Elizabeth & Alan | An Elegant, Fall Wedding in Lexington
From the bride...
"Alan and I met in the hallowed halls of the University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital, when Alan was a medical resident in the pediatric intensive care unit and I was the pharmacist for the unit. This fateful meeting was followed by exchanges of secretive glances, and "accidentally on purpose” finding reasons to cross paths over the next 2 years. The first step forward occurred on the day after Alan’s 30th birthday and one month before the end of his residency. This occasion was a casual jaunt to Toledo, Ohio, for the greatly missed Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich (this was the closest location to Ann Arbor). Many steps in between followed, including parting of ways to different cities and different states. But that did not stifle the flame. Thousands of miles traveled, thousands of minutes of phone conversation wove the tapestry of love, patience, compassion, and commitment.
Alan proposed marriage on the three-year anniversary of that fateful Chick-fil-A outing, and I didn't hesitate to accept! We were eager to start our lives together, let alone be in the same zip code together after spending three years living in different states! Elopement was seriously considered, but I was not ready to relinquish all of my childhood dreams of a fairytale wedding surrounded by close family and friends. Once the planning began, the big decisions fell magically into place. Less than five months after the engagement, we would have our perfect day.
My vision for the wedding was simple, elegant, and intimate. I side-stepped many of the traditions, opting out of having a wedding party, unity candle, DJ and bouquet toss. My focus became the details, planning to create an event that would be have the feeling of a family dinner party – personal, comfortable, and inviting – but a dinner party where it would be acceptable for me to wear a tiara. To incorporate Alan’s personality into the day, I made sure to include elements of fun (lawn games, a snack bar, and a killer dance party playlist) and Kentucky (a big mansion, lots of bourbon, and the “call to the post” for the dinner summons).
The backdrop of the 19th century mansion on that warm fall day in Lexington proved to be the perfect commencement of wedded bliss for us. The floral arrangements and the mansion décor were all assembled and executed by our families, and candlelight and chandeliers added elegance to the affair. The wedding ceremony, which we wrote and designed ourselves, took place beneath a trellis that I also assembled and decorated. Drinks, hors d'œuvre, and merriment took place on the side lawn of the mansion prior to dinner. Dinner, dancing, an epic cake-cutting, and a whole lot of Jenga rounded out the evening. The day was nothing short of picture-perfect, and a reflection of the love we have for each other."
