Skyler and I met in the 5th grade when his family moved to Lexington, KY. We grew up right down the street from one another and were always good friends. Although we never dated until after college, I guess you could say we always had a crush on each other! Shortly after I graduated college, Skyler moved back to Lexington from Texas. One night we went out with a group of friends, but somehow ended up at the bar by ourselves. Skyler told our cab driver that night that we had met on match.com and that he moved From Texas to Lexington to be with me. That isn't true (although hilarious because the cab driver totally believed him), but that night we decided to be a couple and never looked back!
Two and a half years later, on a crisp evening in late October, Skyler proposed at our favorite restaurant down the street from our loft in downtown Nashville. He had a friend copy the Merchant's menu, changing only the specialty drinks on the list with names and descriptions of key moments in our relationship. The last drink was named "Merchants On The Rocks," and by the time I got to reading it, Skyler was on one knee holding the most gorgeous rock I had ever seen!
Of course I said yes and one week later with the help of my mother-in-law, we found the most perfect wedding location and set our wedding date for October 3rd, 2014. We decided to get married in Nashville because we were living there at the time and also thought it would be a great destination for our friends and family. Everyone loves Nashville and if you're thinking about a destination wedding, I would highly recommend Music City!
Weeks later, wedding planning was in full swing and it was time to go dress shopping. Unlike most brides, I had no idea what kind of dress I wanted. Dress shopping was my favorite wedding planning activity, I went 6 times! I finally found 'the dress' at Rebecca's Wedding Boutique in Louisville. I went with Watters' bridal separates because it gives you the opportunity to change your look for the reception by just changing your skirt! To me, this is ideal because you don't have to bustle your dress and you can opt for a more comfortable skirt for drinks and dancing! I chose a Space 46 skirt for the reception and the short length allowed me to show off my sparkling Sergio Rossi booties! I wasn't the only one who had a costume change, however. Skyler also had two tuxedo jackets and changed into a white jacket after the ceremony. I have to say, he looks pretty handsome in both!
Skyler and I both grew up in Lexington, KY and spent our weekends in the spring and fall watching the horse races at Keeneland. Our home decor is reminiscent of our times at the track with antique horse racing memorabilia and knick knacks throughout our house. We decided to carry this theme into our wedding starting with our save the date photos taken at Keeneland. Everything from the invitation suite, escort cards, place cards, cake toppers, and cocktail hour in the barn at Cedarwood were inspired by our fondest memories in the Bluegrass State.
Wedding planning was so much fun but also a little stressful. Despite having a very small wedding (70 people total), I probably had a few too many DIY projects on my plate. I took an online calligraphy class and addressed all of our save the date and wedding invitations, designed our save the dates, made custom rosette escort cards, horseshoe place cards, created a unique guest book, and many more! My best advice would be to cut the amount of DIY projects you have in half and not do them all on your own. Have a weekend or even just a day for friends to get together and help you tackle multiple projects at once. It's really fun, and it will save you so much time and stress, trust me!
All of the planning and stress was well worth it in the end. Our wedding day was the most perfect day I could ever have imagined. It really is true what they say, that it's the best day ever! The weather forecast showed 100% chance of rain, but it ended up being the most beautiful fall day. I will never forget the look on my husband to-be's face when he saw me for the first time. I'm tearing up just thinking about it! It was also the most glamourous day of my life and to top it all off, we rode in Waylon Jenning's limo to and from the wedding venue!
Walking down the aisle hand-in-hand with my brother Mick to my dad's favorite song, 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' was truly bittersweet. My dad passed away in 2010, so we released a balloon in his honor at the beginning of the ceremony. My beautiful bouquet was wrapped with his brass nameplate belt and I also wore his fingerprint charm on my bracelet so he was with me on our special day.
All in all, it was a true Kentucky wedding in Music City and I couldn't be more thankful, even a year later. To our family and friends, photographers, videographer, the staff at Cedarwood, and even our precious limo driver, thank you SO MUCH!
Cheers to a year of marriage and to many, many more!
