From the Bride: There were a number of little details that made the day special. Devin lost two very important men in his life – his grandfather and uncle – and to honor their memory I had his pocket square embroidered with both of their signatures on it so he would have a piece of them on that day. There’s a sweet picture of him and his mother looking at it. Additionally, Devin and I used champagne glasses that were originally from my parent’s wedding. The glasses have the initials of all of our family members that have been married and has been used at all of our weddings. Our first look was also so beautiful. We asked to have it in the Frazier’s Bourbon Exhibit, as it was the reason we chose the space in the first place. We made sure it was private so we could have the moment for ourselves. Devin was so floored seeing me he was speechless for a few minutes. For months I joked with him about what my dress would look like, and to his surprise it was not what he was expecting. My dad’s speech during the reception was a huge crowd pleaser. My dad only had daughters, so he joked about he was looking for advice about how to prove he didn’t have a favorite. In his speech I learned that out of 11 aunts and uncles, only one other person had multiple daughters and it was his sister. But as my dad said in his speech (which got a huge laugh from the crowd) “I wasn’t going to take advice from my big sister.” Finally, another great detail was the fact that we order a late-night hot chicken delivery from Royal’s. It was a huge success with the guests, who had not left the dancefloor since it opened for the night, to get a little extra protein in. Another thing we did which I thought was a really good idea was that since my dinner started pretty late, we ordered kid’s meals from Royal’s for them to enjoy during the cocktail hour, which also made it easier on the parents so that their kids didn’t have to wait for a plated meal. The funniest (and only) photo I have with my nephew and ring bearer is one where he is holding a Royal’s chicken tender in his hand with the happiest smile on his face.

I’m not from Kentucky and we wanted to make sure the space played up the fact we were in Louisville. I initially had some concerns with the architecture in the space and I was amazed as what our planner accomplished - it was nothing like the space we originally toured. She was able to transform the reception hall by adding chandeliers and drapery all around to give it a romantic and soft feel. The head table was breathtaking – we had beautiful tall centerpieces that allowed you to see the people across from you while as the same time being able to appreciate the amazing flower work. At the same time, rather than over decorating the cocktail hour space, she let the venue speak for itself with delicate additions. The way the old played off the new made the space seem so natural and cohesive. Additionally, she was on top of it when it came to the ceremony. We were originally supposed to have our ceremony on the roof of the Frazier, overlooking the Ohio River however, it was raining on and off that day. Christy’s rain plan to bring the ceremony indoors was so amazing you would never had known it was the backup option.

Having a Friday wedding was the best choice we could have made. Instead of just having the one night to celebrate, we created a full weekend of events for our guests to enjoy. After the beautiful wedding on Friday, we hosted a brunch at the 21c Hotel on Saturday morning for us to be able to spend more time with our guests. Afterwards, we rented buses to take the guests to the Bulleit Distillery for a private tasting. We have received so many compliments from guests about how choosing a Friday wedding made the whole weekend so much more fun. Since I had a lot of guests coming from the east coast, most of whom had never been to Louisville, we wanted to make the most of their trip. Our rehearsal dinner was even at Churchill Downs!

Natalie + Devin's Louisville Wedding