Gorgeous Kentucky Wedding at Lexington Racetrack

Q1: Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day?
A1: Having our wedding at Keeneland, we wanted our wedding to reflect the horses, track, and Kentucky. My whole family is from Michigan, so we wanted something memorable for out-of-town guests, and we incorporated both of our home states in the cookies for our favors. We went with an upscale, rustic feeling for the decor. Dusty lavender was our main color, so we added lots of greenery, and classic navy blue. We kept things simple, while also being elegant. Andrew and I are both Catholic, so we had a traditional Catholic ceremony and mass, which was very important to my family.

Q2: Let’s talk wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?
A2: Our ceremony location was decorated very simply. The Cathedral is already very grand, so we didn’t need to add much. We had white tulle draping over the altar, and two big floral arrangements on either side of it. Everything there was kept to greenery and white to match the colors of the church. Our decor at the reception went with our rustic theme. We had custom signs that were dark stained wood, big vineyard tables for the head table, rustic frames for the guest book, wooden boxes for the centerpieces, and all the florals were loose and natural looking. One of the biggest theme elements was the bourbon barrel we used as the table for our cake. It is our own barrel, so it was a special element that we got to take home with us. The advice cards and table number cards were made by a friend, so that was special too.

Q3: What were the florals like in your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding?
A3: The flowers were one of the most important aspects of our wedding. They were the main point of decor at the reception. I wanted everything to look rustic and natural, so all the bouquets were very loose and flowy and included lots of greenery. We kept the colors similar to the bridesmaid dresses, with a few brighter pops of purple. We added floral decorations to the tops of our seating chart sign, our welcome sign, and on the memorial table. We tried to add florals in every place that we could, and all the bouquets and centerpieces were amazing! We also had flowers in between each of the layers of our cake. The cake was half-naked, so it was very plain, but all of the flowers added the decorative elements. It looked so beautiful, and we loved that it matched the rest of the decor!

Q4: Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?
A4: Our guest book included polaroids, which isn’t super unique, but we had everyone pin them to twine that was strung across two old wooden frames. These were one of our favorite memories from our wedding because we have them hung up in our bedroom, and they are  a great reminder of everyone who came and how much fun they had. Another personalized aspect was our corn hole boards. With all the outdoor space, we had lawn games set up. My aunt and uncle built us customized corn hole boards with our last name and year of our wedding. They turned out so great, and we love that we have them to use with friends and family for the years to come! The other personalized thing we had was the bugler. To mark the end of cocktail hour, we were able to have a bugler come to play the call to post. This is such a special tradition at Keeneland during the races, and it really added a special moment for all of our family and friends who had never gotten to experience the races before!

Q5: Let’s talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail.
A5: My wedding day look turned out very different than I had originally planned. When I went dress shopping, the dress I chose was picked by the consultant, and I wasn’t really interested in it on the hanger. Once I put it on, I fell in love, and so did my family and maid-of-honor. In terms of makeup, I don’t usually wear a ton, and what I do wear is very natural. I wanted to look much more elevated than I normally do, but I didn’t want to look completely different. My lipstick was a stain and a gloss that were both natural colors. The eyeshadow was neutral, with some shimmer, and the bronzer was also light. I had my eyelashes lifted, so all I wore on them was mascara. The bridesmaids all had similar looks as well, so all of us looked cohesive together. I wanted everyone to wear their hair up, so everyone had variations of updos. I also had an updo, and the look was similar to how I wanted to florals. I wanted something that looked loose, so it wasn’t too tight on my head, and I loved the way the few curls around my face were and the way it looked in the pictures. I also wore sparkly Kate Spade Keds. I’m not much shorter than my husband, and my feet would’ve hurt really bad in heels, so they were the perfect way to still be dressy and comfortable. Everyone that saw them loved them, and they were one of my favorite parts of my look.

Q6: How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.
A6: Andrew and I met on Tinder. We were both students at the University of Kentucky, so we went to school together too. Our first date was at an Italian restaurant, and then we went to see Deadpool and played at an arcade. It probably wasn’t the best movie to see on a first date, but I guess it worked! Andrew proposed on November 30th, 2017. We were living together, and he told me he wanted us to have a nice dinner one night. He loves to cook, so this wasn’t out of the ordinary and I didn’t suspect anything. We had actually gotten in an argument a few days before about getting engaged, which was apparently a part of his plan to keep me from suspecting anything. When I sat down at the table, he came in and grabbed the ring box from behind a bottle of bourbon on our barrel, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. There was no big speech, but he said he was so nervous, he never would’ve been able to say anything else. He had a camera set up that recorded everything, so we were able to have the whole thing on video. It wasn’t a dramatic proposal, but it was really special for us and gave us the time to enjoy the rest of the evening just being together. It was something that will always be special to the two of us.

Q7: What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?
A7: I had two moments I was really looking forward to. The first was the first look I did with my dad. I didn’t have a first look with Andrew, but I did one with my dad instead. It was so special to get to walk up behind him and anticipate his reaction. He’s good at keeping his emotions in, but I could tell he got choked up, and it was a really sweet moment for us. Since I live so far from home, the time we have together is usually with other family, but this was a really nice moment just between us. The other big moment I was looking forward to was the entrances into the rehearsal. We got drink orders from the bridal party, and each pair of groomsman and bridesmaid had their special entrance, toasted their glasses, and took their shot. Andrew and I did the same when walked in. It was something we were really excited about, and it was really fun to get to see our closest friends have fun together and have their special moment! We were hidden away from the guests, and we just got to watch all of them have the attention on them. A Grey mule was my signature drink, so for me and the bridesmaids that chose mules, we had mini copper mugs, and we got to do a fun toast with them before the entrances. It was just a really fun moment for us and the whole bridal party before the whole reception began!

Q8: Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?
A8: We got really lucky with our wedding, and very few things went wrong. My mom was an amazing wedding planner, and she really helped us with everything. The one thing I would suggest is to start early. We had almost 2 years to plan our wedding, and it really did fly by. Starting early gave us the pick of any venue we wanted, and it gave us time to get to find vendors we really loved. Everyone we worked with was incredible, and we couldn’t have asked for anything better. I know it’s said all the time, but really try not to sweat the small stuff. It all seems so important beforehand, but the day goes by so fast, and everyone is paying attention to you and each other, that small things will never be noticed or worried about. Just try to have fun, take advantage of the free tastings, make sure to take time to take everything in during the big day, and enjoy all of your time being engaged because it really does fly by!