B e i ng in the Mome n t

A Putnam County bride ditched the idea of perfect to have an unforgettable wedding day

When Ashley Bohne began planning her wedding to Zach Mennie, she knew she didn’t want a tightly-scheduled event that would leave her stressed out and unable to enjoy her day.

“I have been a bridesmaid in a lot of weddings where your schedule starts bright and early, and there is all this tension and things to do. I learned quickly that was exactly what I did not want for my own day,” she said.

To help achieve the goal of a more relaxed wedding day, the Putnam County couple did not have a traditional wedding party when they got married on Jan. 22, 2022, and they didn’t have photographers around them all day long.

“My favorite thing was that we did make it such a relaxing, enjoyable day. There was no schedule or list of activities to do. We really just woke up and spent the day with our family and friends,” Ashley said. “There was no stress or pressure for it to be this ‘perfect’ day because we just let it naturally be a perfect day.”

Approximately 100 guests attended the wedding, and the couple opted to have it at Mennie Machine Company in Mark. Since they were using their own venue, they had to do the work that would normally be handled by the staff at the venue itself.

“I was surprised at how many small details there were to plan. You think of wedding planning and the big details and vendors, but it’s easy to forget about the small things. Using our own venue made that especially hard, since we

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Since Zach and Ashley Mennie used their own venue, they had to plan all the details the venue would generally supply, like seating.

Mennie

FROM PAGE 9 had to provide tables and chairs, a full bar, all the decorations,” Ashley said. “When you rent a venue, you just expect the tables and chairs to be there. There’s a lot to think about.”

Ashley said while the wedding planning was easier than she thought it would be, it was tedious at times.

“We did a Christmas type theme, so putting up and decorating all of the trees and lights was a lot. However, planning the big things like florist, photographer, band, and caterer were much easier than I had originally thought,” she said. “Overall, I enjoyed it. I am the kind of person, though, that likes to plan and decorate and host events. I planned very quickly, in like two months. Getting it done quickly probably helped with not making it a miserable experience. I don’t think I could plan a wedding for a year or longer.”

Ashley ended up learning something valuable about herself in the midst of her wedding planning.

“I learned I’m much more laid back than I thought I was. All my friends and family thought I was going to be this bridezilla, especially since I had less than a year to plan everything, but I was pretty chill the entire time,” she said. “It does help that we had a lot of help and great vendors.”

Part of the reason why she felt pretty relaxed about the whole thing, even on her wedding day, is that she decided early on to ditch some of the modern-day and traditional practices.

“I did not do the big song and dance. We did not have a bridal party, and I had no photographer or videographer during the day before the ceremony,” she said. “I really believe in a more traditional wedding day, not this new, trendy thing where you take a bunch of pictures getting ready and have this perfectly scheduled day starting at 7 a.m. even if your ceremony isn’t until 5 at night. We truly enjoyed the day, which is exactly what we wanted.”

To help other brides avoid some of the stress and enjoy their special day more, Ashley offered the following advice.

“My advice would be to only worry about you, and make your day how you want it. At times, I felt like my wedding was about everyone but us. There are a lot of opinions from family and friends to deal with while planning,” she said. “Don’t let your day become someone else’s day. It is about nobody but you and your spouse.”

Being true to your vision and preferences is the key to a happy, enjoyable wedding day, she said, even if your wedding isn’t typical or what someone else thinks you should be doing.

“If you are planning a wedding, never feel like you have to do the big, traditional party. Eloping is underrated. We had a wonderful day, surrounded by our wonderful family and friends. However, I’d love to renew our vows someday by ourselves with our kids, on some tropical island. No big performance,” Ashley said.

“The true meaning of a marriage I feel is lost sometimes in the craziness that are weddings today,” she added. “Marriage is about two people being in love. If you want to get married in a backyard with 10 people, do it. It doesn’t make the marriage any more or less than anyone else’s.”