Erica + Matt's Wedding at Wolf Oak Acres | Tom Studios Wedding Photography

Every time I think of Erica and Matt’s relationship the song “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros always plays in my head. You know the one that says “home is whenever I’m with you”. It’s such a fun song, but it has a really beautiful meaning to it and from what I’ve known of their relationship, you can see that no matter where they go in life or how far they may be, they are always rooted in love! Perhaps I should have picked more of a country song because, with the venison jerky favors and cowboy boots, that would have suited them more, but I’ll have to say that Luke Bryan’s fun party music definitely represented the reception, haha!

So a little backstory, Erica is in the army and because of that, she moves around a lot! When she first met Matt she was on rotation in Pittsburgh, they were certainly both smitten, (the two greatest huggers in the world, how would they not be?!) It was fate! Fast forward to the most epic proposal on a mountaintop in Hawaii, and here they are facing the next exciting step in their lives, marriage and a move to Washington! Now you can call me a romantic if you want, but knowing that Matt is packing up his life in Pennsylvania to move cross country to start up in Washington is something straight out of The Notebook, “if you’re a bird, I’m a bird” right?! Not only that but you can see that they both love each other so intensely and wholeheartedly that they WANT to share in each other’s passions and hobbies. Erica never thought she would be a huntress, but now she’s proud to show her photos and stories! (And even grass stains her clothes by crawling to grab photos of turkeys!) Isn’t that what love is all about? Sharing, learning, and growing with each other!

All right now I’m going to get to the part that you’re all here for, the wedding. This was our first official wedding of the spring season, as was it also the first wedding for Wolf Oak Acres. Before Tom and I even walked in to greet Erica and Matt we saw Katrina, the venue’s owner and she was smiling ear to ear and said right away how awesome today was going to be because they are “the sweetest family!” so we couldn’t wait to go in and meet everyone! We know that the morning of a wedding can be super busy, you’re trying to make sure everything is perfect before everyone arrives. But Matt stopped everything he was doing when he saw us gave us each a HUGE hug and made a point to introduce us to every single person that was in the room, we thought that that was just the sweetest thing ever! The sweetness only continued when we went upstairs and saw Erica getting her hair and makeup done my jaw drop she’s just so stunningly beautiful and she really looked like a bride! We started snapping photos, as there were so many fun things to grab shots of (including sparkly cowboy boots and a beautiful bouquet that Erica arranged herself!) But then Erica’s Mom called us over and said “here have some food, here have some water” and continued to take us into a room with a massive platter of subs, and refused to take no for an answer, (and that was okay with us!!) Really sweet family moments were the highlight of the entire wedding day and you could see the bond that Erica had with her mother and sister. Their family has had more than their share of hurdles in life and it saddens my heart to know what they have had to go through, but being in the presence of their love and support for each other made my heart feel so full. Erica honored and memorialized her father who had passed by taking time to wrap herself within one of his flannels, it was a solemn moment, but a special one. During their ceremony, I at least did not feel alone in crying, as what I called “an orchestra of sniffles” were the soundtrack as Erica and her mother wrapped arm in arm made their way down the aisle. There were SO many emotions! Cue more tears during Erica and Matt’s handwritten vows. I’m almost certain that I was going to let out one of those loud cry-sobs during it, luckily I held it in! Their reception was them to a “t”, from the music even down to the decor! The centerpieces were beautiful floral arrangements placed on a bed of moss surrounded by shed antlers and freshly plucked turkey feathers from a hunt that Matt had on opening day! Their reception was full of personality, and we think that’s what made it even more special. Between their ringbearer breaking it down to a little Jason Aldean and the massive buffet of cookies “The Pittsburgh cookie table”, Erica and Matt really made a day that was uniquely and wonderfully their own!

Erica and Matt, you two are so loving and charming and we can’t thank you enough for letting us be a part of your wedding! Sending lots of love and warm hugs for all your future endeavors!