From the Bride: At first, my husband and I wanted to elope to a tropical destination and have a long honeymoon. However, we decided to have a small, intimate wedding in my hometown instead. With my medical school schedule looming and his busy work schedule, we ended up planning our wedding in two months. Our original plan was to have the ceremony at my grandfather's farm; the place my Dad was buried. Due to the weather forecast the week of our wedding, we ended up at Bible Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, KY where my Dad served as the music director for 25 years. We wanted our day to be family and people oriented.

My aunt decorated our wedding ceremony and reception. Before planning started, she asked me what three words I wanted people to describe my wedding as. I said, "Simple, Elegant, and Fun." We chose to do a simple ceremony that was short (20 minutes), no bridesmaids or groomsmen, with traditional vows. The decor consisted of baby's breath, white roses, and an assortment of different eucalyptus. The ceremony music was all Taylor Swift instrumentals. Family and Chad walked to "Invisible String", I walked to "King of My Heart", and we walked out to "Paper Rings". As the ceremony ended, guests released monarch butterflies, where they made an appearance all throughout the evening.

Our reception mirrored our ceremony perfectly. Again, eucalyptus garland laid on each banquet-style table. Each table was adorned with candlelight, floating candles, and tealights. We decided to use clear, glass wine bottles for the guests' water for dinner. Servers offered guests sweet tea if they preferred over water (we are in KY after all!). As our reception began, guests were able to go to the coffee and hot cocoa bar and take Polaroid pictures for our photo guest book. However, my favorite detail of our reception was our kid’s table. The kid’s table was covered in white butcher paper so they could color while they ate. By the end of the night, it was covered in precious drawings.

The night ended with our guests getting their "flavored favor" provided by Moody Cows LLC. Our custom ice cream menu had been picked by our family. One flavor was made by Chad's parents (My Berry Love), my mom (Crazy for Caramel), and my sister (Pinnacle Bliss- which happened to be extra sweet since mine and Chad's first date was at the Pinnacles in Berea). We truly had a perfect night and were able to be present. Our photographer let us experience each moment and never took it away. The three words I would use to describe my wedding as are simple, elegant, and fun.

Bride’s Advice: As a bride, it can be easy to get lost in inspiration photos and what other brides are doing. I think my aunt's advice kept me focused on our theme and kept me from spiraling into other concepts. I wanted my wedding to be "simple, elegant, and fun". So, when I found myself looking at bigger flower arrangement styles, I asked myself, "Is this simple?" "Is this elegant?". If it was outside of those words, I would pass. First and foremost, I would stay true to what you want your theme to be and what you want your guests to experience as a result.

Hope + Chad's Mount Vernon Wedding