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

Romantic Garden Wedding at Gheens Foundation Lodge

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