Real weddings: Jenny & Adam - Lewis, Iowa

Jenny had written me from Utah back in July about her upcoming wedding next June. It was going to be held at the Wallace Foundation Learning Center, located near Lewis, Iowa. It seemed to be quite an unconventional site for such an occasion, so I was glad to be chosen to shoot it.

According to the bride, “My parents, married 28 years, had a charming garden wedding and I always thought that being in nature, surrounded by your friends, family and beautiful flowers was a wonderful way to start your life together. That decision set the theme for the wedding, so the hunt was on to find the a unique and suitable venue for our 200 guests”.

After countless visits to wineries, forest preserves, etc. my aunt suggested I check out the Iowa State University Research and Demonstration Farm in Lewis, IA which was just a few miles from our hometowns. The minute we popped over the hill I knew that was the place. The grounds were perfectly manicured, there were gorgeous flowers, bushes and trees everywhere and it was all surrounded by the legendary Iowa rolling fields. It also had a nice sized conference center with interesting farm-inspired architecture, which was perfect for the reception. We had to overcome a few minor obstacles because the venue was designed for farmer’s meetings not weddings, but thankfully they also employ a wonderful staff.

Even though it felt like we were surrounded only by Iowa farmland, we took a short ride to the nearby rural Hitchcock House, a sandstone dwelling built in 1856 by the Rev. George Hitchcock, with a secret room in the basement that was used to hide runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. This place really added a lot of dimension to the weddings' rural appeal, providing a tree swing located out of sight, down a path in the middle of nowhere. Sweet!