Sarah + MacGuire’s Wedding Day Pros

PREMIER HEARTLAND WEDDING IDEAS VENDORS
Event Planner Make It Happen Events 
Floral Shelly Sarver Designs 
Mobile Bartending Your Private Bar 
Stationery Production  TandemHart 
Linens Beyond Elegance

ALL VENDORS: Photographer Aly Carroll Photography | Videographer Michael Gene Wilson | Caterers Fahrenheit Wood Oven Pizza, Salad: Central College Catering, Mini Bread Loaves: Vander Ploeg Bakery | Ceremony & Reception Venue Hickory Terrace (the bride's family backyard) | Cake Molly’s Cupcakes | Late Night Treats Rob’s Mini Donuts | Makeup Kelsi Ziemann Artistry | Bride's Hair Holly Brandt | Wedding Dress & Veil Modern Dress | Brides Shoes Charlotte Mills, Jagger Pearl | Suit Express | Stationery Design Regan Katje | Jewelry Iowa Diamond | Ceremony & Reception Music Limelight, Lyndon Haselhuhn | Rehearsal Dinner Liberty Street Kitchen | Officiant Bob Johnson | Hotels Grandstay Hotel & Suites and Country Inn & Suites, Pella 

See all the vendors we LUST for, that can help you with your big day!

MacGuire and Sarah celebrated their love with a beautiful backyard summer wedding. The dreamy and intimate day focused on classic styles, pops of colors, and involving their families throughout the entire experience.

The couple both grew up in Pella — just 20 minutes away from one another! They originally believed they first met at a friend’s party during their senior year of high school. However, a couple weeks before their wedding, Sarah found a picture of them standing right next to each other at a preschool concert!

After dating for a while, MacGuire made a plan to propose. First, he tried to take Sarah to get coffee at a local shop, but she ended up already having a coffee. Then, he took her to a “new route” around Clemens Street, where the two met, and reminisced about their relationship. “At this point, I was still completely oblivious about what would happen shortly,” Sarah says.

As MacGuire continued to talk about their future, he recommended going to a place called Ghost Tree Hill on Sarah’s family’s property. The two strolled over to a few old trees, and MacGuire proposed.

Their wedding day was held in Sarah’s parents' backyard, which brought an extra personal touch to the entire event as it was the location of many cherished family memories. Sarah wanted a classic celebration with a clean black and white design, but with a fun twist. Sarah and her mom, Beth Yoder, worked together to envision decor with subtle hints of polka dots, pink accents and pastels to bring warmth and character to their charming wedding.

Shelly Sarver, who is the groom’s mom and owner of Shelly Sarver Designs, brought the vibe to life with delicate and playful floral throughout the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception spaces, as well as the bridal bouquets and boutineers. “Shelly went above and beyond by providing amazing flowers in every direction along with a lot of her amazing rental places,” Sarah says.

The entire day was coordinated by Gina Cramer, owner of Make it Happen Events, and she worked with Beyond Elegance for some of the rentals, including linens. Sarah shares that Gina and her team was amazing at coordinating all the details, which allowed her and MacGuire’s parents to enjoy the day instead of running it.

One of their favorite parts was a kissing booth, inspired by one of their favorite movies "The Kissing Booth." A week before the wedding Sarah had the idea to create it all, so MacGuire, his mom, and grandfather sketched up a design and built it from scratch. “I almost didn’t mention my idea but I am so glad I did. It was one of my favorite parts of the reception,” Sarah says.

The beautiful day and all the special elements were captured by Aly Carroll Photography. “She was amazing at capturing every single little detail that we had spent so much time planning and creating,” Sarah says. “Her pictures are amazing and will help us remember the day forever.”

To make the evening even more memorable, the couple served one of their favorite dishes, PIZZA!, from a food truck along with drinks from Your Private Bar. They also incorporated their love of Iowa State Fair mini-donuts as a late-night snack to keep the party going.  

Sarah and MacGuire loved getting to hold their wedding at her childhood home. As a place where she got ready for proms, her and MacGuire’s first dates and so many other memories, she couldn’t have dreamed of a more perfect spot to celebrate alongside their friends and family. “It was very memorable to have one of the best days of our lives happen in a place so meaningful to both of us,” Sarah says.