quick conversation with John and Jeri Lynn Backus and there’s no question in my mind that if somebody knows, they know. Their daughter Caleigh’s wedding was the perfect opportunity to treat family and friends from all over the country to a modern approach to the barn wedding. Caleigh is this sort of understated beauty you can’t quite photograph and do justice. She’s stunning, kind, a little shy, and just genuinely kind and though she looks beautiful in a camera it really wasn’t until I spent the day with her and heard the way that her family and friends talk about her that I really got it. She is brilliant and bold and all of those understated details about her are every bit on purpose. James has the pilot swagger. Not the cheesy top gun version but the real confidence that comes from flying millions of dollars hundreds of miles per hour. He has a huge smile, he’s fiercely protective of Caleigh but in a really confident way and he is incredibly polite.
This wedding had so many cool little details to it. Hair and Makeup at the Backus’ home was unreal. It’s like they designed that place with photos in mind and though we could easily have shot 10 weddings there and not run out of ideas by the time we pulled up to the barn it was absolutely clear how big the vision really was. An entire wall of shots of fireball with seat assignments for labels greeted guests and would become a part of John’s “father of the bride” toast later in the evening. I’d be lying to say I didn’t take part, you know strictly out of support. Lounge furniture all over the shaded side of the barn just waiting for cocktail hour to begin where three delicious craft cocktails were served, inside a room filled with enormous floral structures that Samantha’s garden had brilliantly crafted with a perfect simple white cake in the middle and on the other side in the blazing direct sun just before the sunset started to lay long shadows across the golden field in the distance, the pond these two would get married in front of. For two people who live and work in a big wide world this was a wedding that was easily both elegant and Arkansas in one. A trip to the farm meets a filet dinner, great wine, a packed dance floor and and ice cream truck? Yep, an ice cream truck.
At one point I wandered around the side of the barn with a smile on my face. Within a few moments I had seen people in the Photo Booth being wild, a few stragglers taking their fireball shots over by the light up signs, a dance floor packed with people singing Mr. Brightside at the top of their lungs, a line at the bar on all three sides, a short line for ice cream, and the pyrotechnics setting up cold sparks to line up so the Rolls Royce could park and the fireworks could be set up in the background. Having a hard time keeping up? That’s because this wedding literally had everything expertly coordinated, designed, and executed by Amanda and Kolby and Madi and Bridget and a few other friendly faces from Amanda Reed Weddings along side a who’s who of local wedding vendors like Dave and a Camera and Mega DJ.
If you’re having a hard time keeping up, imagine being there with a camera and yet let me say this as confidently as I can. I couldn’t possibly love these two, their families, their home, and this wedding any more. It was the most refreshing reminder of weddings from the past colliding with my very favorite elements of working close to home with friends and familiar faces right now in 2023. Suffice it to say if you contact me about a barn wedding for your wedding in 2024 it better be epic… the bar has been set.
● PLANNING: AMANDA REED WEDDINGS
● VENUE: BIG RED BARN
● MAKEUP ARTIST: ADRIANN DUNCAN
● HAIR STYLIST: NWA OCCASIONS
● PHOTO: MILES WITT BOYER
● VIDEO: DAVE AND A CAMERA
● RENTALS: EVENTOLOGY, ALCHEMY
● LINENS: BBJ/LA TAVOLA
● LIGHTING: LIGHTWORKS
● FLORIST: SAMANTHA’S GARDEN
● CATERING: CATERING UNLIMITED
● BARTENDING: FIG + FOUNDRY
● CAKE: SHELBY LYNN’S
● CEREMONY + RECEPTION MUSIC: MEGA DJ COMPANY
● INVITATIONS: LAUREN LIGON
● GETAWAY CAR + SHUTTLE: HIGH SOCIETY
● PHOTO BOOTH: SOCIAL PHOTO BOOTH
● DRESS: TESORI
● DAY OF PAPERS: DAYFLOWER
