You know what I love about this wedding? Well, besides everything? It’s the adorable bride and groom. A duo that dove head first into creating and crafting their big Texas soiree all of the way from Tennessee. It’s some serious dedication that totally paid off with a breathtaking affair chock-full of personality and, well… you know how we adore those. From the sweet Oak Knoll Ranch setting to the succulent-filled blooms from Dr. Delphinium to an entire gallery of pretty from Dyan Kethley and Meredith Bacon, it’s the perfect start to your Friday. Kick off the weekend in style in the full gallery.
From the Bride… Chris and I dated long distance a year before I moved to Tennessee in May 2012 and got engaged soon after on September 1, 2012. We were so excited to get married and start our new life together as man and wife!
When we started thinking about our wedding, we wanted it to be a celebration of the union of two people whom the Lord brought together, but also of two families joining together—filled with the all of the people we love. Our wedding day was filled with family and friends from all walks of our lives; people who have impacted our lives and played integral roles in molding us into who we are today, surrounded us with love, support, and encouragement as we spoke our vows and committed our lives to each other forever. There were a few important family members that were not able to be at the wedding, namely, Chris’s Granny, with whom he is very close to. He was able to honor her by wearing her late husband’s, Chris’s grandfather’s, high school class ring. Chris also honored his other grandfather by wearing Doc’s cuff links that have the family crest embossed on them. I wore my great grandmother’s wedding band on our wedding day to honor and celebrate her life, as well.
The barn we were married at was on my family’s ranch. My Dad grew up on a farm in Ohio and used barn wood from the Ohio farm inside the barn on the ranch. The beauty in the reclaimed wood on the walls in the new barn is breathtaking, beauty not only from the wood, but from the story and meaning from where the wood is from.
Our wedding had lots of personal touches reflecting our relationship, loves, and passions. The look I was wanting was lovely, simple, and delicate. The delicate details to add beauty, simple decorations such as the burlap runners, and lovely—which was exquisitely captured by the barn and ceremony. My mom did a wonderful job helping with the flowers, and worked with the flower vendor based on pictures I sent her to capture the natural, soft look I had hoped for, and incorporated our wedding colors beautifully! The barn has a functioning antique photo booth, providing fun pictures for everyone! All of the barn antiques are a cool aspect as this is a love of mine that I share with both Chris and my Dad.
Chris and I absolutely love building things together and are passionate DIY’ers. We wanted to incorporate this in our wedding in as many details as we could despite the distance of living in Tennessee and getting married in Texas. Chris built the “family” signs for the tables as well as the direction signs for the wedding with wood from a pallet that he pulled apart. Chris’s mother and I spent several nights chalking, cutting, and fraying the burlap runners for all of the tables which were so much fun to make with her! I was able to make little things while in Tennessee to send home to use at the wedding, which appeased my adoration for “little lovelies”—things that would add beauty but not take away from the splendor of the barn. I wrapped jute around several letter “K’s” to put around the guest book table and the inside of the barn. My younger sister decorated a chalkboard that said, “Mr. & Mrs. Kennedy” on it, that was hung in the entrance of the barn. As a little surprise and way to honor Chris, a University of Tennessee Volunteer, I got UT orange garters and hand embroidered “Go Vols” on the toss garter myself in orange thread. As an Arkansas Razorback, I have told my new husband, I will fully support and cheer on the Vols at every game, until they play the Hogs. I also made each of the flower girl’s headbands, which were made of elastic lace ribbon, rolled rosettes of navy, white, and grey, and had little seed pearls in the middle of the rosettes. We added other personal touches through our colors: orange—for the University of Tennessee of course, yellow and gray—I have a small obsession with yellow and gray, and navy simply because we felt it complemented the other colors we chose. One of my favorite things was our guest favors—UT orange koozies that said “To have and to hold” on one side, and “The Kennedys, 04.27.13” on the other. I had the graphic design company I worked for in college make them which was fun to be able to include them in our special day. On our wedding RSVPS, we had each guest write in a song request when they RSVPed to our wedding, all of which were played during the reception. It was so much fun to dance with everyone on the dance floor, especially when the song requests came on—you could see the excitement in everyone to hear their song requests!
Another fun, personal touch is who married us. One of the officiants was one of Chris’s Dad’s very best friends, who flew in from Florida to marry us, which was very special and meaningful to Chris and I. One of our brother-in-law’s fathers also took part in officiating the ceremony, blessing us with a person from each side of the family uniting Chris and I in marriage. We asked each of our bridesmaids and groomsmen pick out their own dress and suit based on the color we gave them because we wanted them to like what they were wearing and be comfortable in it as well. The complementing shades of navy and gray and mixing of dresses was a stunning array of beauty lined up at the ceremony, celebrating each of our friend’s individual beauty, uniqueness, and how much they mean to Chris and me. We wanted our day to not be solely about us, but about the Lord’s provision and seeing us fit to be married, celebrating the people who have helped us grow into who we are, praising the Lord for who He is, and what He will do in and through our marriage.
We are so thankful for all of the vendors that helped make our day the special, joy-filled day it was. Thank you for everything!
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Photographers: Dyan Kethley Photography + Meredith Bacon Photography | Wedding Venue: Oak Knoll Ranch | Event Planner: Events by Kristin | Catering: Gil’s Elegant Catering | Floral Design: Dr. Delphinium | Tables: Shag Carpet | Chairs: M&M Special Events Company | DJ: It’s Your Night Entertainment | Wedding Dress: Alvina Valenta via Stardust Celebrations | Koozies: B-Unlimited Inc. | Cake: Two Chicks Cake Tricks | Hair + Makeup: Susie Gray Uphues | Bride’s Shoes: Milk & Honey