Hillary + Stoney's Louisville Wedding

From the Bride: I was raised in Louisville and Stoney’s family is scattered throughout the country. We live in Nashville now, so we knew many of our guests were going to have to travel wherever we had the wedding. If our guests were going to travel, we wanted a unique venue for them to enjoy and what is more memorable than Churchill Downs. Since we had so many guests traveling in for the weekend, we planned several activities leading up to the big day. We had a welcome dinner Thursday night at Captains Quarters. Friday morning we had a brunch at LeMoo and then headed down to Steitzel Weiler for a bourbon tour. That night we had the rehearsal dinner at Brazerios and then joined all our guests at the hotel bar (Hotel Distil) for celebratory drinks.

Morning of the wedding: The bridal party got ready in the jockey suites at Churchill Downs. It was such a neat experience getting ready while watching the horses train for the day. I surprised my girls with a masseuse coming to do hand and necks/shoulder massage.

Ceremony: We opened up a bar before the ceremony so the guests could walk around the paddock area and take pictures. Besides having our dog (Elmer T) as ring bearer, our favorite part of the ceremony was the Churchill Downs Bugler perform. He started the ceremony playing “My Old Kentucky Home” and then played “The Call to the Post” right before I walked down the aisle.

Cocktail Hour: We stationed cocktail hour in a balcony overlooking the paddock and track and passed around mini hot browns, pork belly and beef wellington. Creating a unique bar menu was really important for us. Our main signature drink was the “Elmer T” (named after our dog) which was a brown sugar old fashion. We had custom stir sticks made with his face on it that were placed in the drink. We also wanted to continue with the derby themed and served our guests Mint Juleps, Oaks Lily, and Woodford Spires. During the cocktail hour, we offered our guests tours of Churchill Downs with a guide. During this time, Stoney and I took the opportunity to sneak away and eat dinner to enjoy a few minutes of just us.

Reception: After cocktail hour, we welcome our guests into the reception area. We created a seating chart modeled after a racing program and each table was named a past Derby Winner. Our DJ read off fun facts about every Derby Winner as he was calling their table to dinner. We wanted a casual feel for dinner so we had a nacho station, mac ‘n cheese station, slider station, and a carving station. We danced our first dance to “I Love You Baby” by Frank Sinatra. We knew we wanted a memorable first dance, so we took lessons months leading up to the big day. Our instructor understood our vision and fully choreographed the entire dance to include 3 lifts! It was one of our favorite parts of our wedding day. Our goal during the reception was to have everyone on the dance floor, so we brought out glow in the dark glasses and bracelets for everyone to have. When our guests needed a break from the dance floor, we had a photo booth and brought out late night snacks for them to enjoy (Gourmet popcorn, soft pretzels, and bourbon balls).

Bride’s Advice: Everyone always says that their wedding day flew by. One thing we did to help this was plan an entire weekend for our guest and us. Like I mentioned above, we had events Thursday, Friday, and then a Sunday brunch. I’m so grateful we did this! We actually got to talk and visit with them during the weekend and it made it more than coming in for just the wedding. It’s of course more work on the front end planning, but so worth it!

Photography: Laura Cook (Second Shooter) Courtney Crawford | Videography: Jack Brown Videography | Location: Louisville | Venue + Caterer: Churchill Downs | Florals: Millinium Events | Wedding Planner: Madison's Magnolia Events | Cake: Heitzman Bakery | Music: All Star Entertainment | Stationery + Paper Goods: (Invitations + Programs) PrettyPlainPaper via Etsy Hair: Jill Milby | Makeup: Dawn Philips Makeup | Bride’s Attire: I Do…A Bridal Boutique | Groom’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse | Jewelry: | Credits: (Blue Jean Jacket) Taylor Ekman (Bridesmaids’ Dresses) David’s Bridal (Derby Drink Menu) Misspokadot via Etsy (Dog Drink Menu) RubiandLib via Etsy (Calligraphy) The Wedding Sign.