Ashlea Bennett & Michael Milburn
May 14, 2011 • Mount Sequoyah, Fayetteville
Photos by Callie Granderson Photography
Michael was planting a vegetable garden at his sister’s house when he first connected with her roommate, Ashlea. That first connection eventually developed the theme for their wedding.
After they began dating, one afternoon Ashlea left a snack of fresh tomatoes and basil for Michael to eat when he arrived. She left a note with lyrics from a Guy Clark song that read: “There’s nothing in the world money can’t buy but true love and homegrown tomatoes.” This also happened to be the day that Michael confessed his love for Ashlea.
When planning their wedding, Guy Clark’s song was the first detail they decided to incorporate. While dancing to the song would have been a choice for most couples, it wasn’t the choice of this couple.
“The decision to sing [the song] was one of the first decisions we made when planning the wedding. Neither of us can dance, so we didn’t want to do that. And we can’t really sing either, but since it is a funny song about love and tomatoes, we figured it wouldn’t matter if it didn’t sound great — it would be funny and endearing anyway,” Ashlea said.
After they decided to include the song, the couple decided the tomato theme was the perfect and obvious choice.
Other ways they included the tomato theme
- A tomato graphic — which became their wedding logo for print materials, etc. — designed by the groom
- Two fondant tomatoes as the wedding cake topper, as well as tomato vine icing detail on the sides of the cake
- Tomato decor on and around the welcome table
- Tomato wedding favors — glass cups with the tomato graphic printed on the side with an Arkansas Traveler tomato starter plant growing inside. Michael’s dad printed the glasses and one of his co-workers started the plants from seeds for the couple. “Many of our guests took them home and planted them in their own gardens. They still give us updates on how their tomato plants are doing.”
The Details
- Photographer: Callie Granderson Photography, Northwest Arkansas
- Venue: Mount Sequoyah, Fayetteville
- Catering: The Event Group, Fayetteville
- Flowers: Flora, Fayetteville
- Cake: Shelby Lynn’s Cake Shoppe, Springdale
- Tables and Chairs: Eventures, Fayetteville