Like many young women have, Abby Hagar dreamed of her wedding day before it came and went in September 2023. From the dress to the flowers to the man at the end of the aisle, she knew whatever the vision became, she would master every detail. When Abby and her then-boyfriend, Sean, relocated from Colorado to Pennsylvania, she began to see those visions more clearly. “For years, I wanted to get married on a ski slope in the mountains of Colorado. I wanted a picture of my husband and I on a ski lift with the vast terrain in the background,” said Abby. After Sean proposed in early spring of 2022, the couple began to realize that a destination wedding out West may not come to life. With a new home base and aging family members, a destination wasn’t realistic if they wanted to be surrounded by their nearest and dearest. However, Abby’s vision board quickly shifted and she found a new focus. “After I started exploring the area in Pennsylvania, I knew fairly early on that I wanted to be married at Terrain.” A unique retail setting, Terrain offered a garden oasis and a menu from local growers. It seemed like the perfect package deal, all close to home.

But the one particular detail that drew Abby to Terrain wasn’t the venue or the menu; it was their artfully crafted wooden chapel. “I saw photos of their carved chapel and I was drawn to it. It had an intricate lace appeal that was very ethereal and whimsical. The fact that it was nested under trees that were 100 plus years old just spoke to me. It had a very rustic yet quaint and intimate feel.”

WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS

With late September being their favorite time of year, Abby and Sean had roughly eighteen months to plan. Luckily, Abby was already deeply influenced by her surroundings when it came to planning. A pharmacist by day, Abby worked as a bridal stylist for Anthropologie Weddings at their Devon, Pennsylvania location on the weekends. She eventually pursued her love of floral design and joined the team at Terrain in Glen Mills, but not before having her Anthropologie Weddings coworkers help outfit her for all of her bridal events. “My favorite part of planning was dress and outfit shopping and floral design. For my dresses and accessories I was fashioned completely in Anthropologie Weddings. Terrain has their own design team for florals/events and they were spectacular to work with.”

During her time working at Anthropologie Weddings, Abby was able to idealize what kind of gown she wanted. What she ultimately walked down the aisle in ended up being completely different from what she envisioned. “When I was younger, my dream in life was to be a wedding dress designer. For years, I kept a lookbook journal of magazine cutouts for dresses I loved.”

Shortly after getting engaged, Abby purchased a dress she had long admired. Then, her cousin’s wedding came along. “I laugh now, because her dress was stunning, but it was incredibly similar to the one I had purchased.” She realized she wanted something totally different and ended up selling the dress she had purchased online. She decided to book an appointment at Anthropologie Weddings and bring her mom along. After acting as a consultant in so many bridal appointments, being the bride was a completely different experience. Ultimately, she ended up purchasing two dresses; something more dramatic and contemporary for the ceremony, and something whimsical and romantic for the reception.

“Even when I purchased it, I had no idea that the gown I chose for my ceremony would be so completely perfect. And not to mention, it was nothing like I had imagined myself wearing.”

EVERY PETAL COUNTS

Everything about Abby and Sean’s wedding day had a personal touch from the bride herself. “Most everything about the wedding, aside from the table and chapel florals, were DIY. I wanted to get very hands on with the details.” For a year and a half, Abby left no stone unturned as she analyzed details and calculated the budget needed to make it all happen. “I bought a Cricut, dried my own garden flowers, watched tutorials and just started creating.” While she worked with Terrain for her bouquet and some floral installations, there were many DIY floral elements that she added herself. “I excruciatingly mulled over every flower, unit price and design aesthetic. I researched on almost a daily basis the best route to purchase bulk florals and greenery.”

While there are countless vendors to purchase flowers from, the shipping and quality of stems were always a concern, Abby explained. “A year prior to the wedding I visited local Amish farms to see what they had in stock to prepare for our actual wedding. I found a local Amish wild flower field that is abundant with lisianthus at such an amazing price. I was there the very day before the wedding with my brother cutting stems.”

When searching for inspiration on Etsy during her planning, Abby saw custom place cards made from dried florals put in resin molds. She ended up creating them herself for a fraction of the price, and discovered a new hobby and business along the way. After her wedding, she ended up launching The Dried Poppy, which provides custom floral preservations.

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY

On the day of the wedding, Abby got ready in Terrain’s mushroom house, while Sean got ready separately. All of the planning had come together, and Abby was utilizing her hired outside vendors to keep the day stress-free. “My advice for future brides is to hire outside, day-of help. I found a vendor that would come help set up and take down my DIY items, pack them up and load them into the cars. I coordinated with them ahead of time, set expectations, floor plans, and pictures of what the setup needed to look like and it was perfect.” Abby and Sean did not miss a detail, in hopes their wedding day could go off without a hitch. The one thing they couldn’t control? The weather. With the outdoor chapel being Abby’s favorite detail, they simply did not want to have to move the ceremony inside. Of course, it was a “will it or won’t it” type of day. All signs in the sky pointed to rain.

“I called Sean and told him that when he arrived to get dressed quickly, and that we were going to take pictures before the ceremony in the event the rain came.” It seemed their prayers were answered. The sky was gray for the ceremony but the guests -- and the bride and groom -- were dry. It remained that way while Abby and Sean took photos in the nursery, with Laura Briggs behind the lens just as she was for the rest of the day. At the end of cocktail hour, as if right on schedule, a slight drizzle turned into a downpour…just as it was time for guests to move inside for dinner and dancing.

Dinner was provided by Terrain with options of halibut, roast chicken and a market vegetable bowl. Foregoing tradition, the couple did not have a bridal party. After sharing their first dance to “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, the bride was the one who took the microphone for speeches. Abby gave a heartfelt toast on love, loss and faith that had many attendees moved to tears. For dessert, Nutmeg Cake Design provided a cake with options of chocolate ganache and early grey layered with raspberry.

And once again, the rain subdued in the knick of time so guests could enjoy a fire pit with a s’mores bar and prepare to send the couple off. With full bellies and tired feet from dancing, guests formed an arch of blazing sparklers as the bride and groom ran through before darting away in their classic car. “Our send off was just pure fun,” recalled Abby.

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TO HAVE AND TO HOLD

It was a day that was full of detail and sentiment, and guests took home a piece of Abby and Sean’s thoughtfulness - a tin recipe box filled with seedlings, candlesticks, and a few recipes to get started. Not to mention custom resin and dried floral place cards for each guest.

One might think that Abby would want to take a moment to relax after over a year of intense planning, but it only inspired her to launch her own creative project of preserving florals. “I am still looking for the perfect tray or another vessel to pour and preserve my own,” said Abby, who now sells custom preserved floral pieces. “I wanted to learn the floral preservation process and the wedding gave me a ton of practice. It has turned into a side passion and now a business.” Abby’s wedding day not only was the epitome of so many different dreams coming to a head, but it also reinforced her love of creating and wanting to pursue one more dream with The Dried Poppy. “I enjoy being a part of preserving that piece of someone’s life, especially their wedding day. It’s a joy for me to simply create.”