Jennifer + Jonathan's Ashford Acres Wedding

From the Bride: Our wedding had a vintage garden theme (Bridgerton), tiny touches of Disney, fairytales, moss, and beautiful garden flowers and greenery. Our venue Ashford Acres Inn was the perfect back drop since it was built in the 1800's as an engagement present. Their staff and and this venue made it magical and such a pleasure they really became family. Our ceremony was the first to use the gazebo on the property and had plenty of Elaengus vines, garden flowers, and greenery down the aisle.

The bridesmaids wore Birdy Grey dresses in three colors that matched the color theme with a romantic flare while the groom and groomsman wore Generation Tux black tuxes. We had a small wood box with our rings in it that was passed through the hands of our guests before the bride walked to the alter to say a prayer over them - the guests really loved that interaction. We also wrote our own vows and read them to each other so our ceremony was very personal. Our cheerleading pyramid picture in front of the mansion was a must since most of us are former COED college cheerleaders representing University of Kentucky, Morehead State University, Eastern Kentucky Cheerleading and even the United States National Team, a feat when you have to raise a bride over your head with a dress that probably weighed 40 pounds.

We had a fun Bridgerton themed photo as well in front of the mansion along with a photo booth full of top hats, gloves, feather fans, and gaudy jewelry. Cocktail hour had seating groups and lots of really yummy hot appetizers but the reception space was a dream. Eight foot trees on top of the long farmhouse tables framed the dance floor with wooden long candelabras that had multi colored and multi height taper candles - it was beautiful. We had a beautiful 4 tier cake (2 layers of tiramisu and 2 layers of lemon) in front of a walnut stained wood wall that hung a Happily Ever After neon sign on it. Our round tables had pink table cloths and napkins with ivory lace overlays that sparkled in the candle light along with white and gold colored votive candles and vintage glass taper candle holders with chimney tubes or large concrete compotes full of the garden flowers. The table number were particularly awesome. They were art deco gold metal and added that cool vibe we wanted. When we decided to do the seating chart we wanted something interesting and three dimensional and went with a large 7 foot tall board covered in moss with small wood names cut out painted gold along with the vintage paper numbers written in calligraphy it tied the theme together. We decided to use a circle arbor covered in Elaengus vines to frame the back of the sweetheart table and the tobacco barn in the field. The sweetheart table was covered in moss and flowers while the bottom of the table had a row of gorgeous flowers like they were growing out of the concrete floor. We had a cake topper sitting on the bar that was sculpted to look like us in our wedding attire doing a cupie pose from cheerleading.

My ceremony dress was a princess dream and fit our theme perfectly it even had little floral lace and sparkled in the sunlight. I changed into another goldish gown for the reception that was equally gorgeous. The groom changed from his black tuxedo to a houndstooth tuxedo jacket for the reception we are really glad we had the change out for fun dancing and just to have a second look. Our first dance was to "You Are The Reason" by Callum Scott and Leona Lewis and was choreographed. Being former cheerleaders we live in the 8 count world and it was perfect one of the most special moments of the wedding. With the Alpha Lit letter "The Agees" and the cold sparklers just as the lift happened in our dance it was a great surprise for our 100 guests they loved it.

Our food was fantastic, we had choices of either Beef Tenderloin or Chicken Tortellini Alfredo everyone loved every bite. To play off the Bridgerton theme we had 2 signature cocktails the "DUKE" margarita with green sprinkled rim and the "DUCHESS" cotton candy martini with sugared rim and a cotton candy puff. After having fun dancing and working up an appetite we had McDonalds brought in for everyone as a 9pm snack - it was a big hit. I do have to say the guests really enjoyed our live portrait painter. She was stationed in the reception and painted our first dance right there for about 8 hours everyone loved seeing the progress throughout the day. It was such a beautiful day with family and friends I am left wishing I could do it all over again. Our exit after our last last dance alone in the reception space while the guests lined up was with sparklers and then we had a huge firepit after party until 2am on the property it really rounded out a day we wanted to last forever. I still have people asking about the trees - they were amazing!!

Bride’s Advice: Our designer and planner made our day a breeze so if I had any advice I would say if you can get professionals to help, so you don't have to stress or worry, I would. They can make your vision better than you even thought it could be. Also know your budget for everything and stick to it you can make a beautiful day on any budget.

Photography: Mike Cyrus of Christopher Michael Images | Videography: Chris Marshall of Christopher Michael Images | Location: Cynthiana | Venue + Caterer: Ashford Acres Inn | Florals + Wedding Planner + Event Designer: Michelle Creech | Cake: Ashley Nettleship of The Simple Kitchen | Rentals: Bryant’s Rent-All | Music: DJ Travis McGuire of Elite Event & Entertainment | Stationery + Paper Goods: Basic Invite | Hair: Hair by Katie Carbajal | Makeup: Flawless Faces by Erica | Bride’s Attire: Gown + Reception Dress designed by Renee Cunningham of Renee's Bridal | Groom’s Attire: Generation Tux (Reception) Bonobos | Jewelry: | Credits: (Day of Coordinator) Kristina Drake of Ashford Acres Inn (Wedding Live Painter) Heather Wolfe