The why for us was easy.
Why did we build a tree? We built a tree simply because I’d dreamt of an outdoor wedding reception my whole life. But having an outdoor wedding reception meant I needed an equally beautiful wet weather option (which incurred huge fees to hold a room “just in case”) , I needed to hire absolutely everything from cutlery, crockery and glassware to napkins, audio and lighting (Cha-ching! I could hear the dollars adding up), and finally I also needed a team of people “just in case” to move the entire reception indoors (I wasn’t going to ask my friends and family and hiring someone just seemed so pointless for “just in case”). My dream wedding reception had quickly become too expensive and seemed so far out of reach.
I was struggling to think of a realistic alternative, when one day my dad simply asked me, “Nat what would you like? Nothings too big” and my reply was “Dad, I’d love a tree” …… Now let’s pause for a second, at this point, I didn’t actually expect anything to come of this, I was just venting, I didn’t expect he’d take me seriously, and I certainly didn’t expect that he’d build me a tree.
My dad being the creative man he is, put his thinking cap on and by the next day he came to me with a blueprint of how he and my brother were going to build me a tree. I wish I could show you my face when he came to me with his drawings (It was pretty much a combo of the two emojis below)
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I kept thinking, Is this man crazy? He’s going to build me a tree? For one day?! Months and months of work just for one day? I was shocked at the thought that he was even considering it, let alone confused as to how on earth was he going to make it!
After a quick family meeting (+ the then fiance) where we put together a quick budget and construction timeline, it actually seemed doable. I desperately wanted this tree but I couldn’t help listening to the little voice in the back of my head saying “all this effort for one day?”
It was obvious how much I wanted it, and I thought to myself, sureeellyyyyyyy this is a problem that other brides are faced with. Sureeelllyyyy I’m not the only one wanting an outdoor wedding but struggling to justify the costs, surely I’m not the only bride wanting to bring the outdoors in and surely there’s others who want to hold a wedding or event that leaves (no pun intended) their guests amazed…..
It was then, in that moment, that Autumn Grove was created.
Starting out with one, simple, gigantic, handcrafted tree.
