When this Bride, the beautiful Southern blogger behind Glitter & Gingham, fell in love with The Apiary as her reception venue, she was crushed to find out that the space couldn’t accommodate a seated dinner for her number of guests. Instead of letting this discourage her, she consulted with the team at Shelly Fortune Event Design and came up with the perfect solution! They opted for a cocktail style reception – no seating chart, no table settings, no real timeline. The end result was fun, casual, and comfortable – and lucky for us, Aesthetiica Photography and Reel Special were there to capture the day and share it all here.
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From the Bride… Hey y’all! I’m Shelby Back, and I’m the southern life and style blogger behind Glitter & Gingham. And I’m so excited to share our wedding with you all today! Our day was such a fairytale, and we owe it all to our amazing vendors.
For a little back story, Tyler and I actually went to college together, but weren’t friends and didn’t start dating until a few years after we graduated. I admittedly dragged my feet when we were set up by some mutual friends, and I definitely still give him a hard time about that! Thankfully I gave in and the rest was history, so they say. When I finally got to know Tyler, I was immediately taken aback by his kind nature, his handsome smile, and his ability to make me feel like all is right in the world.
I was never the little girl who dreamt of her wedding, never the little girl who grew up dreaming of prince charming, and he changed all of that for me. I was suddenly dreaming of our wedding, but I had no idea where to start or what I wanted! Cue Shelly Fortune Events. Once we were engaged, we knew we could not do this alone, so we sought out help from Shelly and her team to plan our wedding – it was easily one of the best wedding investments we could have made. She understood what was important to us on our wedding day and made it happen.
We wanted our day to be fun, memorable, and feel like “us”. Most importantly, we wanted our day to be about LOVE – the love we have for each other, the love we have for God, and the love we have for those nearest and dearest to our hearts who were there that day to help us celebrate. Shelly understood that, and she understood my wedding “style” when even I didn’t understand what I wanted our wedding to look like. From the lucite chairs, to the bold and bright flowers, she made the space feel warm and inviting, which set the tone for the entire day!
After 14 months of planning, Tyler and I tied the knot in front of 250 guests during a classic Catholic ceremony in Lexington, Kentucky. It was followed by a fun and romantic reception at our stunning venue, The Apiary. The Apiary was the first venue we visited when we started looking, and I had my mind set on that space right away. It shattered my sit down dinner dreams when space became an issue for the amount of guests we wanted to invite, so we took a different approach – we opted for a cocktail style reception. No seating chart, no table settings, no real timeline. This allowed for more socializing and flow through the venue throughout the night; people ate what they wanted, lounged and drank when they wanted, and danced the night away! It couldn’t have felt more like us!
Photography: Aesthetiica Photography | Cinematography: Reel Special Productions | Floral Design: P.G. Howard Designs Florist | Wedding Dress: Reem Acra | Cake: The Cake Lady | Church: St. Peter Catholic Church | Reception Venue: Apiary | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Adrianna Papell | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Donna Morgan | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Catering: Apiary | Hair and Makeup: Allison Johnson Pink Loulou | Band: Jordan English Band | Bridal Boutique: Bridal And Formal | Bridal Boutique: Twirl Boutique | Bride: Shelby Back | Event Design and Coordination: Shelly Fortune Event Design | Groom's Cake: Tinker's Cake Shop | Paper Goods: Cardinal And Straw Fine Paper Goods