Forest wedding vibes are not far from the city

It’s always a good day when it’s a Grand Barn wedding! This whimsical wedding venue is surrounded by enormous trees, some of which contain actual treehouses that you, and your bridal party, can stay in on your wedding night. The three-story barn is quite a sight with its large patio, two giant decks, wooden beams, and a spiral staircase. Wedding guests from the Columbus Ohio area will surely feel they are taking an adventurous getaway into the forest while attending – but it only takes about an hour and a half to get there!

Lynsey and Ethan decided on a Grand Barn wedding after falling in love with the venue’s romantic and rustic aesthetic. Surely, guests would fall in love with it too after seeing the venue brought to life on their illustrated wedding invitation. Speaking of guests, these lovebirds had plenty of them to keep the party going all through the night – especially with the help of a live band like The Cleveland Keys! Watching Lynsey twirl all over the dancefloor in her stunning dress from Carrie Karibo Bridal was quite possibly one of my personal favorites of the night!

Wedding planning advice from the Bride and Groom

Lynsey: “We were planning our wedding, our first home purchase, an out-of-state move, and 2 big career changes for both of us all within 2-weeks. We survived it but my biggest piece of advice: don’t do that. But really, your wedding is an amazing day with all of your friends and family in one place, but try to keep in mind that it’s the marriage, not the wedding that you should spend most of your energy planning for.”

Ethan: “The one piece of advice I would give to any couple, planning anything – especially a wedding, is once a decision is made, it is made! Now, I do not mean to make decisions quickly, or without considering your options. Quite the opposite. Every decision should be informed, and confident, and even the “small stuff” deserves its due. But once a decision is made, please do not revisit the decision, you will only increase stress, lose time, and become frustrated. A wedding is a house of cards, if you start to change or alter decisions made months prior, it could have a huge
consequences.”

Lynsey and Ethan’s favorite part of their day

Lynsey: “We had planned on an outdoor wedding and the forecast was an 80% chance of severe wind, thunderstorms, and hail…needless to say, our expectations were pretty low when we woke up to total darkness and a torrential downpour. To our surprise, the sun came out by 11 am and the rest of the day got more and more perfect from there. I have so many favorite moments from the day, from Ethan carrying me through the mud (re: torrential downpour) and hearing his beautiful vows for the first time (he also secretly wrote readings read by his mom and my best friend’s
mom!), to never leaving the dance floor with the Cleveland Keys—it was truly the perfect day!”

Ethan: “By far my absolute favorite memory of the day was immediately following the ceremony. Lynsey and I were announced as husband and wife, and after our kiss, we walked out of the ceremony to “Dela” by Johnny Clegg – Yes, this is the cheesy wedding song played in George of The Jungle. We left the ceremony area and went to a private loft area where we could just relax and enjoy our first married moments in private. This was the perfect time to talk about how surprisingly heavy Lynsey’s bouquet was, how little movement I had in my tailored pants, and ultimately how relieved we both were that all of our planning had paid off. The more we talked about how the morning went before the ceremony, the more we realized what an amazing group of friends and vendors we had that worked tirelessly to ensure the day went as smooth and stress-free as possible.”

A special thanks to their amazing wedding vendors:

Venue: The Grand Barn at the Mohican
HMUA: Shear Hotness
Catering: Taproot Catering
Florist: Four Seasons Wedding Florist
Wedding Dress: Carrie Karibo Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: The Dessy Group in colors Mist, Platinum and Icelandic
Purchased Tuxes: Ticknors
Live Band: The Cleveland Keys