Joyful, Timeless, and Perfect Describes Haley and Ellis’s Wedding

From the bride: Even though I moved to Savannah with Ellis shortly after we graduated from UK Law, we never really considered anything BUT a Kentucky wedding. We are both blessed with wonderful family and friends, and wanted the day to tie in and celebrate the people in our lives. Our unofficial theme ended up being a “marrying” of the Bluegrass and the Low-country, with loved ones getting to meet and celebrate together from both of our hometowns for the first time. The color palette for our wedding was crisp navy blue and white, with pops of my pink, my favorite color. I have always loved a classic stripe so when I saw my Justin Alexander wedding dress, it was an easy "YES!" While I wanted my dress to look timeless and classic, I could not pass up my shoes- hot pink silk heels- for a fun pop of color. My bridesmaids wore navy blue dresses from J. Crew, and Ellis's groomsmen wore navy blue suits with bubblegum pink ties to complement.

Despite the bleak weather forecast (70% chance of rain), our wedding day ended up being absolutely gorgeous and HOT. Because of the high chance of storms, the kind staff at the Round Barn set the ceremony up inside to ensure that the day went as smoothly as possible. However, I was completely set on an outdoor ceremony and wanted our Savannah guests to get to experience how beautiful Lexington is in the spring. An hour before our 5:30 ceremony, our sweet groomsmen moved every single chair, arrangement, and topiary back outside in the 90 degree heat to make sure I had my outdoor wedding. I will never forget peeking out of the window of my dad's car and being so overwhelmed with love and gratitude at the (sweaty) people in our lives and their willingness to make our day exactly as we had imagined.

For the ceremony, Ellis and I were lucky enough to be married by a law school classmate and friend. In fact, he told Ellis on the first day of school that he could "marry you and bury you" because he is an ordained minister- so we took him up on the first half of that offer. If you are familiar with the book "Love Does" by Bob Goff, Ellis actually asked me on our first date with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, just like Bob did with his wife. We knew that the book was something we wanted to incorporate in the ceremony as a special starting point for both our relationship and our marriage. One of my very favorite movies is Breakfast at Tiffany’s, so I decided to walk down the aisle to “Moon River.” In a moment of pure serendipity, we realized shortly before the wedding that THE Moon River is actually in Savannah, and our home was located on a street called Johnny Mercer, who wrote the song for the movie’s soundtrack. Ellis and I call these happy little surprises “God Winks,” and tried to incorporate as many into the day as we could.

My mother and grandmother have been collecting blue and white gingers jars their whole lives and were kind enough to loan me their collections for our reception centerpieces. Looking at pictures of the reception makes me so happy because I get to see their well-loved pieces as part of our new family memories. While we were not exactly wedding planning all-stars, we knew from the beginning that we wanted the reception to feel like a great, big party. We wanted it to be as laid-back as possible, and for people to simply come and celebrate the evening with us. While my sister made us a delicious cake to cut during the reception, we decided to serve Graeter’s ice cream rather than a traditional wedding cake because who doesn’t like Graeter’s ice cream?! The best man and maid of honor speeches were certainly highlights of the reception for both Ellis and I. My sweet sister delivered an epic speech to the music of “Big Poppa” by Notorious B.I.G. (one of my favorite songs) that will be literally impossible to top. Highlights include: “Haley fell in love with a Gamecock fan and didn't seem to mind, now he's got her wearing garnet - love really must be blind.” Ellis’s best man flew in from Belgium the night before the reception, and gave the most sincere, endearing toast that was made even more special considering his crippling fear of public speaking.

For all of the sweet brides-to-be planning your weddings, don’t forget to take a step back on your big day and really soak it in! The things you meticulously plan might go awry, but the person waiting for you at the end of the aisle makes it more than perfect.

Haley and Ellis’s Round Barn Wedding

Joyful, Timeless, and Perfect Describes Haley and Ellis’s Wedding