It’s funny the way things work out sometimes. Looking back, sometimes we don’t expect to end up where we are, even if we’ve been there before...This is the case for Jillian and Rick, who were married at the Rotunda at Lauxmont Farms on August 12th, 2018. When Rick’s cousin proposed to Jillian’s close friend after college, it wasn’t long before Rick and Jillian met and hit it off. While they were dating, they attended a couple weddings together at some of Lauxmont Farms’ four wedding venues. Having a passion for travel and after getting engaged, they played around with the idea of having a destination wedding, but when they decided to have a wedding in Central Pennsylvania instead, the Rotunda became the clear answer. Here is their Lauxmont wedding story:
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How did Rick propose? I went to school for architecture, so Rick knew I loved Frank Loyd Wright’s Fallingwater near Pittsburgh. We woke up on a Sunday, and he said that his parents had extra tickets for a tour there! He asked me if I wanted to go, and of course, I said, “That sounds awesome!” The entire time throughout the tour, Rick kept saying things like, “I don’t know where my mom and dad are,” and “They’re having car trouble.” And I believed all of it. At the end of the tour, there’s a lookout that overlooks the trees and the water, and that’s where he asked me to marry him! It turns out his parents were never going on the tour, and it was all set up. Both our families were waiting for us back at our apartment in Pittsburgh, where we had a party and stayed for the weekend. _____________________________________________________________ Why did you choose the Rotunda? We always had Lauxmont in the back of our minds, even though we had looked at a few other places…I’ve always wanted something architecturally unique, not just a ballroom or hotel or something like that. When I saw the Rotunda, I thought… Oh, my gosh, this is exactly what I wanted but didn’t know existed. I knew it was the one.
_____________________________________________________________ Tell us about your colors & décor! Rick told me I could choose any colors that I wanted, so it was pretty going. I saw the aqua in the ceiling of the Rotunda, and I love that color, so I wanted to incorporate it in some areas as well as pick another color that complimented it, and I was really drawn to the peach tone.
Also, since we originally talked about having a destination wedding, I was looking through a magazine of one in Key West. The article had a bunch of post cards for seating chart tags, and I loved that idea. So, we found a bunch of vintage travel post cards online, so that even though we didn’t travel for the wedding, we had a little bit of the travel idea incorporated. Each guest got a post card with a tag that indicated what kind of food they chose for dinner! And, on the post card, we asked the guests to suggest where we should travel for our honeymoon!
_____________________________________________________________ Where did you end up honeymooning? [Giggles] We still haven’t done it yet. My husband accepted a new job, so he ended up having another week off that we didn’t know about, and it all fell right into place being the week following the wedding. So, we decided to drive to Dewey Beach in Delaware, which was actually where Rick and I first met. It was kind of like a mini honeymoon! _____________________________________________________________ What did you love about getting married at the Rotunda? I loved getting married on the grounds and having the view behind us the whole time, and I loved walking up into the round room and still having that view the entire day. Guests could easily go from inside to outside instead of being restricted to the dance floor, so it was very free flowing.
Also, our venue coordinator from Lauxmont, Brenda…she was the best part of the day. She was so kind and made everything so easy, especially the little things I didn’t think of. When she mentioned them, I hadn’t thought of them, but she would just say, “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll take care of it!” _____________________________________________________________ Did you write your own vows?
We did not. My aunt, who was the officiant, let us use her standard vows. But she surprised us. A couple months before the wedding, she asked to each write each other a letter so that she could read them and get to know our story a little better. So, we wrote the letters, and during the rehearsal, she announced that she actually included little bits of the letters in the ceremony. She made is very personalized and used our own words that we wrote to each other, which was really sweet!
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What’s going on in this infamous photo of your ceremony?
How could I forget about that? So, a bit of chaos was going on the week of the wedding. The best man, the reason Rick and I met, was really, really sick with the flu. His wife, who was one of my bridesmaids and whose daughter was our flower girl, went into labor three weeks early. I didn’t even think the three of them were going to be able to make it to our wedding! Somehow, they ended up making it. Everyone was so surprised, so no one thought to bring the rings to the ceremony. We didn’t tell Rick, but the little rings on the pillow that my nephew carried down the aisle were just fake rings. He thought they were the real rings! We didn’t realize until the officiant asked for the rings. I thought, what a strange time to be joking about that… and Rick said, “No, I really don’t have them!” So, we ended up just using the little plastic rings… _____________________________________________________________ Do you have any advice for others on their wedding day? Just be present in the moment. You shouldn’t worry about whether or not things are going to go wrong, or what should be on the tables… Just know that on the day of, it’s all going to turn out. It’s one of the best days of your life no matter what!
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Check out more photos of Jillian & Rick's special day here!
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Venue: The Rotunda at Lauxmont Farms Weddings
Photographer: Stephanie at Philter Photo Caterer: Mateo's DJ: Mixed-Up Productions Florist: Rihna Liriano Baker: Brown's Orchard Officiant: Christine de Vries Rentals: La Lucia Boutique