Hillary + Ben | Park Crest Event Facility | Hoover, Alabama | Becky’s Brides

Hillary and Ben’s wedding weekend was an absolute dream to plan.  This sweet couple currently lives in Chicago, but they decided to tie the knot in the Ben’s hometown.  We LOVE our hometown of Birmingham so much, so we absolutely love it when couples decide to host their wedding here. Hillary and I FaceTimed for our first meeting and hit it off immediately.  Hillary is joyful, decisive, and knew exactly what she wanted and didn’t want – a girl after my own heart.  She and Ben have the incredible ability to make everyone around them feel so loved, and it was an incredible honor to be able to love on these two on their wedding day.

With only eight months to plan quite a large wedding weekend, we had to hit the ground running.  Luckily Hillary knew very much what she wanted her wedding to look like and what she didn’t want.  From there it was all about pulling together Birmingham’s best vendors to pull it off.  Park Crest Event Facility was the perfect place for a beautiful, COLORFUL, Fall wedding for Hillary and Ben.  We planned a stunning outdoor ceremony followed by cocktails under a canopy of string lights, a stunning seated dinner, followed by dancing and dessert.  While we love a beautiful neutral and soft color palette, Hillary wanted a wedding day full of greenery and LOTS of color, and we were excited to see her amazing floral designer pull this look off. Our plan was absolutely flawless and we couldn’t WAIT to see the fruits of our labor pay off.

Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans for Hillary and Ben’s wedding day.  On the exact day of their wedding, Hurricane Nate decided it would be a good time to come through Birmingham and ruin our outdoor plans. However, we ALWAYS have a backup plan.  And plan B was just as good as plan A (as it always should be).  Our vendors started arriving at our venue at 6:00 a.m. for a tight production for this wedding. Travel was challenging for some of our vendors due to the weather, but each vendor team went above and beyond to pull off every single aspect of this wedding to absolute perfection.  But the true champions of Hillary and Ben’s wedding day was our beautiful bride and groom.  They rolled with plan B like it was no big deal, and didn’t let Hurricane Nate steal their joy!

There were so many things I loved about this wedding.  Aesthetically, I LOVED the 80 feet (!!!) of floral installations hanging over the farm tables at the reception.  I loved how the beautiful, colorful chuppah popped against the gorgeous ivory backdrop.  I loved the stunning place settings and gold flatware that accented each guest table. Lastly, I LOVED the rose petal explosion that went off when Hillary and Ben yelled “MAZEL TOV” and kissed for the first time as husband and wife!

As beautiful and perfect as this wedding was aesthetically, there were so many very personal moments throughout Hillary and Ben’s wedding day that made their day even more special.  The day of their wedding was actually their 9 year dating anniversary.  I love how they have something new and even more special to celebrate on October 8th. Hillary’s rings were designed from the diamonds from Ben’s great Aunt.  I love how sentimental and sweet those rings will always be to her.  Ben’s wedding ring was designed after his hero, his Father (cue ALL the tears).  My favorite part of the ceremony was that Ben’s parents escorted him down the aisle, and then Hillary’s parents both escorted her down the aisle as well.  Both sets of parents were beaming with pride as their walked their children down the aisle.  The reception was absolutely one to remember with the most heartfelt toasts and celebrations that lasted all night long!

Hillary and Ben (and Robin and Bart!), planning your wedding with you was a true highlight of my wedding planning career and one I will never ever forget.  To watch you be surrounded by SO many of your friends and family who love you dearly was absolutely incredible to watch.  A true testament of what a beautiful and sweet couple you two are. I am in awe of how you put so much effort into making every single person at your wedding (including your vendors!) feel so incredibly loved and special.  Thank you for trusting me with such a special and important day in your life.  I wish you ALL the love and happiness in the world, and can’t wait to catch up next time you’re in Birmingham!

Watch Hillary & Ben’s Wedding Highlight Video  from by The Film Poets on Vimeo!

We’re so thankful for the incredible vendor team who worked tirelessly to make sure Hillary and Ben had the most perfect wedding day!

Planning: Becky’s Brides | Photography: Eric & Jamie Photography | Videography: The Film Poets | Venue and Catering: Park Crest Event Facility | Floral Design: HotHouse Design Studio | Props: Prophouse Birmingham | Hair and Makeup: Rawwbeauty | Cake: The Cakerie | Getting Ready Venue and Hospitality Suite: Hyatt Wynfrey | Linens, Chargers and Silverware: BBJ Linen | Reception Entertainment: TFC Band via East Coast Entertainment | Ceremony Musicians: Joots Music | Rentals: PRE Events and Design Productions | Stationery: Empress Stationery | Invitation Calligraphy: The Refined Pen | Getaway Car: Coats Classic Cars | Guest Transportation: Cline Tours