Dollee + Kyle's Shelbyville Wedding

From the Bride: As I am sure every bride feels, my wedding had many beautiful and unique moments. Throughout the planning process I made sure to incorporate lots of tiny details that felt important to us as individuals. We had a small intimate wedding at my parents’ home, which we were lucky has 20 beautiful acres, two ponds and a barn. Once we had a venue, we could begin the planning process. Throughout all my decisions I tried to make (cost effective) and eco-friendly choices. Our wedding favors were wildflower seeds in compostable packaging, we avoided plastic as much as possible, dried our own roses for the petal toss, and worked with vendors who shared similar values. Our florist Block Rooster farms locally sources her blooms, our caterer McKinley’s Deli also works with local produce. Another detail was once we selected a hexagon arch, we created a motif of the shape throughout the ceremony in our ring holder and the serving plate for the smaller cakes.

Due to some family preferences, we did not serve any alcohol at our wedding, so during our cocktail hour when we were taking photos, we provided the guests a fruit bar since it was a warm summer day. We also did not have a first dance since the idea of dancing made my husband nervous. Instead, we had a violinist play during our ceremony and chose a song with meaning for both of us for me to walk down the aisle to. After the wedding I knew I would not be able to throw away such a beautiful bouquet, so I invested in a flower pressing kit and am pressing my bouquet which will be kept in my scrapbook. Instead of a guest book we had all our guests fill out notecards which will also be kept in my wedding scrapbook!

We had a guest list of 40 people who attended our wedding, and it was filled with the people we loved most. My best friends slept over the night before and helped me get ready for the big day. The bridesmaids and groomsmen were made up of just our siblings, to share this special moment and one of Kyle’s best friends officiated the wedding. We did a first look since there was a high chance Kyle would see me before I walked down the aisle with the way the venue was set up. After the ceremony we had a petal toss as the newly announced Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, the home dried petals were in cones made from folded pages of Pride and Prejudice, one of my favorite books. I think the most special and treasured part of our wedding was the cake cutting. After the traditional exchange of bites my husband and I cut and served the cake to all of our guests. Allowing us to serve them and thank them for being a part of our special day. We had a 2 tier naked vanilla cake, then individual spice cakes and orange blossom cakes. Finally, before the end of the wedding we had sent a message to everyone attending allowing them all to write a toast if they wish. So, many people had taken time to write beautiful words of congratulations that I will cherish forever.

Bride’s Advice: Don’t be afraid to delegate! I had a artistic vision for how I wanted everything to look, so I thought I needed to do everything myself. As it got closer to the wedding I realized what a difference it makes when you’re not afraid to ask for help.

Katelyn DaughertySeptember 23, 2023