Amy + Zach's Russell Springs Wedding
From the Bride: My dream since I was a little girl was to walk down the back steps at my grandparents house to get married for an outdoor Southern garden wedding and that dream came true. My grandparents aren’t alive and I now live in their house so it made it special to feel like they were still there with me. My family and I spent many hours planting flowers, redoing landscaping, painting, stringing lights, and so much more. Other than the southern garden style, family was what our day was all about. It was more like a family reunion. All of our immediate family was a part of the bridal party even down to the little flower girl, my niece who was only three weeks old. My three brothers each got a turn to walk my mom down the aisle and two of my brothers got to carry their baby girls down the aisle as our flower girls. My husband has two daughters and we were able to include them as bridesmaids and most importantly they were a part of our unity ceremony, where we took communion together and prayed for God to bless us on this journey ahead.
We continued our southern style and family into the appetizer time. Our guests moved from the side yard into the back yard where we had fried green tomatoes, mini crab cakes, and a biscuit bar. We kept everyone entertained with yard games, including corn hole, giant jenga and connect four, along with bubbles, personalized wedding coloring sheets and glow sticks for the kiddos.
Being a wedding planner and florist myself, made everything a bit easier for me but also hard having to let go on the day of to let others do what I would normally be doing. At the end of the day I got to enjoy a lot of work that I had put in arranging pretty much every flower arrangement, bouquet, flower crown and more. My husband and I along with our families enjoyed more good food during the reception and then danced the night away. We danced our first dance to “To Love Somebody” remake by Keith Urban. We even got a surprise from my uncle with fireworks at the end of the night.
Extra little details: I got to wear my mom’s veil with a few changes, used floral broaches from each grandmother on my bouquet, my mom gave my her handkerchief that she used on her wedding day for me to carry, and the Bible that my mom also carried on her wedding day is what we used for our ring bearer to carry the rings on. (Funny side note: the rings where not tied on the Bible tight enough and they fell off before my nephew even walked down the aisle with them. He was so upset and ran down the aisle to my brother/ his dad to tell him. When they addressed it during the ceremony I thought they were joking because that is something my husband would have tried to pull. He’s always keeping me laughing. However, our wonderful caterer said a little prayer and started looking around and found them. One of groomsmen, my husband’s cousin, had gone to look with them and thankfully they found them by the appetizer table and he came running to the rescue. It was quite comical and funny to see the pictures of my brothers freaking out and me laughing about it.)
All in all we had the most wonderful day and I’d do it all again tomorrow because we had so much fun celebrating!
Bride’s Advice: As a wedding planner and florist, I already know all the ins and outs of wedding planning. That part was easy for me but I always tell the brides that I work with at the end of the day you get to marry your best friend and that is more important than anything. So have fun!
Photography: Rebecca Graham and Lukas Reynolds of Tonya Lynn Studios | Videography: Nathan Stearns of NJS Productions | Location: Russell Springs | Venue: Ellis Family Farm | Florals + Wedding Planner: Village Florist & Southern Flair Wedding & Event Planning | Caterer: Sandy Ellnor of Sassy Spoon Catering | Cake: Shannon O’Banion of Cakes by Camille | Rentals: Bryant’s Rent-All, M & H Tent Rental | Music: Randy Trent of Clear Pro DJ | Stationery + Paper Goods: Zola | Hair: Ally Lovell of 323 Hair Society | Makeup: Jayln Loy and Krystal Stephens | Bride’s Attire: Maggie Sotero from Rebecca’s Wedding Boutique | Groom’s Attire: The Suit Shop | Jewelry: Jared | Credits: (Bridesmaids’ Dresses) Revelry (Film Processing) Photovision Prints