HAMILTON, Ohio — The bride came from a family that favors red tractors; the groom’s first tractor was green.

So, on a hot September day, Christa Lierer and Bryan Crosier were married in a hayfield surrounded by red (on her side) and green (on his side) tractors and combines. The corn leaves in the bride’s bouquet matched the corn tassels, combined with wheat from the groom’s farm, used in the table decorations at the reception.

“It’s just to bring a little bit of each of us together,” said the bride.

Her dad, Dave Lierer, had the idea, she said. He decided how the tractors should be lined up. He has Farmall Internationals – Christa takes part in tractor pulls with a 1466 International that was part of the wedding procession.

“We got the ‘bride’ and ‘groom’ as the combines,” Dave said. “The two big tractors are the best man and the maid of honor, and the wedding party is behind it.”

Since the groom hails from near Chillicothe, which is a couple of hours away, the green tractors came from nearby friends. Carl Summe brought the combine, which is the same as the groom’s, and Steve Schulte, Rob Brehm and Gordon Starr brought the Oliver tractors. Paul Rheinhardt put his International in the red row.

“Bryan’s first tractor he drove was an Oliver and he recently bought an Oliver 77,” his new wife said. “He took it to the local FFA and they fixed it up for him. It’s a working tractor.”

Said Gail, mother of the bride, “This was Dave’s idea – he wanted to do that from the get-go. First, Bryan said, ‘No, let’s not.’ The more we talked about it the more he thought, ‘Okay.’ He said we had to have a John Deere combine.

“We have a lot of friends who were able to bring their tractors for the day and they all want photos of the bridal party by the tractors.”

“Some of the tractors weren’t even running, so they got them running and washed them up,” Christa added.

For an added touch, the bride’s brothers, Mike and Dave Jr., assembled a “bride and groom” from round hay bales and placed them in the front yard.

Christa grew up on a family farm. She took part in 4-H and was involved with Farm Bureau. She is a student at The Ohio State University with a major in agricultural communications. Bryan started farming in 1991 with his father and “he’s been there ever since,” Christa said.

“He went to OSU as well and his degree is in ag systems management. He rented his first piece of land this past year. He’s hoping to expand and find more land to rent or buy. I don’t think we’ll ever come off the farm.”

The groom, the son of Mark and Terry Crosier, was pleased with the Sept. 3 wedding arrangements.

“How many people can get married with that as a backdrop and having the care and the support put in to make sure it happens?” he said. “It’s pretty neat with crops in the background and equipment.”

Added Christa: “We’re really excited – everything turned out great.”