Don Squires won Taylor Crossland's heart with actions more than words. "He doesn't really fill the empty spaces in conversation," she jokes, describing their first date in St. Louis's Tower Grove Park. But in time, as he repeatedly drove two hours from Illinois to see her between late-night shifts as a training-software designer at a hospital—and while raising his two kids, Charlotte and Finn—it became clear they were on the same page. Another clue: They quickly bonded over a love for pets (of which they now have four, including a basset hound that Taylor gave Don after his passed away). In 2018, when he proposed at the pavilion where they'd first met, her answer was instant.
So was her choice of venue: her grandparents' peaceful farm in Augusta, Illinois. "I used to say to my mom, 'It'd be a nice place to get married, but it'd be great if it had a body of water,'" says Taylor. Before she knew it, her grandfather was constructing a pond that would transform the setting. It was just the first of many lovingly custom-made details of the big day, from the Turkish towels Taylor sewed into table linens to the candles she and her mother poured in glass jars. "Don was sweet to let me go crazy making everything myself," says Taylor, a senior designer and art director at Cheree Berry Paper, in St. Louis, where she's created countless suites in the brand's chic, whimsical style. For her own, she leaned into her farm-fresh locale, layering the save-the-date with springtime floral and vintage- textile-inspired patterns. "I wanted it to feel fun and cheerful, like an event you could bring kids to," she says. The invite veered more formal, with letterpress script, since "we're casual, but didn't want anyone showing up in shorts!"
On May 25, 2019, the couple—Don in a J.Crew suit and Taylor in a Bonpoint eyelet dress—welcomed 125 guests to the farm for a ceremony officiated by Don's brother-in-law, an adorable petting zoo ("a very 'us' version of a cocktail hour," says Taylor), and a sunset fish fry and barbecue. "Charlotte and Finn stood with us for the vows, and it was so nice to be up there as a family," adds Don. "I also loved that I could spot a stray goat wandering behind Taylor the entire time." The cameo appearance fit these animal lovers to the letter.
