Eclectic & Colorful LGBTQ+ Wedding

Rebecca (she/her) & Charlotte (they/them) had a bold, colorful, and eclectic Queer wedding that brought all the vintage garden party vibes— along with lots of laughter and happy tears from their family and friends. I’ve shared some quotes from the couple about their favorite parts of the day, what they wore, and advice for other folks getting married throughout the post!

If you would like to celebrate some more LGBTQ+ joy, check out Jenny & Haley’s intimate wedding at Mellwood or Will & Nate’s pride month wedding at Hazelnut Farm! If you’re on the hunt for the perfect Louisville wedding venue for your wedding, you can also check out my favorite wedding venues here.

“Rebecca's dress was from Couture Closet in LaGrange, KY and by the brand White One (with alterations by Sew Creative Bridal). The dress was originally a floor-length gown, but she wanted tea-length and something more "vintage" inspired. Rebecca's shoes were an emerald green t-strap vintage-style pump for the ceremony and cocktail hour. For dancing, she changed into white low-top all-star Chucks. Rebecca wore vintage pearl earrings that belonged to her best friend's grandmother and a vintage diamond and gold bracelet that was an Asmuth family heirloom.”

“I enjoyed the first look with my dad, Terry. He is a very sentimental man, and I could tell how much joy he felt seeing me so happy.” - Rebecca

“I also loved having my dad tie my bow tie when I was getting ready. He and I have always favored bow ties for formal events and he taught me how to tie them.” - Charlotte

“Charlotte wore a custom deep purple suit and white collared shirt made by Bindle and Keep, a New York company known for their suits for queer folks. It's been Char's dream to own one of these suits. The shoes were brown monk straps, the bow tie was navy blue with paisley (a favorite tie pattern) and the socks were navy to match. They also loved their unusual pocket square of flowers, rather than a traditional boutonniere. Char kept calling it their pocket full of flowers."

The Howard Steamboat Museum is located in a mansion built in 1894! Rebecca & Char used the historic brick facade as the background of their wedding ceremony. They used the carriage house (built in 1883) for their reception dinner, the 2.5 acres of lawn and gardens for cocktail hour, and the patio outside of the carriage house as the dance floor!

“We knew that we wanted our wedding at a historic property, as Rebecca is a historian and archivist. We were also hoping to give our money to a non-profit or smaller business. We also wanted a property that had ample indoor and outdoor space. We booked the venue pre-Covid and it ended up being the perfect venue, as all of our events took place outdoors, except dinner. We loved the gorgeous brick historic mansion on the property, as well as the deep wood and brick in the carriage house.” - Charlotte & Rebecca

When asked about their favorite wedding day moments, Charlotte & Rebecca said, “Both of us agree: OUR CEREMONY! It was something we were least looking forward to, so we wanted to keep it quite short. However, it ended up being the most meaningful, memorable part of the day, I think because we wrote it ourselves with our officiant's guidance. We loved incorporating nods to queer love in our ceremony script and also personalizing our vows to each other.”

“I had the handkerchief on hand to give Rebecca when she inevitably started crying during the vows and handing that to her was symbolic of how well we know one another.”

“Our officiant was our dear friend Abby Glogower! We knew Abby had officiated a few weddings before, including some for couples she had set up (though she didn't set us up!). We wanted our ceremony to be brief so we could get to the fun part: cocktails and dancing. We also wanted a fairly untraditional ceremony. So both of our parents walked each of us down the aisle, Char's siblings stood on their side, and Rebecca's two friends stood on her side. No one wore the exact same colors, either.

We wanted to do a brief reading that spoke to queer love, so after a lot of searching, we landed on a passage from bell hooks read by our dear friend, Avi, who has the most sonorous voice. We noticed many guests tearing up and laughing during our vows, which was perfect!”

I reached out to Charlotte & Rebecca to get a copy of what their officiant Abby read for their ceremony. Theirs is one of a handful that made me get misty-eyed over the years while working — it just really hit in a genuine and intentional way that I wanted to share with you all.

“In her 2000 book, All About Love, Kentucky’s own feminist theorist bell hooks wrote, “The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet all the more astute theorists of love acknowledge that we would all love better if we used it as a verb.” 

Like many queer couples, Charlotte and Rebecca have confessed to me that they feel some ambivalence about marriage, a traditional, heteronormative institution. [Insert Abby’s joke about feminist marriages here] Charbecca see themselves not simply participating in the institution of marriage but remaking it anew, every day in small and big acts of queer love. All of us, straight and queer, could benefit from making our marriages and partnerships a little bit queerer. Letting go of traditional gendered roles frees us to love more fully and equitably. For LGBTQ people, marriage isn’t something inevitable, and many have struggled to envision their romantic future in a world where queer couplehood is less represented. Remember, it wasn’t even legal in all 50 states until just seven years ago! Queer marriage is still a young institution that people like Charbecca get to build and remake anew. How amazing is that? Talk about action and choices! 

So we gather here today to celebrate the queer love of Charlotte and Rebecca–our love for them of course, and their love for each other. Remembering again, that love is an ongoing action, a process without end. It has been renewed every day since these two amazing people met and recognized in each other a true friend and companion, a partner for navigating life’s challenges and joys, a complement to soften rough edges and make them whole, a horizon, a vista, a home, a future. And we’re really genuinely happy to be here to celebrate this love because we recognize it as the kind of love that is loving: ongoing, something that appears totally solid, but upon closer inspection is made up of so many endless small acts.”

“I also loved the moments immediately after our ceremony where both of our families were hugging, crying, and celebrating together before we went to the cocktail hour.” - Rebecca

They went for an eclectic & colorful vintage garden party vibe with their decor. Using bold jewel-toned vintage glasses and thrifted books as their centerpieces alongside whimsical spring florals, they created a strikingly unique and personal atmosphere.

“Our cake topper is one of our favorite pieces of decor. Rebecca thrifted it and her dear friend Norman painted the hair on the bride pink to match Rebecca's. Aside from cake, we knew had to have chocolate chip cookies - our favorite dessert! We found a local baker, Flour Trail Bakery, who made all of our desserts. The cookies were miso rye chocolate chip dusted with sea salt. Guests were telling us all night that they were the best cookies they've ever eaten - and we agreed!”

Charlotte and Rebecca had so many thoughtful touches for their guests at the reception! Their sticker bar was filled with *so many* great stickers! My camera bag now has a really cute Queer rainbow sticker as well as one with a custom illustration of Rebecca & Char—which makes me happy every time I open my bag. For their seating chart, each name card had “for richer, for poorer” in script on the back of an envelope. When opened, their guests found a scratch-off ticket inside! This was such a fun idea— all of their friends and family (myself included) really enjoyed these thoughtful touches that also acted as perfect conversation starters.

“Charlotte’s sister Sophia's toast was so perfect and we love the photos of us bent over laughing during her speech.” - C&R

From a photography perspective, I loved that their more intimate guest count allowed me to really get some great candid images of their family and friends as they listened to the toasts and watched the dances!

“Ending the night with "WAP," as I had insisted our DJ do, was a highlight, too.” - Charlotte

“Our advice to other couples: Have a very official exit - we decided to forgo a traditional exit and ended up being at the venue for an hour after the wedding ended. Although we had cleaners, everyone was asking us questions and we just wanted to go to our honeymoon suite!! If you do an official exit, you can make sure you're off-site and leave the clean-up for other people. Be creative with your food choices - no one wants a dry steak anyway! We opted for a casual taco bar from Fistful of Tacos and the guests loved it! Forgo traditional wedding favors - we had a "sticker bar" loaded up with all kinds of stickers: cats, lgbtq+, sweets, books, etc. The guests loved being able to pick and choose and even wore them throughout the night.”

These Kentucky wedding vendors made the day possible:

Wedding Coordinator: Darien Dickerson-Green // Wedding DJ: HAY DJ // Florist: Pure Pollen Flowers // Caterer: Fistful of Tacos // Rebecca’s Wedding Gown: Couture Closet // Char's Wedding Suit: Bindle and Keep // Wedding Bands: Merkley Kendrick Jewelers // Engagement Ring: Boone and Sons // Dessert: Flour Trail Bakery // Hair: Fran Abney, Under the Dryer // Bartender: In the Mix // Invitations: Brouss Art // Photography: Sarah Katherine Davis Photography // Venue: Howard Steamboat Museum

Elegant & Energetic Kentucky Castle Wedding

The Kentucky Castle had always been one of those mysterious places for me— you know the kind. I had driven by it countless times and rubbernecked at the towers trying to imagine what was inside. Is the interior historic or modern? Is it used for renaissance fairs, weddings, or is it some weird members-only club situation? Why is the driveway so long and why is it always locked? Are there tunnels underneath and if so where do they lead? Obviously, I never googled any of this because it would ruin the fun, but I was excited to finally get to see inside when photographing Shakia & Mitch’s wedding! By now you’ve figured out it’s a beautiful wedding venue, but that’s all I’m going to tell you so we can all keep the mystery alive.

Where to start with Shakia & Mitch? Shakia (she/her) creates breathtaking, ethereal artwork and loves kayaking & gardening. Mitch (he/him) loves hiking, being outdoors, and traveling. As a couple, they have that beautiful balance of goofiness combined with thoughtfulness that makes them so easy to talk to and be around. Their wedding was elegant & romantic, but more importantly, it was ridiculously fun. From exploring the castle grounds for their first look, to their emotional ceremony, to everyone going hard on the dance floor, it was a day to remember.

If you’re on the hunt for more unique Kentucky wedding venues check out this treehouse elopement, this beer garden wedding, or this tiny wedding pizza party. I also have comprehensive list of my favorite Louisville wedding venues here. As always I’ve shared the list of talented vendors involved at the bottom of the post!

“Moments before our ceremony my husband surprised me with what is now known as the best gift I’ve ever gotten. I endured two major emotional waves during its unveiling.

Wave one: the light cry.

- I have a small but mighty business as an oil painter

- super sweet that he'd indulge my love of art by commissioning a photo of us 

- some components of the painting are from our engagement session, trip to Italy, and grounds of our wedding

Wave two: the "I cried so hard I needed to take a nap." 

- As I peeled the wrapping back I started to notice it was an oil painting in my favorite style. Curious, I took a look at the artist's signature and that's when everything took a turn.

- A scribble to most looked like the work of the artist I admire the most...an artist I've easily spent 100+ hours listening to, watching, and studying. There was no way. I knew my vision was sketchy from tears and champagne.

- I grabbed another note that I had yet to open. It was a personal letter of encouragement signed by none other than my idol Jose Trujillo. I will cherish this gift forever.” - Shakia

These Kentucky wedding vendors made the day possible:

Coordination & Florals: Alicia Collins with Great Expectations KY // DJ: Wild Mountain Music // Caterer: Lundy's Catering // Videographer: Bruce Karcher // Gown: I Do Bridal KY // Cake: Tinker's Cake Shop // Photography: Sarah Katherine Davis Photography // Ceremony Venue: The Kentucky Castle // Reception Venue: The Carrick House

Red River Gorge Cabin Wedding With Magical Sunset

From the moment they reached out I was so excited to work with Sydney (she/her) and Rick (he/him). After 17 years together they wanted to get married, but their courthouse didn’t offer ceremonies and their backyard didn’t feel private enough. They weren’t sure where to start, “then your elopement planning guide popped into my search results and I felt calmer.” Sydney said. Together we researched some options for their day including Flat Lick Falls, Turkey Foot Park, and even a family farm. Ultimately they decided that renting a cabin at Red River Gorge was the best option for what they had in mind. They needed a cabin that didn’t have many stairs or require a long walk from the cars so that all of their parents would be able to attend but also wanted to make sure it had a beautiful view with an indoor area that could accommodate their intimate ceremony in case of heavy rain. The Gathering House through Red River Gorge Cabin Rentals ended up being the perfect spot!

“The day seemed to go by in a wonderful blur and everything felt special. Our wedding day was perfect.” - Sydney

Once again, I’ve included the couple’s own words throughout the post so you can hear about their day from their perspective. If you love this wedding, you might also enjoy this rainy treehouse elopement or this adventurous hiking elopement in autumn— both also took place at Red River Gorge. If nature and hiking aren’t quite your style, then this Art Center tiny wedding with a pizza buffet might be more up your alley.

How and why did you pick your elopement location?

“With this being such a small ceremony, we looked to find someplace that had the same intimate and cozy feeling that we hoped the ceremony would have. When we found your website and looked to get you involved in the wedding, we noticed a lot of your elopements/engagements had sessions in Red River Gorge. This got us looking into the cabins there and we found one that had a deck large enough to accommodate everyone. The rain letting up led to a fog that covered just enough to add some softness to all the trees and we couldn't have been any luckier finding the location.” - Rick

”We hoped for a peaceful outdoor ceremony and Red River Gorge offered up natural beauty in spades. We also really loved the idea of building memories in a place we could return to again and again. Red River Gorge has so much to see and making such an amazing place a part of our story was another great layer to a location that had everything we wanted!” - Sydney

What did you wear? Did you incorporate any other significant elements into your elopement?

“Sydney's mom gifted me a pocket watch for the occasion and I had a pocket knife of my dad's in my pocket. The knife came about because I actually needed to remove a tag from my shirt! :) Thankfully dad is always more prepared than I am. He refused the knife when I tried to return it so I have that as a keepsake as well! I went with a custom suit for the occasion in a dark blue and I had on my Luigi (of Mario and Luigi fame) socks.” - Rick

”My mother's wedding gift to me was a pair of diamond and pearl earrings and a silver and pearl bangle bracelet. Pearls will always be delicate and classy to me and they're my birthstone, so I was set on pearl jewelry and will cherish them forever. I borrowed my mother's diamond ear crawlers and had a small blue anklet to round out my borrowed and blue.

I love calla lilies so that was my first choice for my bouquet, but what was most important was that it be made by my cousin, Von, who is a very talented florist. While we opted to let the beauty of the gorge speak for itself decor-wise, we did bring a few totems with us. We're both avid video game lovers so we brought along the longest love story in gaming, Mario and Peach (sorry Pauline, it's true). My mother gifted us a beautiful customized keepsake box that was wonderful for storing our trinkets, jewelry, and vows safely. We hope every year to pull out our wedding stationery and add letters to the box on our anniversary.

Our last trinkets were very special. Two memorial figurines for our beloved cats, Mika and Jules. We lost them in 2020 and 2019. We had always pictured them being in our wedding photos if we had a backyard ceremony or maybe having engagement photos with our little fuzzy family but we sadly couldn't see that fulfilled. Having their little statues with us and immortalized in our photos let us bring a little piece of them to our wedding day like we always wanted.” - Sydney

What were your favorite wedding day moments?

“Everything happened so quickly that it almost feels like a single moment, but there were certainly some places where time slowed down. After rushing to get to the cabin on time and having to drive very slow due to the downpour, the first time I felt like I could relax for a second was waiting for Sydney prior to the first look. That moment had just the right amount of good anxious energy, excitement, and anticipation. We didn't do a lot of the traditional wedding activities, but we kept me not seeing the dress until the ceremony. I'm really glad that we did because turning around in that moment is something I will always remember and cherish. You captured it beautifully as well!

We wanted the traditional "I Do" wedding vows during the ceremony, but we also liked writing something for each other. Our decision was to do the simpler vows during the ceremony and then once everyone had left, we gave each other the vows/letters that we wrote prior to the wedding. Sitting on the porch of the cabin listening to music while we read the letters was absolutely perfect.” - Rick

“I wore a Monica Loretti A-Line gown with chiffon and macramé lace details. I fell in love with the dress the moment I saw it. It was the first dress I tried on in the first and only bridal shop I went to. I thought the dress was simple and elegant, exactly what I was looking for. The shoes I found at Macy's and, while they were perfectly lovely, I would not recommend running through the woods in them. My feet were absolutely destroyed the next day. The dress was pretty banged up as well with a stunning mud/rain/dirt ombré and several handfuls of burs clinging to the train, but the fun we had and the phenomenal photos we got were 100% worth it. When I first stepped out onto the deck for our ceremony it had stopped heavily raining minutes before. It felt so strange to drag this dress that I had protected in garment bags and gently carried to and from alterations for months onto a soaking wet deck. With the train spread out the water soaked into the chiffon and gave it a transparent appearance that was actually kind of beautiful. It soaked up enough water standing still during the ceremony that when I went to take a step the train had become heavy enough I thought I was snagged on the deck!” - Sydney

“Our officiant was the lovely Reverend Diane Walker. We wanted our ceremony to be brief, personal, and intimate. Reverend Walker delivered us a ceremony that was personalized beautifully and just the length we wanted. We chose a reading that we were so very pleased with: "September" by Helen Hunt Jackson. There were a lot of traditional choices for readings that we loved but we found this one in one of our poetry books and it felt very special.” - Sydney

“Choosing an elopement, we obviously eschewed a lot of what might be considered traditional wedding day fare. We had no wedding party, it was just us with our parents in attendance. There were no rehearsals or dinners or showers, no cakes or speeches or receptions. We had been planning to plan our wedding for years but it all felt so overwhelming we never got anywhere. We realized what we wanted most was just to dress up and get married in a beautiful place where we could take some pretty pictures. So we did just that. Once we focused on what we really wanted out of the day instead of what we were "supposed" to do, it all came together pretty effortlessly. Some traditions sounded too fun to pass up though. We kept my wedding dress hidden from Rick so we could have our first look moment. I had something old, new, borrowed, and blue. My something old was a handkerchief that my father gave my aunt nearly 30 years ago. I had the handkerchief wrapped around the base of my bouquet, which was made by my cousin, so I had little pieces of family with me even though we eloped.” - Sydney

“After our ceremony, we headed to an overlook for pictures. It had absolutely poured rain all day, only letting up just minutes before our ceremony began. The downpour had seemingly deterred any other visitors to the area so we had this lovely peaceful walk through gorgeous woods, just us and Sarah. We were aiming to reach the viewpoint at sunset so at times we were running down the trail to make it, my dress hiked up, laughing and helping each other over puddles, rocks, and vines. As we were about to crest the hill the sun was streaming through the trees and we caught a glimpse of the colors that awaited us at the top. Stepping into the light and seeing the vista laid out with the most stunning sunset I've ever seen, fog from the rain rolling in, was pure magic.” - Sydney

“Standing at the overlook when eight straight hours of rain let way to the sun who had just enough time to come out and then set in one of the most breathtaking sunsets I have ever seen has to make this list. It was quite honestly the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen in person, and to have it be on our wedding day with a fantastic photographer to capture it all is almost too much to believe.” - Rick

What advice would you give couples who are planning their wedding or elopement? Would you have done anything differently?

“My main advice is to not wait as long as I did. Some people enjoy the planning of a larger event, but have the wedding you want to have, not what you think you *should* have or what other people may want you to have... and hire Sarah Katherine Davis to do your photos!” - Rick

”I don't think I would change a thing, it was the best day of my life. My advice for planning would be to just start somewhere. It's really easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things to do but just pick a task and get going with that first step and the momentum will start to drag you along. Invest in those things that really excite you and don't feel guilty leaving out the things that don't. Have fun on your wedding day.” - Sydney

Kentucky Wedding Vendors

Photography: Sarah Katherine Davis Photography // Florals: Von Hornsby with McKee Flower and Gift Gallery // Gown: Monica Loretti // Rings: Gwen's Fine Jewelers // Pearl Jewelry & Pocketwatch: Jareds // Officiant: Reverend Diane Walker // Cabin: Red River Gorge Cabin Rentals