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By The Gawnes

Conor and Hailey, high school sweethearts, were eager to have a pumpkin-themed, fall wedding, so naturally, they displayed over 500 white pumpkins to pay tribute to their favorite season and the month of their dating anniversary! Their venue, The Barn at Tanque Verde Ranch, is an elegantly exquisite take on a rustic-charm barn that sits at the base of Tucson, Arizona’s Rincon Mountains.

The bride designed the invitation suite which included designs from local watercolor artists as well as personally addressed all of the envelopes with her own hand-lettering which were mailed with custom postage stamps. Hailey customized pajamas, slippers, denim jackets (saved from the bachelorette party in Nashville), purses, and hangers. The gentleman had customized flight boards and whiskey glasses which greeted them with Gentlemen Jack and cigars to warm them up!

The groomsmen’s dashing velvet bowties complemented the bridesmaids’ velvet dresses and were all tied together with the groom’s custom velvet tux jacket which he changed into from his USMC Dress Blues after the ceremony for the reception. Four of the ten groomsmen were also in the service and honorably wore their dress uniforms.

One of the bride’s first jobs was at a bridal boutique in Tucson where she worked during high school and college. It was so touching to purchase her dress from the same boutique and feel so loved and special amongst her cherished coworkers and bosses. Pennsylvania to arrange all of the florals. The bride and groom also pre-ordered hundreds of live pumpkins from a local farm which entertained the guests with a full-circle sustainable spectacle when the wild javelina arrived late into the reception and had a massive pumpkin feast.

The bride and groom were surprised to learn that one of their wedding gifts was hard at work during the ceremony - a live painter meticulously and artistically recreating the ceremony on canvas. The back of The Barn features a large lawn fit for a cocktail hour amid lawn games and western touches. Guests were surprised with a visit from a beer burrow named Petunia who made her rounds and passed out local brews. Guests were welcomed inside The Barn and to their seats with individual custom-engraved pumpkin cutting boards decorated with a beautifully bright charcuterie selection.

The place cards were handmade by the bride on white plush pumpkins. Both the pumpkin place cards and wood charcuterie board were given to guests as their thank you gift. Dessert included a full spread of the couple’s favorite local sweet shoppes including a mobile gelato truck accompanied by a dessert bar of miniature pies and cheesecakes, cookies, succulent-topped cupcakes, a candy bar, and “doggy bags” of bones to-go for guests’ four-legged friends as well as a “s'more love” spread by the firepits in the “backyard”. The Barn interior featured hundreds more pumpkins, this time decorated with lace, glitter, and sparkle.

Conor’s and Hailey’s wedding showcased the couple’s creativity and thoughtful attention to detail. Their special day embodied their love story on such a personal and unique level and truly demonstrated the intricacy of their relationship now and in years to come.

Their modern-day Cinderella wedding was the fairytale they dreamt of and the most amazing display of pumpkins ever seen in the desert...just ask those hungry javelina!