Enchanting Cottage Core Wedding Ceremony at the Ashton House

Do you dream of a cottage core wedding ceremony? This small and intimate wedding will inspire you to do just that. The Ashton House is a hidden gem for small weddings in the Iowa City area.

Humble and unique, it was originally built in 1947 by Edward L. “Ned” Ashton as a private residence. According to the Iowa City website, “Ashton, who has been called “the most distinguished bridge engineer in the history of Iowa,” was a professor of civil engineering at the University of Iowa from 1943 to 1957. He designed several bridges over the Mississippi River, as well as smaller bridges, such as the Benton Street Bridge, and was a pioneer in the design of welded plate girder bridges. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Jan. 26, 2001 and accommodates up to 100 people.”

Celebrating Ashley & Ming

Ashley reached out to me for wedding photos for their wedding day and told me her style was cottage core and that she would live in a field of flowers if she could. I’m with you, Ashley. She designed her day, décor and details all on her own and did such a lovely job with it. Her wedding day really speaks to my own heart and I love looking at these photos and remembering the day.

This was really a micro wedding (a wedding with less than 50 guests that is short and intimate) and we started out the day with close friends and relatives helping to finish getting ready. When it was time for the first look, we went out into the garden. It was such a beautiful moment. We then went into couples portraits and wedding party portraits before guests started arriving.

The ceremony was at sunset under the twinkle lights and is one of my favorite ceremony photos ever. The joy, happiness, stories and vows that the two shared with one another is so beautiful.

We finished out the night with a lovely spread of appetizers for dinner and free-flowing Guinness. It was such a lovely day!