From the Bride: Our wedding day took place on June 11th, 2022. We worked together on every aspect of our wedding wanting a traditional but classic style. The day started for the girls with mimosas and breakfast at the Marriott City Center, while the boys had brunch at Carson’s and prepped their bets for Preakness Day. My bridesmaids made the morning so relaxing and cheerful while we got ready listening to old music we grew up with and telling stories.

I dressed in a strapless gown with the most breathtaking train and cathedral veil detailed with flowers and pearls. The bridesmaids chose different styles of lavender dresses, while the boys complemented our classic style in black shawl lapel tuxes. We did our first look in the heart of downtown, and though we had many on-lookers, it made the day so fun by getting many congratulations and well wishes.

We then hopped on a bus to take pictures at The Henry Clay Estate for a beautiful backdrop of the garden. Knowing I always wanted a part of our wedding to be outside, we looked no further than Gratz Park. It’s such a historical part of downtown Lexington, and with my husband having gone to college at Transylvania and me at UK, we were right at home. The park gave a garden feel that I loved, and we luckily had amazing weather.

We carried bouquets of greens and whites mixed with summery pinks and blues that complemented our lavender color scheme. The bluebell flowers were so pretty and are not something you see in a lot of bouquets. They added height to our pieces and the pops of color we wanted.

After the ceremony, we headed to Limestone Hall for the reception to celebrate. We went with simplistic décor as the venue itself has so much detail. In the center of the rotunda we used a table of my great grandfathers to put a large statement centerpiece on, while accessorizing with photos of us over the years and candles. Our reception consisted of cocktail hour, a buffet dinner and then dancing the night away with our band. Our cake was a white cake with buttercream frosting and we also had cupcakes that were lemon blueberry, peanut buttercup and white chocolate raspberry. We danced our first dance to All Your'n by Tyler Childers and we ended the night with a sparkler exit on the grand staircase at Limestone Hall and proceeded to an after party at Henry Clay’s bar. The whole night was unforgettable, and we are glad we were able to celebrate with all of our friends and family.

Bride’s Advice: Take your time. It's easy to get wrapped up in planning right away when vendors start telling you how booked they are. Though you want to start the joyful experience right away, I would say take your time in making decisions and make sure you love everything. This will make your day even more special knowing how much of your heart has been put into everything you see.

Makenzie + Nicholas' Lexington Wedding