A Celebration Farm Iowa City Summer Wedding

The day of the wedding started out gloomy and cloudy with unseasonably cooler temperatures, a twist from what we are used to in July in Iowa. By noon, the sun was shining and the breeze rustled the leaves on the trees with the temperatures still only rising to a comfortable mid-80s. For a couple who lives in Pheonix, Arizona, I’m sure it felt great.

When we arrived at the Celebration Farm barns, the centerpieces were being arranged, the bridesmaids were snacking on lunch, and the general hustle of a wedding day was just started to pick up pace. Just a few quick hours later, Eva & Aaron pledged their faithfulness, love, and friendship to each other for the rest of their lives. Their ceremony was filled with their overflowing love of Jesus and centered completely on Him. Since Eva’s family attend the same church as us, I knew many of the people there, which is always fun.

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Eva & Aaron first met at college in the fall of 2016 and their first date was shortly after. “I remember I really enjoyed being single at the time,” Aaron recalls, “But I knew I’d be the biggest idiot ever to pass up a chance to take this girl on a date. So at this point, we both knew we liked each other and planning that date was something I was admittedly a bit nervous about.” He decided they would go to his favorite restaurant and then meet up with some good friends of theirs to go to a pumpkin patch & corn maze. “The date was great and I was hooked,” he recalled. “My love for singleness was thrown out of the window and I knew that something in me had changed.”

They both knew pretty quickly into their relationship that they were in this forever. Eva says she knew around 6 months in and, ironically, they both said their I-love-yous at the same time. “At the end of June in 2017, I took Eva on a date to a Mexican restaurant and then we walked around a park. It was that day I was going to tell Eva I loved her, but just two minutes before I was going to do so she asked me if I loved her! So of course I started laughing because that just seems to be typical of our relationship. But it was about a month before that when I was sure she was the one. Towards the end of May when Eva was in Iowa and I was back home I knew for certain. We volunteer with the elderly and one elderly lady once told us that distance makes the heart grow farther and that long distance relationships fail. I love that lady, but she is crazy! Ours wasn’t really even long distance since it was only a month apart from one another, but it was during that month that my heart certainly grew fonder and I knew that she was going to be my wife one day.”

And finally that day arrived! Eva & Aaron, I’m so honored to have witnessed the start of your marriage and I wish you all the best as you start this beautiful journey together!

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Eva recorded a video message for her dad before their first look. Her sisters, Rachael & Mary, played it for him and there were tears all around.
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Meanwhile, Aaron was finishing getting ready to see his bride for the first time that day.
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Their joy was absolutely contagious!
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After dinner, we snuck back out for a few more minutes of portraits and they were absolutely breathtaking!
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