I grew up loving Sabrina and wishing I could climb up into a tree and watch beautiful parties every Saturday night, but this bride got the real deal. She grew up behind this gorgeous mansion, which obviously meant she opened her bedroom windows to listen to the music coming from the grounds all wedding season long. The only thing more romantic than that is the grown up girl’s wedding, captured beautifully by Melanie Mauer. It took place on the grounds she grew up loving, and the gallery is almost like a peek from her window into the big day. Click here to see it all!
From the beautiful bride … I met Brent four years ago, when we were both living in San Diego, CA, at a Valentine’s Day party for all our single friends. I was immediately drawn to him, not only because Brent is always the tallest guy in the room (he’s 6’7″!) but because of his energy and free spirit, he just knows how to make people smile! We became fast friends after that night and after a month or so we decided to finally go out on a date, and we have been together ever since! A few years later we were living in Manhattan Beach, CA, and Brent proposed to me on the beach by our apartment on a perfect sunset summer evening!
Picking our wedding venue was a no brainer. Growing up in Louisville, KY, I have always loved the beauty and history of the state, and Brent, who grew up in Southern California, very quickly fell in love with Kentucky as well… so he insisted we get married in my hometown! Well, it just so happens that my parent’s home is located directly behind Whitehall, a gorgeous historic home in the older part of Louisville. When I was younger I used to open my bedroom windows so I could listen to the bands play at the weddings at Whitehall. So needless to say we just HAD to get married there!!
I knew I wanted the style of our wedding to be garden-chic, with a color palette of greens and ivory that allowed the natural beauty of Whitehall’s colorful gardens to be showcased. My amazing mom, with the help of our wedding planner, Carol, and some outstanding vendors in Louisville, made all my ideas come to life! We were able to transform our ceremony site and reception tent into a work of art! We also wanted to make sure all of our out of town guests had a true Kentucky experience so we had a bluegrass band play during our ceremony and cocktail hour, had guests sign a bourbon barrel lid instead of a traditional guest book, and of course kept the bourbon flowing all night!
Our entire day was filled with so much love and was extremely personal. I lost my maternal grandparents when I was younger, so I made sure they were there in spirit by wearing my grandmother’s ring and carried a fun gold purse that she had at her own wedding. We also used the cake knife that those grandparents used at their wedding, which has their wedding date, along with my parents and aunts and uncles, carved into it. Brent and I were also blessed to each have a set of Grandparents present at the wedding, each having been married over 60 years! (My 90 year old grandpa even cut in during my father-daughter dance!) My brother has a beautiful voice, so we were honored to have him sing an acapella version of “Till There Was You” during our ceremony. It also meant so much to me that we were able to utilize my parent’s gorgeous home for the groomsmen’s wedding prep and for our after party. As beautiful as everything was, it was those personal touches that made the day unforgettable!
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Photographer: Photography by Melanie Mauer | Venue: Whitehall Mansion and Gardens | Planner: Carol Grisanti | Weddings | Flowers: Wayne Esterle of In Bloom Again | Cake: Debbie Richter | Caterer: Wiltshire Pantry | Hair & Make up: Venedia Tingle | Dress: Watters | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: BHLDN | Shoes: Manolo Blahnik