What were you doing when you were 9 years old? We were busy twirling about in oversized pretend wedding dresses — not professionally photographing real-life brides in theirs. But this particularly precocious 9-year-old is doing just that! No joke — this pint-sized photographer is the wedding shutterbug of your dreams. But good luck trying to book her: The girl is in high demand!

Most nine-year-olds snag the flower girl role at weddings — not nuptial photographer! Regina Wyllie of Ayrshire, Scotland, first picked up a camera at the age of three. Now in the fifth grade, brides are already asking for her by name! And before you scoff at the idea of giving someone whose age hasn’t even hit the double digits yet the responsibility of capturing the most important day of your life, take a gander at the girl’s perfect pics. They speak for themselves.

Wyllie started by tagging along with her photographer dad, Kevin Wyllie, on his various shoots, before ditching her toy camera, grabbing her pop’s Canon G9, and taking a shot at the craft herself. At 7, one of the petite photographer’s pics from a “Trash the Dress” photoshoot she accompanied her dad on was picked up for Think Tank Photo. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, in April Wyllie shot her first official wedding — at the personal request of the bride and groom!

“I really enjoyed the wedding as I had to work quite fast, which was a challenge,” Regina told the Huffington Post. “It was great fun.” And thanks to some rave reviews, the 9-year-old (Have we mentioned that this girl is 9? NINE?!) already has another gig lined up. “[The couple] was delighted,” said her proud dad. “In fact, they told me that Regina’s shots, especially of their own children, had brought tears to their eyes.”

What’s this little one’s photo-snapping secret? Not only does she have all the technicalities down pat, Wyllie also effortlessly manages to put her subjects at ease. (And let us tell you… That’s no easy task when it comes to brides on their wedding day!) “I think that her shots have a unique style due to the fact that people relax more around a kid with a camera than an adult,” Wyllie’s dad explained to Bustle. “They don’t really expect the shots to be anything special, so they let their guard down. That’s when she captures them at their most natural.”

So what’s Regina’s favorite part of her new gig? “When someone asks to see the screen to see how the pic turned out and watching them smile.”

See More: How to Get the Wedding Photographer of Your Dreams (and Still Stay in Budget)

What is an indicator of a happy and successful relationship? Couple rings? Countless couple photos on Facebook? Family and friends who get along swimmingly?

According to science, the best way to tell if a couple is happily in love is by looking at their waistlines.

Research on the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that couples who report satisfaction in their marriage tend to GAIN weight.

For a period of four years, researchers followed 169 couples on their first marriage. They measured the couples’ weight twice a year, and asked questions about their marital life and overall satisfaction.

See more: I Refuse To Let My Wife’s Depression Ruin My Marriage

The results? People in happy marriages gained a significant amount of weight.

Meanwhile, those who remained slim reported rocky marriages that eventually ended in divorce.

The researchers theorize that the phenomena has something to do with attracting mates. Happier couples no longer feel the need to attract a new mate; therefore, there’s less stress on appearance. Meanwhile, those in rocky relationships maintain their slim figure to continue attracting mates.

Although these couples don’t have to worry about their partner only loving them for their looks, that leaves the question on whether stable relationships have a negative impact on health.

See more: 50 Love Quotes That Express Exactly What ‘I Love You’ Really Means

Psychologist Andrea L. Meltzer, who led the research, said that couples should pay attention when it comes to their weight gain, because it can lead to health consequences such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“By focusing more on weight in terms of health implications as opposed to appearance implications, satisfied couples may be able to avoid potentially unhealthy weight gain over time in their marriages,” she said.

There’s nothing wrong with not paying attention to your appearance, because you’re confident that your spouse would continue to love you despite it.

However, health should not be compromised, even for love.

See more: These 20 Quotes Explain Why We Need Unconditional Love So DAMN Much

This article originally appeared on YourTango.

To keep the celebrations going even after your wedding day ends, embrace the post-wedding brunch. You’ll have the chance to relive the magic of the day before with an intimate group of family and friends while enjoying some yummy bites. These six Chicago restaurants offer private rooms and delicious menus for a momentous sendoff to your honeymoon.

Atwood (Above)
Gather up to 30 people in Atwood’s private, art deco-inspired Reliance Room, just three blocks west of Millennium Park. The restaurant serves elevated American dishes featuring locally sourced and in-season ingredients alongside inventive breakfast cocktails. The jalapeño-infused, bacon-topped Bloody Mary is a surefire way to keep the party going. Read real brides’ reviews here!

Formento’s
Italian families will feel right at home at the West Loop spot, which puts Italian dishes like prosciutto eggs Benedict next to trendy eats like avocado-topped crostinis. For an intimate experience, the dishes can be served family style in the private dining room on the second floor. Airy drapes and a brick wall are ready to transport you and your guests to the Italian countryside — if only for a few hours.

Miss Ricky’s in Virgin Hotel
If your guests are staying at a downtown hotel, Miss Ricky’s offers a convenient Loop location for a day-after meet up. The menu — an inventive take on classic American diner food — impresses too. Think chicken and waffles, French toast, and chilaquiles — just what you need after a big night. For a bit more privacy, book the diner’s Casting Room. The space plays up a Hollywood vibe with spotlights and velvet banquettes. Read real brides’ reviews here!

Nico Osteria
This Gold Coast restaurant is home to modern Italian cuisine and boasts three incredible private dining spaces to host your brunch. Each space at Nico Osteri holds 20 to 25 people (and can be combined if you have a large group of out of towners and extended family) and features rich, jewel-toned décor and eye-catching light fixtures. The multi-course family-style menu is yours for the choosing. Standouts include house-made pastries, classic brunch dishes like eggs Benedict and biscuits and gravy, and Intelligensia coffee.

See More: These Chicago Caterers Will Impress Even Your Foodie Guests

bellyQ
Heading to Asia for your honeymoon? The West Loop’s bellyQ will warm up your taste buds and segue right into your first adventure as newlyweds. Dishes like sausage, egg, and cheese on steamed buns and breakfast fried rice prove this is anything but your standard brunch. You can make it even more unique by securing the restaurant’s private room for up to 40 of your loved ones.

The Bristol
West side residents may decide to choose a local restaurant for the day-after brunch to show off their regular stomping grounds. Enter: The Bristol in Bucktown. The upstairs private dining space features a cozy fireplace, private restrooms, a private bar, and plenty of room for your guests to spread out. Brunch packages start at $20 a person for one starter and one sweet or savory entrée. Read real brides’ reviews here!

For more local venues in Chicago, head to our Chicago Venues page!

While engagement rumors are swirling for Katie Holmes and newly-official beau Jamie Foxx, we’re busy getting nostalgic over the couch-jumping, cringe-inducing, Armani-clad love affair that was Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, a.k.a. TomKat. From their whirlwind romance, to an Eiffel Tower proposal, a dream Italian wedding, and a designer clad offspring, we’re looking back at all things TomKat, and we’ve gotta tell you: we missed them!

How They Met
Only a month after calling off her engagement to actor Chris Klein, Holmes was spotted in Rome hand-in-hand with her childhood crush, the one and only Tom Cruise. “When I met Tom I was completely in love and, yes, I admired him growing up — he’s Tom Cruise!” she told T: The New York Times Style Magazine back then.

Things escalated quickly and before we knew it, they had one of the best celebrity couple monikers to date — TomKat! — and Cruise was jumping up and down on Oprah’s couch exclaiming “I’m in love!”

The Proposal
It’s been a little over a decade since the proposal heard round the world — and it’s still as insane as it sounds. After only six weeks of dating Tom Cruise popped the question to Katie Holmes on June 17, 2005 in a dream proposal scenario.

“Yes, I proposed to her. … It was early this morning at the Eiffel Tower, so I haven’t slept at all,” Cruise said at a press conference later that day.

After a candlelit dinner at Le Jules Verne restaurant in Paris, Cruise got down on one knee and proposed to his lovely lady at 12:30a.m. The couple, who were in town for his War of the Worlds premiere, then held a joint press conference to officially announce their engagement.

The Ring
It wasn’t the first time Katie Holmes would slip a rock on her ring finger — the actress was previously engaged to fellow 2000s actor Chris Klein — but it was certainly the most jaw-dropping! Cruise presented Holmes with a 5-carat oval-shaped engagement ring from Fred Leighton, complete with an additional 6 carats of smaller diamonds around the setting. Estimated value: $275,000. No word if the Dawson’s Creek star kept the ring after things went South in 2012.

The Wedding
Shortly after getting engaged, the super star couple would make another announcement — a baby was coming! Suri Cruise was born on April 8, 2006, and has had paparazzi scrambling ever since. Suri’s official debut was made on the September 2006 cover of Vanity Fair — then the couple got down to the business of getting married.

In extravagant TomKat fashion, the couple set a date (November 18, 2006) for an over the top, star-studded Italian wedding. As part of a week-long celebration, the bride’s parents hosted a rehearsal dinner for guests at a 17th century villa. The next night, guests like Giorgio Armani (who created the bride’s two wedding dresses and the groom’s tux), Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, David and Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, J.J. Abrams, Cameron Crowe, Leah Remini (that’s a whole other story!), Brooke Shields and more guests gathered at the converted 15th-century armory in Odescalchi Castle to watch Katie Holmes become Mrs. Tom Cruise. Along with their traditional vows, the couple took part in a 20-minute “double ring” Scientology ceremony where they agreed “to never close their eyes in sleep on a disagreement or an upset.” Fitting considering Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige served as Cruise’s best man.

An over-the-top celebration followed with dinner seranaded by Andrea Bocelli, and the couple’s first dance to Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird.” After cutting the cake and a cascading display of fireworks it was off to another castle hall for a night of partying and dancing, where the newlyweds took centerstage on the dance floor. Cruise sang along when “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” came on, and even J.Lo got in on the action singing one of her hits live. The celebration raged until 3:30 a.m. when the couple finally called it a night.

See more: The Most Iconic Celebrity Brides

The next day the new Mr. and Mrs. Cruise and daughter Suri set aboard a private jet for a luxurious Maldives honeymoon.

The End
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes shocked the world by calling it quits in 2012. Suri Cruise continues to be one of the world’s best dressed children.

You may be expecting a few prettily-wrapped packages from your guests come the wedding day, but don’t forget to buy a wedding gift yourself — for your soon-to-be spouse, of course. A wedding gift exchange between the to-be-wedded couple is a sweet way to commemorate the day (besides you know, the vows and rings, of course). We wouldn’t necessarily call it a tradition, but it’s a common gesture just the same. But what on earth do you get someone to mark this moment? A honeymoon gift might just be your passport to success.

Consider honeymoon gifts the new wedding present. If you find picking up a small trinket for your hubby or wifey as a pre-“I do” gift a little, well, odd, getting them a present to specifically be used on your upcoming getaway is a great twist on the gift gesture that’s not only romantic, but totally practical as well. And better yet, years from now, it’ll not only spark the memory of your “I dos,” but of all the sunny, sandy fun that came after them, too.

Need some suggestions (besides the obvious little white lingerie)? Look no further. Earn yourselves the title of ‘that jet-setter couple’ and pack these babies away to surprise your new spouse on your honeymoon adventure.

A Monogrammed Weekender Bag
Marriage means sharing the carry-on, so this buttery leather overnight bag is technically a gift for both of you! Stash all your must-haves inside before boarding the honeymoon plane now, and later it’ll be you and your hubby’s go-to carryall for business trips and romantic weekend getaways. Best of all, you can have it personalized with your new joint monogram — we know you can’t wait to use it! (“The Transport” weekender bag, $298, Madewell)

A Waterproof, Diving Watch
A sleek new timepiece has been the go-to wedding present from wives to new hubbies for what seems like forever. Throw a honeymoon twist into the old gift, by snagging your spouse a watch that’ll standup to all of your adventures. This Tudor timepiece is made for scuba diving up to 500 meters, so it’ll stand up to splashing in the pool or exciting underwater escapades. Plus, it’s damn stylish. (“Pelagos” diving Swiss watch, $4,300, Tudor)

Splash-Proof iPhone Camera Lens
Capture all the mushy-gushy moments and your epic escapades with this collection of interchangeable iPhone lens that transform your phone into a crisp, professional camera. Plus, the case and lenses are totally waterproof up to 15 feet and drop-proof up to 20 feet, so have no fear bringing it along wherever your adventures take you. (Four lens iPhone kit, $149.95, Optrix)

Super Shades
A pair of high-quality sunnies will last your spouse far beyond the honeymoon. Plus, you’ll feel like total celebs sunning yourselves in your luxury shades! We love Maui Jim for their patented lens that wipe out 99.9 percent of glare (perfect for a golf game or just staring lovingly into each other’s eyes like the ooey-gooey newlyweds you are) and block 100 percent of harmful UV. Plus, they’re ridiculously stylish. For men, go for the Kawika shades for a retro-cool look he’ll love. And for the ladies, the refined cat-eye shape of the Coco Palms style are totally trendy and feminine. (“Kawika” and “Coco Palms” sunglasses, $299 and $279, Maui Jim)

A Wine Travel Bag
Surprise your spouse by bringing a bottle of your wedding wine along for the ride! The VinniBag lets you tote your precious cargo in your suitcase with no fear of it spilling or breaking. Just imagine sipping on your wedding wine while soaking in your hotel room’s whirlpool bath and reliving the magic of your big day… (“VinniBag” wine travel tote, $28, Ellessco)

Cutesy Travel Toiletries
No need for your hubby to wonder if he remembered to pack his razors after the wedding — you’ve already done it! For something small, sweet, and inexpensive, we’re obsessing over this cheeky “Hey Handsome” shaving bag for gents. Stash away his fave products inside and you’ll start the morning after the “I dos” on the right foot. For women, the Aesop Jet Set Kit is our personal go-to. The shampoo, conditioner, body cleanser, and body balm are all the essential carry-on components rolled into one luxe little kit. (“Hey Handsome” shaving kit bag, $68, Owen and Fred; “Jet Set” travel kit, $37, Aesop)

See More: 4 Fab Beach Reads to Escape Into on Your Honeymoon

One of the final details you’ll find yourself scratching your head over is whether or not you should provide wedding day transportation for your guests. You may have guests traveling from all over to make it to your wedding, some staying at hotels and some staying at home. So when you’re starting to look into a strategy for the easiest way to get them to and from your wedding, here are four things to help you plan out your wedding day transportation.

1. Chat With the Hotel
If you’re finding that most of your guests are staying at one hotel in particular, you can chat with the hotel to see if they provide any type of transportation for your guests — whether to and from the airport or even if they can provide a service that shuttles guests to and from your wedding. It may be easier and less expensive to coordinate travel through them.

2. Contact a Taxi Company
If your wedding is on the smaller size, you can contact a taxi service and see if you can arrange prepaid rides for guests at a certain time, when the wedding is over. If they don’t do prepaid rides, you can give them a heads up that you’ll need a certain amount of taxis available at a certain time, so they can get prepared.

3. Let Guests Know Before the Wedding
Whether you are or are not providing transportation for guests to and from your wedding, let your guests know well beforehand so they can plan accordingly. If you aren’t providing transportation, your guests can take it upon themselves to carpool or arrange rides. If you are providing transportation, give your guests instructions on what time and where they can locate their rides.

4. Hire Your Own Transportation
If you have a little extra cash in your budget, you can hire a shuttle service or a bus company to provide transportation for your guests to and from your wedding. Pick two or three locations for pick up and drop off and let your guests know where these locations will be ahead of time.

See More: How to Make Wedding-Day Transportation as Painless (and Efficient) as Possible

Jen Glantz is a “Professional Bridesmaid” and the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire. She’s the author of All My Friends Are Engaged and frequently wears old bridesmaid dresses to the grocery store and on first dates.

Far more grooms are participating in wedding planning than ever before. I’ve watched the change with fascination in the past few years, and it’s really cool. And by “participating,” I don’t mean they sit there and say “whatever YOU want” to their bride when she asks what they think.

These grooms have real opinions and no fear of pushing back if their choice isn’t what the bride has selected. They participate in wedding planning conference calls and communicate with the vendors along with the bride. I have noticed that when they disagree with their fiancés, they tend to pick their battles very carefully.

While every couple is different, most grooms are willing to let their future brides take the lead on the venue selection, the décor, choosing the photographer, and picking a cake. Most grooms don’t surf Pinterest and Etsy, while their fiancés do it like it’s a job. But I find that they do consistently care about the following four things:

1. The Attire: The groom is the one who has to wear the tuxedo, or the suit and tie, if the wedding is formal or semi-formal. The bride will be wearing the wedding gown of her choice no matter what attire they choose for the gentlemen in the wedding party and their guests. I’ve seen more than one groom put his foot down about wearing a tux for an outdoor summer wedding.

2. The Cocktails: Grooms have very definite opinions on the bar offerings — and they usually go from one extreme to the other, with very little middle ground. In my experience, the gentlemen either want a premium bar with all the bells and whistles, or they want a limited bar that will cost them as little as possible. And I’ve noticed most grooms usually get what they want on this point.

3. The Music: Although they’re not as concerned about ceremony music as brides, most grooms have firm opinions on the music for the wedding reception. They’re definite about wanting a DJ or live band, and they’re clear about the list of songs they don’t want to have played. Some even want to control the timing of the entire playlist, although we discourage that — the DJ can do a much better job of gauging what’s needed on the dance floor at any given moment.

4. The After-Hours: While brides frequently poo-poo the need for another party after the wedding reception, grooms are big fans of after-hours parties at bars, on the beach, or another venue. Perhaps it’s because the idea of shutting down the fun at 11 p.m. sounds awful to him, while the bride’s thinking that she’s going to be up at the crack of dawn and getting ready all day, and she’s sure she’ll be exhausted by then.

See More: The 50 Mistakes Grooms Always Make

Sandy Malone is the owner of Sandy Malone Weddings & Events and author of How to Plan Your Own Destination Wedding: Do-It-Yourself Tips from an Experienced Professional. Sandy is the star of TLC’s reality show Wedding Island, about her destination wedding planning company, Weddings in Vieques.

Buenos Aires is the defacto cultural capital of South America. Known for its European-style architecture, sultry tango, and delicious food and wine, it’s the perfect spot to spend all or part of a romantic honeymoon south of the Equator. Here, our ideal itinerary for a Buenos Aires honeymoon.

What to see and do
Much of the appeal of Buenos Aires is living the life of the Portenos, as the locals are called: strolling the tree-lined cobblestone streets and admiring the European-style architecture, indulging in fine wine and tender steak, and dancing the tango (or just watching) as night falls.

Wander some of the city’s neighborhoods, such as San Telmo, where there’s a bustling outdoor flea market on Sundays, or Recoleta, home of the famous above-ground La Recoleta Cemetery where Eva Peron is buried. See a show at Teatro Colon opera house or tour La Casa Rosada, the Argentine version of the White House.

When it comes to tango, you have several options. Plenty of tango houses offer lessons and many offer shows and dinner as well. For a more informal experience, head to the milongas (neighborhood tango bars) or simply watch for a show on the street, as many dancers double as street performers working for tips from the crowd.

Check out life outside the city on a day trip to the pampas, the fertile grassy plains that stretch south from Buenos Aires. This is the home of the gauchos, Argentina’s cowboys, and the cattle that makes the country’s famously tender steak. Some working ranches (estancias), like Estancia Los Dos Hermanos, welcome guests for horseback rides; these trips almost often include lunch (delicious beef, of course) and sometimes include entertainment like rodeo skill demonstrations, gaucho music, and dance.

Another popular day trip is the ferry ride to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. It takes about an hour to cross the Rio de La Plata to this UNESCO World Heritage site, a town of gracefully aging buildings and cobblestone streets lined with classic 50’s cars. Check out the 17th century Convent of San Francisco and the ancient city gate and wooden drawbridge and have a delicious lunch of fresh-caught fish before heading back to the bustle of Buenos Aires.

What to eat and drink
Argentine cuisine is a mix of indigenous and Mediterranean influences; you’ll see a lot pizza and pasta on menus alongside empanadas and steak. The steak is famously tender and parillas (steakhouses) are found throughout the city. One of the most iconic is La Brigada, where the walls are covered with photos signed by celebrities and the steaks so buttery that they are cut with a spoon tableside. For a quick bite, try the empanadas, which can be baked or fried and are filled with beef, corn, tuna, ham and cheese, or dozens of other tasty options. For dessert, there’s nothing better than dulce de leche, a sweet, caramel-like paste often used to fill crepes.

To drink, do as the Argentines do and sip caffeine throughout the day with mate, a drink of yerba mate tea traditionally served in a hollowed out gourd and sipped through a straw; come dinner time, relax with a glass of fine Malbec from Mendoza, a two-hour flight (and easy side trip) from the city.

Where to stay
The 1932 Alvear Palace Hotel is the city’s finest accommodation. Located in the tony Recoleta neighborhood, it exudes old world elegance and has the service to match. Fresh fruit is placed in each room and staff will press one item of clothing upon arrival. The hotel has two restaurants, two bars, a spa, and fitness center, and butler service is offered for select room categories.

On a smaller budget, the modern Fierro Hotel, in lively Palermo Hollywood, offers a rooftop pool and spa, onsite restaurant, and close proximity to some of the city’s best restaurants.

See More: The Top 10 Resorts in Central and South America

Not everyone believes in love at first sight, but who doesn’t adore a good story about eyes meeting across a crowded room and just knowing in your heart of hearts that you’ve just encountered the love of your life? Sigh… That’s apparently exactly how it went down the night Matthew McConaughey met his now-wife Camila Alves. If you have a heart, it’s sure to swell when you hear McConaughey’s sweet tale.

Before setting eyes on his beyond beautiful wife, Camila, McConaughey wasn’t sure he’d ever get married. “I had to get to the point where I saw [getting married] as more than just the thing to do,” the hunky actor recalled in a previous interview with GQ. But all it really took was a quick glance at his goddess wife to seal the deal!

“I was very happily single and healthily single,” McConaughey told People of his bachelor days (see the full video below). “I was not looking. I was sleeping well, I was spiritually sound, I was good hanging with me.” Then the Free State of Jones star laid eyes on Alves. Cue the fireworks and angels singing.

While at a Los Angeles nightclub with friends, a certain someone managed to catch the eternal bachelor’s attention. “Out of the corner of my eye, this sort of aqua-green figure went floating across the frame about 20 feet in front of me,” reminisces McConaughey. “My eye went up and I remember what came out of my mouth. I didn’t say ‘Who is that?’ I went, ‘What is that?'” Your future wife, McConaughey!

“As l was trying to get that’s attention across the room,” the actor continued, “I went in my head, ‘This is not the kind of woman you call over across the room, McConaughey. Get your ass out of your chair and go get her.’ Which I did.” Smart man…

And the rest, as they say, is history. The too-cute couple has been married since 2012 and now share three children together. But what was it that first infatuated McConaughey? “The self-respect she had,” he muses. “The way I understood her and her relationship with family, the way she respected me but never took anything for granted, not putting on any airs whatsoever.”

“We went on our first date three nights later and I knew then,” McConaughey remembers. “I’ve been wanting to go on a date with her for the last nine years and not with anybody else.” Again, sigh… Just watch the full interview below and try not to melt into a puddle of jealousy and infatuation. Just try.

See More: The 23 Most Shocking Secret Celebrity Weddings

Two years after Stefanie and Ian first met (on JDate!) — and the day before her birthday —, Ian decided to use his summer Friday as an excuse to meet Stefanie for lunch in Central Park. “We lived near the park and had picnicked there before, so I didn’t think it was too out of the ordinary,” she says. When she found Ian, he’d set up a beautiful spread beneath a tree in an open area. But before he let her eat, he said he wanted to give her a birthday present and then recited a poem he’d written inside her birthday card. “By the time he got to the end, I realized it was no ordinary card, and I started crying. I was hysterical by the time he got on one knee!” Stefanie remembers. Little did she know, he’d invited her brother and a photographer to capture the whole thing on camera.

The city-dwellers decided to head to the country for their October 10, 2015, wedding, choosing Inverness Farm in Monkton, Maryland, as the perfect place to show off the foliage and host a rustic, romantic celebration for 205 guests. “The barn is filled with antiques and lots of charm. We knew it was the right place as soon as we saw it!” says the bride. They went for a refined version of a fall palette, with shades of navy, aubergine, larkspur blue, and blush, and skipped the seated dinner in favor of a cocktail-style reception full of delicious hors d’oeuvres, cozy lounge seating, and lots of dancing. Take a look at this elegant fall wedding, photographed by Lindsay Hite for Readyluck, below!

Stefanie tried on over 100 dresses (and narrowed it down to 12!) before deciding on this silk taffeta Amsale ball gown, with a sweetheart neckline, low back, and a brooch at the waist. “I only shopped with my mom,” she says. “We live far apart and I’m her only daughter, so it was special to have this ultimate shopping experience together.”

She paired her wedding dress with loose curls and a romantic bouquet of dahlias, amnesia, Juliette roses, anemones, and seeded eucalyptus.

Stefanie is really close with her dad and knew she wanted to do a first look with him on her wedding day. “He wouldn’t let me see his new tux before the wedding!” she laughs — and we love that he chose velvet!. “I’ll never forget that moment.”

She also had a first look with her groom, who wore a bespoke tuxedo for the couple’s big day.

“Planning a wedding from out of town is tough,” says Stefanie. “We relied on my mom a lot to meet with vendors and approve the details we couldn’t be there to see.”

With 25(!) people in their wedding party, Stefanie and Ian knocked it out of the park fashion-wise. The groomsmen wore classic tuxedos, while the bridesmaids donned chiffon dresses in navy, eggplant, light blue, and blush. “I had them pick their own silhouettes, and every one of their 12 dresses is different!” says the bride.

The pair’s watercolor invitations perfectly set the scene for the airy fall celebration.

The ceremony took place beneath a chuppah decorated with garden roses and olive branches. “We wanted the focus to be on the elegant flowers, so we kept the structure simple,” says the bride. “The weather ended up being unseasonably chilly, so we erected a tent over the ceremony site to fight the cool breeze. It still turned out absolutely stunning!”

The couple had a traditional Jewish ceremony, but did add their own twist to the content of their Ketubah, writing their own vows of love to one another along with the ancient text.

With so many bridesmaids and groomsmen, the pair reserved the front rows for their wedding party to sit, with their family joining them beneath the chuppah.

Guests were able to mingle both inside and out of the multi-level barn. Outdoors, café lights were strung from the trees, while inside vignettes of furniture were arranged throughout the space.

“For our cocktail-style reception, we served things like tuna tartar tacos and butternut squash ravioli,” says Stefanie, who chose heavier passed hors d’oeuvres to help fill up her guests. Tables were topped with sequined linens and seasonal blooms in bud vases, while a vintage bathtub next to the bar was filled with craft beers.

The pair cut into a naked cake with layers of almond and marble cake filled with chocolate and vanilla buttercream.

“I loved having my best friends from all eras of my life gathered together in one place,” says Stefanie. “Getting ready with my girls was one of the highlights of my day.” She also advises being as organized as possible: “The more organized you can be, the smoother the process will go, and you won’t miss a single detail!”

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Inverness Farm || Wedding Planner: Sharlene Sherman Events || Bride’s Wedding Dress: Amsale || Shoes: Valentino || Hair: Form Salon || Makeup: Glamaloft || Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Dessy || Groom’s Attire: Michael Andrews Bespoke || Engagement Ring & Wedding Bands: Radcliffe Jewelers || Floral Design: Amaryllis, Inc. || Invitations: Julie Song Ink || Music: Nightsong || Catering: Linwoods || Cake: Graul’s Market || Rentals: Amaryllis, Inc.; Loane Bros., Inc. || Favors: Parker’s Crazy Cookies || Videographer: Eric Tomakin Films || Photographer: Lindsay Hite for Readyluck

Feeling inspired by this beautiful fall wedding? Then we bet you’ll love watching another couple’s autumnal nuptials in the video below.