Megan + Zack's Lexington Wedding

From the Bride: Zack and I truly have the best people. We deeply love each other's friends and family and first and foremost wanted to make sure our wedding was a celebration of integrating loved ones. We wanted our wedding to feel like a weekend-long celebration of not just our marriage, but also the rarity of having everyone you love in one room. We selected our hotel, getting ready spaces, rehearsal dinner venue, wedding venue, and after-party location all within a few blocks of each other in the heart of downtown Lexington, so we could make sure we had all of our people close together and were able to soak up every minute we could with our guests. Our ceremony was held by our loved ones- officiated by Zack’s uncle and a bible reading shared by my friend. We integrated our guests into our ceremony by inviting married couples to silently renew their vows with us, as we took ours. We got married on St. Patrick's Day weekend, so we also incorporated a beautiful Irish blessing into our ceremony.

Our wedding day started with the bridesmaids and groomsmen getting ready in picturesque locations within walking distance of our venue. The bridesmaids and I started our day at The Statesman, a gorgeous Airbnb in the heart of the city. I kept my dress a secret from my bridesmaids, and they kept their dresses a secret from me. I allowed my girls to wear any long black dress they liked and encouraged them to showcase their personalities with fabrics, texture, and fun details. My double first look with my bridesmaids was such a special moment and I cherished all of us truly getting to be surprised together and enjoy soaking in the details of our looks for the first time. Meanwhile, the groom and groomsmen were getting ready at Casket Sharp- a barber shop owned by one of Zack’s friends. The men got hair touch-ups, shared smoked bourbons, and enjoyed Goodfellas Pizza. All of Zack’s groomsmen were childhood friends, and it was so special to see this group of men who have gone through so many phases of life together celebrating this new chapter for us. 

One of our favorite wedding details was a custom monogram designed by Monobrush Art, which was used countless times throughout our wedding. We had custom throw pillows embroidered to use on the lounge furniture at our venue, as well as the bow I changed into for the reception was subtly embroidered with our monogram in ivory. We celebrated our love for the Steelers with towels made with our wedding monogram that guests waved as we entered our reception (We also embraced our love for the Steelers by entering to Renegade by The Styx, which is played at every Steelers home game). We used our monogram for our paper goods, cake topper, cocktail stirrers, etched bourbon barrel guest book, and to-go containers for our cookie table. I had a custom stationery embosser made, which I can continue to use for years to come and share a fun nod to our wedding day with my loved ones every time I send mail.

Our wedding cake was a simple vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, to not overshadow the true highlight of our dessert table. Where I grew up in Pittsburgh, cookie tables are a sacred tradition. Thought to have originated during the Great Depression, the tradition of the Pittsburgh Cookie Table has been around for several generations. During the Depression, couples struggled to afford to host wedding receptions, just as guests struggled to afford to buy gifts for the newlyweds. It became commonplace to gift homemade cookies, often unique family recipes that were now able to be shared with others. Still to this day, it is tradition for family and friends of the couple to bake cookies to be served at your reception.  We couldn’t attempt to count how many cookies we had at our wedding, but we know we guessed it was close to 2,000. Our cookies doubled as favors, as guests were provided takeout boxes and doggie bags adorned with our wedding monogram to take cookies home and enjoy for days to come.

Our first dance song was to “Space and Time” by Tyler Childers. Driving home from our first date, Zack was playing Tyler Childers in the car. Knowing I was from Pittsburgh, Zack was shocked to hear me sing all the words to the songs he was playing from an artist from eastern Kentucky- he was special to us ever since. We highlighted Zack's Kentucky roots in our first dance and my Pittsburgh roots in our last dance. We shared a private last dance to Mac Miller’s “Hand Me Downs”. As a Pittsburgh native, Mac Miller’s music was equally special to me, and another shared love for Zack and me.

Bride’s Advice: Who your vendors are as people is just as (if not more) important than the services they provide. Fill your wedding day with people who feel like extensions of your friends and family. You will likely spend more time with some of your vendors than you do your partner on your wedding day, so you want to make sure you not only love their work but vibe with them personally. I knew we ended up making great choices in our vendors when after our wedding I truly missed having an excuse to talk to them regularly! 

Photography Chloe Lane Photography Videography Logan Couch Creative Media Location Lexington Venue Harper Hall Florals Betty's Flowers Wedding Planner Lanta Hill from Luleigh’s Caterer Mordecai's Cake Sam's Club Rentals Bryant's Rent-All Music (Ceremony) String Elegance (Reception) JD Entertainment Stationery + Paper Goods Silver Six Press Hair Cassie Hamilton Makeup Chloe Miller with Makeup by Sarah Lynn Bride’s Attire Rebecca's Wedding Boutique Groom’s Attire Geno's Formal Affair Jewelry (Bride’s Engagement Ring) Ring Concierge, Family Heirlooms Credits (Cookies) Family + Friends