Real Arkansas Wedding: Erin Caylor of Kentucky & Aaron Baldwin of Hot Springs

Erin Caylor & Aaron Baldwin
Oct. 18, 2013 · The Baldwin Farm in Hot Springs

Photography by Meredith Melody Photography

Erin Caylor of Lexington, Ky., first met her husband, Aaron Baldwin of Hot Springs, when he taught her and other students how to administer local anesthesia at the University of Kentucky. Erin was in dental school and Aaron was in his oral and maxillofacial surgery residency, and a friendship was born. Erin and Aaron’s paths took different directions after school, but as fate would have it, they reconnected as practicing dental professionals and their friendship grew into more.

Aaron proposed with his Nana’s ring at sunset on a vacation in Marco Island. But Nana’s ring was just a loaner until the couple designed Erin’s engagement ring and wedding band that were ready just in time for the wedding. “We were so excited to get married, we had only a four-month engagement,” she says.

THE INSPIRATION

The wedding took place on Aaron’s family farm in Hot Springs, which provided all the inspiration needed for this rustic, open-air event. The couple wanted a natural look and they achieved it with organic textures, soft flowers and romantic candlelight from lanterns and votives. The goal was to complement the natural beauty of the land and not look too contrived or out of place. Reclaimed wood accents, beds of moss and other earth-derived accents worked perfectly without overpowering Mother Nature’s beauty.

HOW THEY CUSTOMIZED

Erin and Aaron chose to get married on the Baldwin Family Farm, which Aaron’s grandfather purchased in 1952. They exchanged their vows under the same large oak tree where his grandfather’s memorial service was held. “It was a special place, to say the least,” Erin says. Still though, they wanted their guests to have a taste of Kentucky. So, they brought some of their favorite local craft beer and, of course, bourbon. Guests received their own pewter Kentucky mint julep cup engraved with the Baldwin Farm logo of the oak tree. Inside each were chocolate bourbon balls and Woodford Reserve Bourbon.

The evening’s menu reflected the Southern comfort foods the couple grew up on: fried green tomatoes, shrimp, beef tenderloin and tasty garden vegetables. Instead of a wedding cake, they served a variety of desserts in miniature mason jars: key lime pie, death by chocolate and pumpkin cheesecake.

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