Real Wedding Kentucky
ABC Member Planner: Jeannie Smith, PBC™, with assistants Ashley McDonal and Teaque Smith, AshBy Wedding & Event Planning, Elizabethtown, Ky., 270.300.7879, jeannieg72@hotmail.com, www.ashbyweddingevents.com.Photographer: Alicia Fierro, Aesthetiica Photography.Non-member business: Cakes by Jeanne, The Castle Post (venue), Events with Design (tent rental), Kudmani (band), Sammy Kudmani (acoustic guitarist), Memories Preserved (videographer), Caroline Petrik (violinist), Teresa Wolford (florist/tent design).Couple: Raina and Dustin were married on Oct. 22, 2011. Raina drips with southern charm. Dustin was a calm, easygoing and patient groom. Together, they prayed about every aspect of this wedding to ensure they felt God was honored in their ceremony. They were inspirational in their kindness and their dedication to God and one another.Inspiration: The wedding was held at the Castle Post, a luxury inn and castle sitting on a hill. It is a style inspiration.Color Palette: Red, purple, gold.Most unique elements: Florist Teresa Wolford placed a moss-covered cross, complemented with fabric draping, along the front of the castle. It was visually stunning. Plus, Mark Clodfelter, associate professor of trumpet for the University of Kentucky, performed a fanfare when the bride appeared at the entrance for the ceremony. At the end, when the pastor pronounced the couple, we orchestrated the “Call to the Post” and “La Cucaracha” by trumpet.Biggest challenge: The most difficult part was coordinating over 300 people to all areas of the property. The wedding was held in front of the castle. Cocktail hour was on the third level rooftop with a live acoustic guitar and violin duo performance by Sammy Kudmani and Caroline Petrik followed by the cake cutting on the mezzanine in the entrance foyer. Then, everyone moved back outside to the tent for dinner and back inside for ballroom dancing.Hindsight: The sound company assured us that they didn’t need to be at the rehearsal because they were professionals, but they were wrong. I now know to make sure the sound person is present at rehearsal.[nggallery id=16]