Karen (she/her) and Jeremy (he/him) had the most romantic & joyful wedding surrounded by their friends and family. Since The Parklands of Floyd’s Fork holds a special place in their hearts, Gheens Foundation Lodge in Beckley Creek Park was the ideal Louisville wedding venue for them!
There are so many wonderful elements of their wedding day I want to write about, but honestly, Karen and Jeremy said it a lot better than I could, so I’ll be sharing some quotes from them throughout the blog post as well as a list of their amazing vendor team at the very end!
Once you’ve had a chance to check out their wedding photos, if you’re still wanting to see more inspiration from other beautiful Kentucky weddings then check out this rainy Red River Gorge treehouse elopement, this greenhouse wedding at 3rd Turn Oldham Gardens, or this stunning wedding at Hazlenut Farms that had such a fun dance floor! You can also read more about Karen & Jeremy’s Louisville Wedding with Creekside Vows on StyleBlueprint and you can learn more about Gheens Foundtaion Lodge on my comprehensive list of the best wedding venues in Louisville here.
“For our church ceremony, rehearsal dinner, and at the end of the reception, I wore a little white dress (lw153) by Amsale. On Saturday I wore Lis Simon from Couture Closet. I loved having two "looks" that reflected my personality and made me feel beautiful in different ways. The Lis Simon dress had a tighter cut and 3D flowers all over, which I thought was perfect given the park venue and my love of flowers. My little white dress was midi, satin, flowy and a dream to wear. I loved that I had the little white dress to change into later in the reception so I could really hit the dance floor. Both dresses were beautifully altered by my talented friend, Andrea Hansen. I opted to keep jewelry and accessories to a minimum, only wearing a shorter veil and my grandmother's gold and pearl earrings in remembrance of her.”
“Jeremy wore a black suit for the church ceremony and a black tux for the outdoor ceremony. I gave him nice cuff links as a gift prior to the wedding. I hadn't seen his tux prior to that day, and he kept telling me that he looked really sharp in it, and I agree that he did! He purchased his tux online rather than renting so he could wear it again someday.”
“We enjoy hiking and camping in the outdoors but didn't want to have a fully outdoor wedding and stress about the weather. Gheens Foundation Lodge was perfect in that it had beautiful indoor and outdoor space to work with. We loved the big beautiful windows and made sure to have our sweetheart table and dessert table in front of them. We also loved the thought of our money being spent on a venue going to a parks system.”
By doing a first look, Karen and Jeremy were able to spend some quality time together ahead of the ceremony, including having a private moment to share their vows with only each other.
Karen said this about their ceremony, “Our mutual friend who introduced us back in 2012, Benjamin Siegel, was our officiant for our ceremony. We wanted it to be short, sweet, and reflective of our relationship. Benjamin wrote the introduction and that was our first time hearing it. We loved how he quoted Kahlil Gibran, an author dear to our hearts.”
My personal favorite part of their ceremony was also when Benjamin said, “In the days leading up to today I found myself considering the words of Kahlil Gibran...' the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow '...I believe this is the beginning of a strong and healthy marriage...because neither of you cast a shadow on the other, as so many here can attest, you illuminate one another."
“Our friend Joanna Englert read two poems on marriage: Habitation by Margaret Atwood and Married Love by Kuan Tao-sheng, which was important to me as the bride who loves to read poetry. We skipped doing something like lighting a candle or mixing sand, opting to focus on Benjamin's words, the poems, our vows, and exchanging of rings. We both nailed our vows (they were the same as the ones we memorized for church), but when it came to the exchange of rings we both had to look at the script, which made us both crack up. The ceremony was the perfect mix of sentimentality, humor, and truly reflected our love for each other.”
“When we first started wedding planning, Jeremy and I sat down and discussed what was important to each of us. Jeremy really wanted to bring our friends and family together in one place, which we were fortunate enough to do so. He wanted the overall experience to be great big party, so having great food, music, and bar was important to him. And our vendors nailed that! We got so many compliments on Mayan Cafe's tacos and Morris' Deli certainly kept the drinks coming.”
“My maid of honor Michelle from Michelle Marie Calligraphy did all the signage. I will never get over how beautiful all of it was. The welcome sign, seating chart, table numbers, bar signs, everything was so beautifully done. I'm obsessed with the table numbers with pressed flowers! Michelle knew when to ask for my opinion and when to rely on her superb taste. Michelle's work is so crisp and dreamy and all of the signage she did provided such a personal touch to the wedding. The combination of the calligraphy and florals was just so beautiful, and of course, your photography to capture their beauty!”
“I wanted to be showered in flowers. And boy, was I! Howl Floral Designs gave me florals of my dreams for both ceremonies. I came to Kristin with some inspirational pictures and vague statements like "as many flowers as this budget will allow." "Muted pinks, yellows, golds, green and white." "Non-traditional, wildflower feel." Kristin absolutely delivered and didn't blink an eye when I asked for tons of flowers on our gold rounded arch, for the sweetheart table, bouquets, and boutonnieres for both ceremonies, florals on the tables, everywhere. She made recommendations of things that could be repurposed, like the ceremony bourbon barrel florals being reused for the sweetheart table. It was all just jaw-dropping to see in reality.
Due to the rain, the ceremony arch ended up being used for the photo booth backdrop, and I loved that it got more spotlight (literally.) Major shout out to our coordinator Taylor from Hummingbird Page Event Co who managed to move it inside intact without us even asking!”
Louisville, Kentucky Wedding Vendors:
florals: @howlfloraldesign // calligraphy & signage: @michellemariecalligraphy // gown: @lissimonbridal via @couturecloset_kywith alterations by @evoke.weddings // coordinator: @hummingbirdpage // dj: @louisvilleweddingdj // catering: @mayancafenulu // wedding party attire: @bellabridesmaids & @theblacktux & @shoprevelry // hair: @hairby_shelbyrae //mua: @makeupbybrookeduvall // cake: @kennakae // photo-booth: @wallflowerus // venue: @theparklandsoffloydsfork // photography @sarahkatherinedavisphotography // video: Joyce Barbour for @sarahkatherinedavisphotography // photography assistant & polaroids: DJ Corney