Wedding Date on Jun 16, 2018

From Emily // The Bride - "My husband and I dated for quite a while, knowing that we would spend our forever together. After five years of dating, he proposed to me on a sailboat off the gulf coast of Florida; it was truly a magical experience. When Zach and I began planning our wedding we agreedthat we wanted it to be unique. We wanted our guests to be able to experience and witness the true, authentic love that we have for one another. With that being said, we wanted both our ceremony and reception to exemplify that love by keeping our wedding simply romantic so that the guests would be able to experience that love andour marriage.We started looking for wedding venues only days after getting engaged. We traveled all over central Kentucky trying to find the perfect spot to commit our lives to one another. But much like every other detail in our wedding, we wanted the venue to be a place whereour friends and family could come and celebrate our marriage, not just the wedding. When we pulled into the driveway of Old Blue Ribbon Farm we immediately looked at one another, knowing fully that this would be the place we would become husband and wife. Thedriveway was lined with trees and it opened to a beautiful, 19th century farmhouse. Behind the house was an elegant rose garden and nearby was an old tobacco barn. This would be the place where Iwould become his forever.We soon began searching for vendors to complete our wedding. We were eager to find people who were equally committed as we were tomaking our day special. We soon found Grace Ann Pumpelly, who blew my mind with her work. When we met with her to book our wedding we saw her stunning work and knew she had to be a part of our special day. Through Grace Ann we met Gretchen Horton with Sun Kissed Blooms, who absolutely took our breath away with her amazing work. We knew that with these two women by our sides, our day was already going to be spectacular. My mother took me wedding dress shopping in Lexington at Twirl Boutique last fall. Upon arriving to the cozy yellow house, we felt right at home. As we sipped on mimosas we began to shop around. Not knowing exactly what I wanted, the assistant did a great job of pulling different dress styles. After trying on several dresses I walked out and my mother’s jaw hit the floor. I knew that this was the dress even before seeing it on. This lace, off the shoulder, Stella York gown would be the dress I would become a wife in. Our colors were vintage rose and navy accented with champagne throughout the reception. The florals incorporated some wine tones as well to make the colors blend together. The bridesmaids wore a beautiful vintage rose gown and the groomsmen were clothed in a navy suit. Eucalyptus and greenery were used throughout all floral pieces, which brought everything together. The style was simply romantic, which allowed us to tie in a lot of different items. The day of the wedding my matron of honor told me to “take it all in” and I made it my mission to do that throughout the whole day. That morning I received a video from my groom from the day of our engagement, nearly a year prior. He had the video made to tell me how excited he was for our marriage and how happy he was to have me as his wife. In that moment, nothing else mattered. Throughout the day I took mental snapshots of memories I didn’t want to forget. From Gretchen arriving with the florals I had been eager to see to seeing my brother for the first time in my dress, these were the moments that would make this day even more magical.We had a wonderful, fun filled day of getting pampered with hair and makeup. As my mother helped button the back of my dress all I could think about were the moments to come; in the next hours, days, months, years. I thought about how important this day was but I thought about how much more important the days ahead were. As we were getting closer to the ceremony my bridesmaids asked to pray over me. I took in those words that were prayed over me for my husband and I, for this day, and for our future. I felt the hands of the women I asked to stand by my side on my arms and back, knowing that these were the friends who would fully support our marriage; who would stand by our sides throughout it all. Closer to the ceremony, Zach’s father asked to share a few words with me; with tears in his eyes and a quivering voice he told me how happy he was to be gaining another daughter. These are the moments that weddings- marriages are made of; moments of friends and family gathered together to truly celebrate in the magic of love.The ceremony took place in the rose garden out back of the farmhouse. As the time came for my brother to walk me down to aisle, it was just he and I; I confessed that I was surprisingly nervous. He looked at me and said, “It’s only you and Zach. There’s no need to be nervous!” As the door opened and the crowd stood all I saw was Zach. I didn’t see any decorations, or florals, or guests; it was only he and I. The ceremony seemed to fly by but also creep slowly. I remember just looking at Zach, fully taking in the moment like I had the whole day; I wanted to remember this moment, this feeling, forever. As we took communion together for the first time as husband and wife, we prayed together for each other, this day, and our marriage. We took in this moment together, just he and I praying together and for one another. The moment we had waited for for so long was finally here; we were officially husband and wife. The benefit of getting married in a rose garden is than you get two first kisses! As we went in for our first kiss as husband and wife, a bumblebee flew between us-making the guests, Zach, and I giggle. Luckily enough, we got a second chance, no bees on that one. As we took pictures, our guests mingled with one another and delighted themselves with our locally catered dessert table (Who says you can’t eat dessert first?). We arrived at the reception and immediately started with our first dance to Steffany Gratzinger’s “We Dance”. The lyrics of the song are so deep and lavished with love. This part of the evening was such a distinct memory in my mind because it was like it was just he and I. I never wanted it to end, but as it did we moved into our family first dances. Zach danced with his mother to a song he picked out called “Mother” by Sugarland and my mom and I did a mother-daughter dance to Carrie Underwood’s “Mama’s Song”. Those songs share so many special places in our hearts, but the lyrics were true for each of our mothers and the important roles they have played in our lives, we wanted this moment to be just as special for them as it was to us. The dance floor opened and guests danced the night away. Zach and I mingled with guests who traveled from near and far to celebrate in our marriage with us, each of them had a different piece of advice for us. We shared dances with our friends and family, tossed a bouquet and garter, experienced the true reason why we were all there that night. After hours of dancing, the final dance of the night was for Zach and I. As our guests prepared for our exit, we shared in this last dance together, just the two of us, as husband as wife. Only the market lights strung from the ceiling lighted the dance floor and we danced until the music stopped. Leading us to our car was our family and friends holding sparklers. As we walked through the sparkler lit walkway we thanked everyone for coming. As we got into the car and drove up the tree-lined driveway we looked at each other, just the two of us, we were finally husband and wife. Our wedding day and every day leading up to the event were truly magical. Our biggest piece of advice to anyone getting married is to remember the reason behind the wedding."