Stylish & Modern Summer Wedding at The Barn of Chapel Hill

Wedding Ceremony with Friends and Family Dylan & Dragana’s Stylish Summer Wedding at the Barn of Chapel Hill There are a lot of great wedding venues in Chapel Hill, but we were thrilled to see what this Los Angeles couple was able to achieve with their vision for their wedding day at the Barn of Chapel Hill. There’s no way we couldn’t inaugurate our new blog posts with a recap of their amazing event. For anyone unfamiliar with Chapel Hill, it’s a city that defines the third point of North Carolina’s Triangle, along with Raleigh and Durham. Not to be confused with the Piedmont Triad (Winston Salem, Greensboro, and High Point), the Triangle is a massive population, entertainment, and technology hub in NC. Being part of the outer edge of the foothills, you’ll often find lush farmland, huge trees, and lots of hidden gems for the brides and grooms of North Carolina to find.
Chapel Hill is unique in this area, home to the storied University of North Carolina (UNC) and the world famous UNC Hospital system, it’s also the proud home of many amazing wedding venues, including The Barn of Chapel Hill at beautiful Wild Flora Farm. 
Wild Flora Farm is tucked off a series of roads that make it hard to believe you’re near a big city because it’s a glorious off the beaten path find for weddings and private events. Seeing the sign for the farm, you turn onto a gravel driveway and then the Barn appears just around the curve, with the greenhouse set off to the side.
This particular wedding was supposed to happen last year, but the impact of COVID-19 on weddings can’t be overstated. Most of our 2020 wedding clients had to move their weddings to 2021 and all of them have been a long time coming. This particular wedding couple rolled with the punches and we were happy to accommodate their new wedding date and adjusted wedding plans. 
It was also the day that North Carolina’s governor relaxed the mask mandate, so while all the vendors were still wearing their masks, vaccinated guests were able to engage and party unrestricted.
Even before the ceremony had started, our phone lines were ringing off the hook with country clubs and venues who were looking to throw parties the very next day! Luckily, we were able to accommodate.
Before we arrived, we’d already had great communication with Chelsy from The Gathering Co. and knew what to expect for the day, but we didn’t expect to find their photographer Kasey Smith with Kasey Smith Creative leading the bridal party along the path for some great photos.
Once we got in, we were able to set up inside the massive 300 person barn space with huge vaulted ceilings and an actual honeybee hive safetly built into the wall to protect the guests and bees. They treat their honey bees well becausee the bees actually pollenate the plethora of flowers in the greenhouse and around the lush property. 

Catered by Rocky Top Catering , the venue was expertly decorated with lots of rustic charm and elegant elements from CE Rentals and Cottage Luxe . Everything from the table settings and silverware to the florals by Wild Flora Farm were chosen with care and a specific vision in mind by our savvy couple.

The ceremony was on the patio and featured officiating by the groom’s father Kevin who did a great job making the ceremony both personal, engaging, and fun. The best officiants tell the story of the couple’s love and Kevin had a front row seat, spicing up his oratory with lots of personal stories that spoke to the individuals and the couple as one.

 
After the ceremony, which featured readings and reflections by the Best Man and Maid of Honor, requiring additional ceremony microphones, guests were directed to the back covered patio and green lawn for cocktail hour. They’d put their guests’s seating assignments on clear acryllic boards and hung them from a small trellis, and featured drinks courtsey of Pour Bar Services and a champagne cart by Vita Mielie.
 
After moving guests inside they got to view our set-up and our decor as well as the cake by Ashley Cake s. 

Our wedding DJ booth set-up included a custom plush facade, white speakers and subwoofers for their large group inside a large wedding venue, and custom lit totems and uplighting to tie the room together. We also did some cake lighting so that guests would stop and take a look at how beautiful it was! It’s really easy to add lighting to the cake and makes a world of difference in how guests choose to engage it. 
Throughout the nearly two years we’d been working with this couple, it was really obvious that music was a huge part of their lives, and we love working with couples like this. 
We began with their Introductions, welcoming the bridal party as a whole down the stairs to the dancefloor to Bassnectar’s You & Me, and we had times everything so that the doors would open right as the bass dropped and crowd went wild. They went right into their first dance, Bob Marley’s Is This Love. 
Right afterward, they immediately went into their Father Daughter dance song – John Mayer’s Daugthers and their Mother Son Dance Song – Free Falling by Tom Petty. After a quick welcome by the bride and groom to thank their guests for joining them, dinner was served, individually, beginning with plated salads while we soundtracked the service with songs by Dermot Kennedy, Grouplove, Black Keys, Portugal the Man, Mark Brussard, Ray Lamontagne, and Leon Bridges, James Blake, and James Morrison.
 After Dinner, the toasts from the Best Man, Maid of Honor, our Bride’s parents were touching and featured everything that makes a great wedding toast – personal details, funny and appropriate stories, and genuine emotion. 
After that, it was time to start the dance party, and there was no shortage of activity on the floor. The couple’s wedding playlist featured their favorite songs and songs they knew their friends and family would love. 
We also incorporated a traditional Serbian dance called the Kolo, which is in a Slavic wedding tradition related to the Bulgarian Holo, the Macedonain Oro, and is possibly related the Greek Chorus, the Jewish Hora, and the step dances of the Levant and many Arabic cultures, the Debke. 

They partied hard until 11:00, with lots of uptempo dance mixes that worked in elements of their tastes and what their guests were most passionate about, blending all the styles together into one amazing event.
At the end of the night, we invited our guests outside for a sparkler grand exit and sent our newlyweds off in style, but not before they came back in to give us hugs and record a wedding video review. The groom, Dylan, ran up and said – “That was the best party I’ve ever been to, you absolutely crushed it!” Even though we didn’t have our phone out at the time, you can see their review and hear their elation for yourself.  Dylan & Dragana’s wedding dance Playlist: LOVE IT:
Big Gigantic Feat. Logic & Rozes All Of Me Kaytranada Together Klangkarussell Feat. Will Heard Sonnentanz (The Sun Don’t Shine) Kygo & Whitney Houston Higher Love Riton x MNEK x House Gospel Choir Deeper LIKE IT:
Avett Brothers I And Love And You Avicii Levels Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life Black Keys Weight Of Love Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell Williams Get Lucky Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell Williams Lose Yourself To Dance Disclosure Latch Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber I Don’t Care Elton John Your Song Flume Feat. Tove Lo Say It Grouplove Tongue Tied John Legend All Of Me John Phillips California Dreamin’ Magician Las Vegas Major Lazer Feat. Ellie Goulding & Tarrus Riley Powerful Michael Buble Everything Neighbourhood Sweater Weather Portugal. The Man Modern Jesus Santana Feat. Rob Thomas Smooth Sister Sledge We Are Family Skrillex & Diplo Present Jack U Feat. Justin Bieber Where Are U Now Skrillex, Boys Noize & Ty Dolla $ign Midnight Hour Swedish House Mafia Feat. John Martin Don’t You Worry Child Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Mary Jane’s Last Dance Whitney Houston How Will I Know Whitney Houston I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) Anderson Paak Am I wrong Anderson Paak Miss Right Bassnectar You and Me Big Gigantic Burning Love Calvin Harris we fell in love Jack Johnson Angel Marc Broussard The beauty of who you are The Magician Las Vegas Tinlicker Need You That was the best party I’ve ever been to. You crushed it! Dylan & Dragana