Amanda + Jarran's Rustic Wedding

From the Bride: When my fiance and I saw our wedding venue for the first time, it was love at first sight. With rolling Kentucky hills in every direction and so much potential to bring this space to life, we knew this was it! This was where we'd have the wedding of our dreams. The large old tobacco barn had farm equipment parked in it, overgrown weeds and plants everywhere, and even coyote poop on the floors! So, while most couples would overlook a venue that would clearly be such a huge undertaking, we had a vision. Months before the wedding, we began cleaning, pressure washing, landscaping, decorating and spending every day onsite working. It was a labor of love. On the day of our wedding, when we saw the final transformation, my husband and I were both immediately brought to tears. Seeing our wedding venue after months of work was one of the best moments of our wedding day.

While there are so many gorgeous wedding venues in Lexington where we live, Jarran and I decided we really wanted to hold our wedding and reception in a unique place. Somewhere that felt like a destination. He was born and raised in Winchester. We have a special passion for remodeling homes, and when we saw the potential in this venue, we knew we would be able to make it better in the same way. Our vision for the space was crystal clear. Our ceremony was held in front of a large tree with miles and miles of farmland in the background. We constructed our bar from scratch out of homemade countertops and bourbon barrels, and had the same backdrop of rolling hills behind it. We really wanted to emphasize the beautiful outdoors, and I think we were successful in that! Knowing our wedding would be a late one, we decided to install 15' wood posts throughout the outdoor "cocktail hour" area and attach market lights to them. This created a very cozy vibe when the sun began to set. Combined with outdoor couches, cocktail tables, and our bar, this made the ultimate outdoor setup. We were very happy with the end result! As two lovers of music, a live band at our wedding reception was a non-negotiable for us. We loved the fun vibe of band members interacting with our guests and taking song requests throughout the night.

Myself and my bridesmaids put together greenery halos that we hung above the head table for the reception in the barn. Today we use them on our covered patio at our own home as a reminder of our best day ever. Custom cookies that looked like cherry blossoms were representative of our engagement, where Jarran proposed at Tidal Basin in DC, at the peak of when the cherry blossom trees bloomed there. Individual succulent party favors made sense to us because of our nature & outdoor theme, and the sunglasses were a fun one to design since we knew June was a pretty sunny month! Seeing friends and family wearing them to this day brings us so much joy. The groom's cake was themed with his favorite middle school rock band who he still loves to this day, as was my garter, both a surprise for him. Our doughnut wall was made by us as well. We loved the custom floral wall which read "The Thomases" which we used as a backdrop for the cocktail hour band and for photos later that day. Overall we were very pleased with all of our vendors, and couldn't be more grateful to our family and friends who worked tirelessly with us to create the wedding of our dreams.

Photography: Love the Renauds | Videography: Keith & Melissa Photography & Videography | Location: Winchester | Venue: Blue Ash Farm | Florals: Stems LLC | Wedding Planner: Christina Burton Events | Caterer: Red State BBQ | Cake: Mad Batter Cakery (Cookies) Bake Mia Cake (Donuts) Franks Donuts | Rentals: Purdon’s Rental & Sales | Music: (Cocktail Hour) Donnie Reed & Roy Burns (Ceremony) Nathan Wilson (Reception) Kenny Owens & Group Therapy | Transportation: Nutter Taxi (Van Rental) Enterprise | Stationery + Paper Goods: (Invitations) Vistaprint (Signage) PrintLex | Hair: Looks by Lauren 502 | Makeup: Image Insight | Bride’s Attire: Bridal and Formal | Groom’s Attire: Geno's Formal Affair | Credits: (Bridesmaids’ Dresses) Kennedy Blue (Wedding Officiant) Father Norman Fischer (Custom Sunglasses) Totally Promotional (Succulent Favors & Table Numbers, Bridesmaids’ Rompers, Groomsmen Custom Flasks) Etsy (Greenery Halos) Handmade (Restroom Rental) Blue Moon Restrooms