Brent and Sarah made their invisible string visible to all at Cornman Farms on their wedding day.
From Long Distance to an Enchanted Wedding Day: Sarah and Brent
Serendipity, strength, and a super-special wedding at Cornman Farms
When Sarah thinks back to meeting her husband, Brent, Taylor Swift’s “Invisible String” plays inside her mind, especially the part that goes like this:
Time, curious time
Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs
Were there clues I didn’t see?
And isn’t it just so pretty to think
All along there was some
Invisible string
Tying you to me?
For Sarah, the lyrics are a reminder that the unknown is a source of incredible joy. After all, life can surprise us in the most wonderful ways, especially when it comes to love.
“It’s a song about two people who were born on very different paths and have no idea that there’s an invisible string tying them together the whole time. They don’t know about the string for a long time, but it’s always there,” she explains. “I think Brent and I have an invisible string tying us together, too. Normally, our paths wouldn’t have crossed, but they did, and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Sarah and Brent got married at Cornman Farms in October of 2024, but their invisible string drew them to each other long before that, in the fall of 2018. Their paths converged in Texas. Brent’s employer sent him to Houston from Nebraska for job training. Sarah, a native of the Detroit suburbs, had recently moved there to complete a master’s degree. The timing was just right.
Even more importantly, Sarah and Brent found that they complement one another wonderfully.
“We have a great balance. I’m a detail-oriented planner who’s more prone to stress, and the love I feel from Brent keeps me grounded. He has never once made me feel like I’m too much, and he helps me feel validated when I’m going through a difficult time,” Sarah says.
Brent and Sarah have plenty in common, too. For instance, they both gravitate toward water.
“Boating, fishing, going to the beach: Wherever we are, we both seek out the water,” Sarah says. “We knew we were a match when we realized we could both commit to going to the beach for 10 hours. Not everyone is able to do that.”
The road to romance
After chatting with Sarah on Bumble, Brent asked her if she’d like to meet up for lunch. Sarah said yes but suggested that they get beers at a bar instead, which made Brent’s heart flutter. The couple’s first dates were magical, but an ominous clock was ticking in the background: Brent’s training only lasted a few months. When it finished, he’d need to return to his home base in Nebraska.
“It was very uncertain what being together would look like once he left town,” Sarah recalls. “We dated long-distance for two years. People in our lives would sometimes point out how that’s a really long time to be in different places, but I just knew he was my person. I never wondered if there was someone else out there for me after meeting him. Even when we had hundreds of miles between us, we were really committed and focused on each other,” Sarah adds. “There are so many things that could have pulled us apart, but Brent was so sure I was the person he wanted to be with, too.”
Falling in love with Cornman Farms
When Sarah and Brent decided to get married, they knew they’d have all kinds of future memories to make together in the future. Brent proposed in Detroit at the tail end of 2022, which made the new year truly special.
“The scene was like something out of a movie. It was snowing, and there was a big Christmas tree,” Sarah says. “But what I remember the most was the fact that Brent did it in public, in front of a crowd. He can be a little bit shy, so I didn’t see that coming, and it was such a courageous thing for him to make such a grand gesture. Plus, he incorporated the element of surprise. That really speaks to how he’ll do things he wouldn’t normally do just to make me happy.”
Brent and Sarah could hardly wait for their big day, but there was lots to do before then. A few months after the proposal, Sarah toured Cornman Farms with her parents. She knew it was the right place for their celebration, but Brent couldn’t be there to experience it that day. Fortunately, Tabitha Mason, one of the venue’s owners, knew how important it was for him to feel connected to this special place, so she came up with a solution.
“Tabitha made space on the calendar so Brent could come to the farm before the wedding. He and I drove there the day before the wedding, so it was just Tabitha and the two of us. I got to watch Brent experience the farm for the first time, which was the best,” Sarah explains.
Sarah already knew how peaceful she’d felt when exploring Cornman Farms’ historic 1800s Farmhouse, strolling across the stately lawn, and hanging out in the gardens during her springtime visit. Brent had seen pictures of the farm and thought it looked just right for the wedding, but Sarah knew Cornman Farms would cast a spell on him when he set foot on the grounds.
“Seeing the wonder and awe on his face was just priceless,” she says. “His eyes lit up, and he looked so happy and excited. I could tell that getting married was starting to feel real for him. It was absolutely joyful.”
The joy of letting go
Cornman Farms brought Sarah another kind of joy as well: the type that’s related to relief. Planning a wedding can be an all-consuming task, especially if there are a lot of logistics to coordinate. That’s why Tabitha and her team take care of nearly everything, from booking the officiant and photographer to ordering the floral arrangements. There’s even a custom farm-to-table dinner prepared by chef and co-owner Kieron Hales.
Delegating these details gives people like Sarah a chance to breathe and revel in the lead-up to the big event. It also lets them enjoy their wedding day as much as possible.
“I’m prone to worrying and sometimes get stuck in my head, and I can spend hours and hours researching things, so being able to let go of a lot of the details was extremely valuable to me,” she says. “It saved us a ton of time and prevented so much anxiety, not having to reach out to get quotes, compare prices, and then make a million decisions. The mental load was much lighter than it would have been otherwise, and that made everything so much more enjoyable.”
Sarah says that the Cornman Farms team’s expertise was especially helpful since she and Brent were living in another state while planning a Michigan wedding.
“We had on-demand access to vetted vendors from every key category, and they were instantly booked on our behalf. It doesn’t get much easier than that,” she explains.
Tying the knot
Brent and Sarah made their invisible string visible to all at Cornman Farms on their wedding day. Their wedding photographer, Hannah Bedinger of Lola Grace Photography, noticed it immediately. As she wrote on her blog:
“I couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of their love, their connection so palpable and profound. I sought to capture every moment, every smile, every tear, so that they could cherish these memories for a lifetime.”
With expert assistance from Laura Giles of Little Workshop Floral, Sarah gave the wedding a “garden at the end of summer” vibe featuring showstopping blooms and a vivid color palette. Tabitha and her team curated numerous other details, weaving the different elements together beautifully. Sarah was especially impressed by the vintage, which had a special surprise.
“The plates had the same flowers as our floral arrangements, which was so cool and unexpected,” she says. “So much love and care went into the planning, and it really showed in details like that.”
Nearly every one of the event’s 55 guests commented on this love and care, as well as the farm’s charm.
“So many people reached out to say that they’d never been to a wedding like ours and that it was really unique and magical,” Sarah says. “We felt transported to a different time. It was like the outside world paused and put everyone in this headspace of ‘We’re here for Sarah and Brent in this enchanted bubble, and we don’t want it to pop.’”
Building a life together
One of the most special things about a Cornman Farms wedding is the new chapter it begins. Sarah and Brent know that a marriage is a bit like a garden: It needs lots of tending to grow and flourish. Their relationship continues to thrive with a little help from some traditions they’ve cultivated. One is weekend movie nights. They clear their schedules, make a bowl of popcorn, and savor a bit of time with each other. What’s more, they take turns picking the movies.
The couple shares more than popcorn, of course. Since they both work from home, they also share a home office and jokingly refer to each other as coworkers.
“If I do something silly, Brent will pretend to call HR. Or sometimes, when we’re both in meetings, he’ll be like, ‘My officemate is really making a ruckus today.’ It’s hilarious,” Sarah says.
Brent and Sarah even view errands as an opportunity to have fun together.
“When I’m doing little things like going to the grocery store or getting an oil change, Brent will often go, too. Having a great friend come with you for this kind of stuff—it’s the best feeling in the world,” Sarah says. “The biggest thing for me about marriage isn’t the grand gestures. It’s having a built-in best friend for life.”