Laura and Josh's Military Ottenheim Wedding

From the bride: My now husband and I have been together through it all, from dating in middle school to high school sweethearts and now we’re married with a sweet labradoodle named Penny! I have been dreaming of our wedding day for so long and on August 18th all of our wedding day dreams came true. We held our wedding ceremony at the breathtaking Immanuel church and wedding chapel in the sweetest, little town of Ottenheim. In order to get to this church you have to follow a winding back road, something us southerners know all too well. Neither of us had heard of this town but as soon as we came upon this old, southern church, we knew it was the place that we wanted to exchange our handwritten vows. The southern charm of this church is one of the many things we love about the south, a place that feels like home as soon as you walk in. If you keep following the road for not even five minutes, you’ll come upon the rustic barn that our reception was held in. This simple yet elegant, family owned and ran barn is the place that we had our first dance in, and where our family and friends got to celebrate our marriage with us.

We wanted to incorporate as many personal touch details as we could; because, let’s be honest this day is all about the bride and groom. Our reception was complete with our favorite candies as favors, including pink and red Starbursts only for me and sunflower seeds for my groom. Since being a military family is important to us we also had a small tub filled to the brim with toy Army soldiers given away as favors and on the front of the chest it said “Take a soldier home as a reminder to always pray for our troops.” We hung cotton wreaths behind us in the church. The groomsmen of course all had matching American flag socks and Maker’s Mark & Coke in Mason jars to get ready in the morning. For dinner we had southern style barbecue along with sweet tea and Ale8 (a staple for all Kentucky brides.) We chose a color pallet of gray and greenery, it was so simple but made my white dress and my husband’s dress blues stand out that much more. My wedding dress and a lot of our decorations were purchased locally in Kentucky to support our roots and we had many things that were near and dear to our Kentucky hearts including bourbon barrels that held our sparklers for our exit and two live guitar players for entertainment.

My best advice to any bride and groom on their wedding day is to make time for special moments for just the two of you. This time for us was right after the ceremony before the reception when we had an intimate footwashing ceremony, just the two of us! This also just so happens to have been my favorite part of the day. Performing this task is so humbling and amazing. Jesus washed his disciples feet and by washing one another’s feet, it shows that no one person is above the other and that serving one another is what we intend to do in our marriage every single day. This time was spent with us just enjoying each other and listening to old church hymns. Honestly we got so lost in being together, we forgot we had people waiting for us back at the reception. My groom’s favorite part of the day was “When I saw the church doors open up and I saw Laura for the first time in her wedding dress. I was a bundle of nerves standing in front of all of those people but the second I saw my bride I was overcome with joy.” Our wedding day was nothing short of a dream and we have each other, our family, friends, and amazing vendors (most of which are family and friends) to thank! God bless Kentucky and our sweet marriage.

Photography: Meg Angel | Videography: John Covington | Location: Ottenheim | Venue: Immanuel Church Wedding Chapel; The Event Farm and Barn at Ottenheim | Florals: Patriot Petals | Caterer: Bullheaded BBQ | Cake: Tori Epperson | Rentals: Somerset General Rental Center, Perryville Party Rentals | Music: The Dylan Jasper Band | Paper Products: Invitations and Save the Dates from Shutterfly | Hair: Erica Sigmon | Bride’s Attire: Twirl Boutique | Groom’s Attire: Army Dress Blues | Credits: Bridesmaid’s Dresses - David’s Bridal, Groomsmen attire - Geno's Formal Affair; Hotel accommodations: Wilderness Road Guest Houses