LIKE SO MANY COUPLES THESE DAYS, ERIN LOGSDON and R.J. Bartsch “met” online. Their first official date - shooting pool at Boston Billiards - turned into a seven-hour conversation, during which not a single round of pool was played. As Erin recalls, “It was my first ‘blind’ date, and I knew that it was, without a doubt, extraordinary.” A year and a half later, in fact, they were engaged.

They have a fussy baby to thank for the memorable location of R.J.’s proposal: the inside of his car. He had planned, he says, on proposing during dinner at one of the couple’s favorite restaurants, but the cranky infant at the next table threw a wrench into that plan, spoiling the romantic atmosphere. “I joke that he planned it that way because he’s a car guy,” Erin says. “He wanted me to develop a sentimental attachment to his car!”

Erin had a sentimental attachment, indeed, to the state of Vermont. And it’s no wonder. Erin explains: “I was born in Vermont during a mid-April blizzard. At one time, my grandfather worked for Vermont Marble, and up until several years ago, my grandparents owned a summer home in Brandon, known in my family as ‘The Apple Farm.’ I have spent time in Vermont almost every year of my life.” For six years, her parents had owned a farm in Stowe - the perfect location for the wedding she was planning. “We knew that we wanted to have a ‘limitless’ wedding reception,” Erin says. “We were able to use the vendors we wanted and to keep the reception going as late as we wanted.” Erin quickly stresses that “we” really means her mom, who had almost total control over the wedding planning. “Everything she did was stunning,” says Erin, “and we cannot thank her enough for giving us a wedding beyond our wildest imagination.”


Of course, Erin and R.J. did make a few suggestions, and the wedding was full of personally significant details. Because R.J. and Erin, and both their families, share a great love of the outdoors, the overall theme for the wedding was “nature,” with a color palette of greens, browns and whites. Decorative elements included baby ferns, grasses, birch trees, twigs, moss, bird nests and stones. Carved wooden deer heads painted orange added a touch of whimsy at the bar in the cocktail tent - and hundreds of paper lanterns cast an enchanting glow. “Of course, the setting for the reception, being surrounded by mountains, woodlands and pastures, also made this a perfect fit,” Erin says. “It was important to us to give our guests a taste of Vermont, both literally and figuratively,” Erin says. “We had Vermont artisan cheeses, Vermont beer and even our wedding cake had Vermont maple syrup as an ingredient.” The menu, which was fresh, vegetarian and organic, included miniature servings of Vermont Cheddar macaroni and cheese - “my childhood favorite,” Erin says. “Around midnight, after hours of dancing, a late snack of flatbread pizzas was passed on wooden paddles.” The bar choices had meaning, too, featuring wines from Oregon (where Erin had attended college and lived for 10 years), Vermont apple martinis and Cabo Wabo tequila (Cabo San Lucas was the couple’s honeymoon destination).

Erin says that while being together with family and friends, many of whom came from far away, was the best thing about her wedding, she also treasures the time she had alone with R.J., renting a separate cottage together for the Thursday to Sunday of their wedding weekend. “It was wonderful for us to have a cozy home base,” she says. “It felt like we were in a home, instead of a hotel - and we can’t wait to go back and stay there for our anniversary!”