Celebrating the bounty of Ohio is what Genevieve Reiner and Todd Mills had in mind for their late summer wedding at Rockmill Brewery’s farm in Lancaster.
Food has been a central part of the couple’s relationship; they met at a Food Forum in the Spring of 2011, an event organized by Local Matters, Edible Columbus, and Wayward Seed Farm and held at Wild Goose Creative.
“At the time, Todd was Director of Marketing and Development for Local Matters, and I was looking for opportunities to learn more about our local food system and become more involved,” says Reiner. “I thought our first couple of get-togethers were networking opportunities, he apparently was interested in something different. We ran into each other at several different food-related events throughout that summer and went on our first ‘date’ that November.”
“When I saw Genevieve talking with my friend Jaime at the Food Forum, the first thing that caught my eye was how at ease she was in a room full of strangers and how she and Jaime were laughing together,” remembers Mills.
The two eventually met up in for a first date in November that year.
“Halfway through our dinner at Deepwood, I knew that all my inklings about Genevieve were right,” he says. “All the charm, wit and laughter that made me so curious about her in the first place was there in abundance.”
Time went by and their relationship blossomed. They purchased a home together and were in the midst of a kitchen renovation, when Mills proposed with a vintage ring dating from somewhere between the 1920s and 1950s.
“He felt our home was the perfect place, as we were building a literal and figurative life together,” says Reiner. “I couldn’t have agreed more!”
For the wedding site, the couple desired a non-traditional location that would highlight the beauty of Ohio’s rural countryside. Rockmill Brewery quickly rose to the top of their choices.
“We loved the rolling hills, expansive meadow, fishing pond (my brother brought his fly rod and did a fly fishing demo for the kids!), the beautiful buildings on the property, and of course the fabulous beer,” says Reiner. “One of the most important parts of our celebration was showing our out-of-town guests (many who had never been to Columbus before) a chance to see and experience all the cool things that we have here. We kept coming back to this idea of showcasing Ohio in almost everything we had at our wedding…food, flowers, favors, music, etc.”
Sunny Meadows Flower Farm designed the floral arragements – bright, vibrant colors of the late summer growing season. “As a surprise, Gretel added hop flowers to the bridal bouquet as a nod to our venue,” says Reiner.
Reiner’s coworkers from her family’s business Oakland Nursery created mason jar planters of succulents to decorate the tables and to give out as additional favors. Extra hydrangeas and potted plants added spots of color to the natural beauty of the setting.
Mason jars were found throughout the wedding, starting with the invitations. A watercolor mason jar-flower bouquet motif based on the description of the wedding flowers by artist Jane Sloss set the tone for the day.
“We used vintage blue mason jars for the centerpieces, and our favors were jars of jam that I canned over the course of the summer (made with fruit either bought at the Clintonville Farmers Market or picked at a local farm),” says Reiner. “Todd and I both enjoy canning, and one of things things that endeared him to me early on was the fact that he canned his own sauces and jams.”
The bride wore a simple and classic dress. “Perfect for what we were going for,” she says. The groom and his groomsmen wore slim cut, 60s style suits with skinny ties. Bridesmaids were adorned in dresses in beautiful jeweled tones with a vintage-mid-century feel.
“We kept joking that the theme of our wedding was ‘the cast of Mad Men goes on a fancy picnic in Ohio’,” says Reiner.
Food was catered by Two Caterers, the exclusive catering company for Rockmill. “Carly Ziemer did a great job of handling two people who had a lot of strong opinions about what we wanted to serve our guests,” says Reiner. “They crafted specific dishes (Ohio cheese trays) and stations (a make your own bahn mi station with peanut noodles and papaya salad) and honored our requests to keep food as local and seasonal as possible.”
Pre-ceremony festivities included beer tastings of Rockmill’s brews with food pairings, cocktails poured by Cris Delhavi from M, and wine from Good Harbor Vineyards, owned by friends of the couple.
For sweets, the couple had a small wedding cake from Kittie’s Cakes, macarons by Pistacia Vera, and a visit from a Jeni’s ice cream cart.
“If there’s one thing that that we wanted our out of town guests to try on a visit to Columbus, it was Jeni’s,” says Reiner. “Needless to say, it went over swimmingly!”
The bride’s wedding ring was a custom band made to match her vintage engagement ring. Mill’s wedding band features a wood grain pattern, reflecting his passion for his hobby of woodworking.
After the ceremony, the couple looked for a way to honor their German heritage.
“One of the most unique parts of our wedding was a tradition we took from Todd’s parents,” says Reinder. “His mother is German and when she and Todd’s dad were married in Germany, the first thing they did after they walked out of the church was to pick up a two handled saw and cut a log in half. The “baumstamm sagen” represents the first obstacle a married couple must overcome, and cutting the log together demonstrates that the couple can work together as a team. Todd and I decided to incorporate this into our wedding as a chance to celebrate our mutual backgrounds of German decent, and test our teamwork skills in front of all of our friends and family. We succeeded!”
The couple enjoyed seeing all our favorite people in one place, and having the chance to show the best of Ohio in such a beautiful setting to their friends and family from all over the world.
A quick honeymoon to Asheville, NC was taken immediately after the wedding, and they have plans to visit Nicaragua later this year.
Wedding Details
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Rockmill Brewery
Bride’s Dress: Elegant Bride in Dublin
Bride’s Hair: Meghann at Studio Fovero
Bride’s Makeup: Jess at Studio Fovero
Groom’s and Groomsmen’s Attire: Pursuit
Engagement Ring: Vintage from Grandview Mercantile
Bride’s Wedding Band: Custom by Jack Seibert Goldsmith & Jeweler
Groom’s Wedding Band: AideMemoire
Officiant: Friend of the groom
Band: MojoFlo
Ceremony Musicians: Friends of the groom
Invitations: Jane Sloss of Handpainted Wedding
Food: Two Caterers
Brews: Rockmill Brewery
Cocktails: Cris Delhavi of M
Wine: Good Harbor Vineyards
Flowers: Sunny Meadows Flower Farm and Oakland Nurseries
Wedding Cake: Kittie’s Cakes
Desserts: Pistacia Vera, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams cart
Favors: Jars of home-canned jams
Wedding Planner: Emilie Duncan of Emilie Duncan Event Planning
First Dance: “The Man In Me” by Bob Dylan, chosen by the couple who are both fans of The Big Lebowski
Photography: Ely Brothers.
All photos provided by Genevieve Reiner.
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