Pastel Spring Southern Chic Wedding at Warrenwood Manor

Allison & Jordan’s Southern Chic Wedding

May 18, 2020

Blog

Allison & Jordan’s wedding was a heartfelt celebration overflowing with pastel spring blooms and southern chic style. These two sweet humans were so intentional about every detail of their wedding day. Hear Allison & Jordan’s story and see how they celebrated their wedding at Warrenwood Manor.

**Grab the latest edition of Tops in Lex magazine to see this wedding in print!**

Meet the Couple – Allison & Jordan

The Bride – Allison is an Associate Head Swim Coach at the University of Kentucky from Duluth, GA

The Groom – Jordan is a Project Manager from Columbus, OH.

Honeymoon Location – Fiji at the Royal Davui Island Resort

First Dance Song – “It’s Your Love” by Tim McGraw

Allison, tell us your story…

TELL US YOUR LOVE STORY!

Jordan and I met through Match.com. He was the one and only guy I gave a chance through online dating. We were both living in Columbus, OH at the time. Since then we haven’t always lived in the same state we embraced a life full of adventure and travel. Our favorite date nights are visiting wineries or grabbing dinner and drinks at a brewery in Lexington. We’re also super adventurous and outdoorsy so oftentimes our dates are during the day and are spent hiking in Red River Gorge!

TELL US YOUR ENGAGEMENT STORY!

When Jordan transitioned to Utah for work, we were excited to use the opportunity to explore our love of the outdoors. In May of 2018, we decided to visit Zion National Park for a few days of hiking. On May 4th we woke up to the sunrise, ate a big breakfast, packed our lunches, gathered our hiking gear, and headed to the trail. We were hiking the famed Subway Trail, which was a 9.5-mile, black diamond hike requiring permit access. Although strenuous, the trail led us along a flowing stream with lush forestry surrounding a desert landscape. It was a beautiful day for hiking! Given the out-and-back nature of the trail, the main “Subway” attraction was about 4.5 miles into our hike.

Along the way, we stopped to take many pictures – enjoying every minute. We had a blast navigating our way through the stream and over boulders. As we neared the halfway point, Jordan became very interested in a few waterfalls along the way and suggested we stop for a picture on the way back. Little did I know, he had a plan. Four hours into the hike, we FINALLY made it to the Subway. It was a beautiful slot canyon with icy swimming holes for the daring adventurer. The perfect place to propose, right? Wrong! After taking hundreds of photos and a quick break, we began our trek back to the car. We soon returned to the waterfalls and Jordan insisted we stop for a picture. At this point, I was exhausted and wanted to keep moving, but went along with the request.

Thinking ahead, Jordan had purchased a Bluetooth camera tripod for us to use throughout the trip and coordinated the shot. While he did this, I hopped into the stream and admired the view. Once the camera was ready, Jordan joined me in our “picture perfect” spot and snapped a few photos – or so I thought. After the final picture, Jordan grabbed my arms and turned me to him. I thought he was going to push me into the water and joked accordingly, but soon realized he had other plans. Jordan got down on one knee and proposed. Of course, I said yes! After our excitement subsided, Jordan requested we take an actual picture. Turns out, he pretended to take the original photo and instead, had video recorded the entire moment! I was thoroughly impressed. Jordan had thought of everything and even better, he caught me completely by surprise! It was the perfect proposal. Overjoyed – and perhaps a little relieved – Jordan and I completed our hike in record time, eager to share the news with our family and friends.

Allison, tell us about your wedding day…

Where did you gather inspiration from for your wedding day?

Our wedding planner/designer, Blaire Kimball was the creative genius behind the delicate, southern chic look of our wedding. The florals followed a sorbet color palette of light pink, peach, cream, and sage green with blissful greenery. Given the reception was held in a more rustic barn setting, our wedding designer lightened the room with cream table linens, white votive candles, and silver vessels to hold the floral arrangements. Our florist, Gretchen Horton, used blush garden roses, peonies, butterfly ranunculus, and Italian ruscus in the arrangements. Other details were chosen to add little unique touches here and there.

Why did you choose to have your wedding at Warrenwood Manor?

Jordan and I were looking for an indoor/outdoor venue to accommodate a wedding of 150-180 people. We wanted to keep both the ceremony and reception in one location. Warrenwood Manor is a beautiful, historic home complete with vast farmland and green space for an outdoor ceremony as well as a charming event barn to host the reception. The house is charming with tons of character. It is elegant yet comfortable. The manor is located in Danville, KY, which provided a great “halfway” point for our families and friends traveling from our hometowns in Ohio (Jordan) and Georgia (Allison).

What were you most excited about on your wedding day?

We were, of course, excited to say, “I do!” and celebrate with family/friends. I was also looking forward to taking pictures while and Jordan couldn’t wait for the tasty food. We were also very excited for the sparkler exit!

In what ways did you personalize your wedding day?

My aunt, Lisa Weller, is a former seamstress and costume designer. I was struggling to find the “perfect” wedding dress and she selflessly offered to design the dress for me. My aunt spent countless hours making the dress for me – she incorporated everything I had hoped for in a wedding dress while adding her own creative detailing and flair. She poured so much love into the dress, taking the time to add every lace and beading embellishment by hand. It was truly the perfect wedding dress.
We wanted to incorporate a few items into the wedding décor to depict where we are from and where we are living now. Our cake designer, Chloe Gabbard, created delicious chocolate peanut butter “Buckeye” cupcakes to represent Jordan’s Ohio roots and our wedding designer, Blaire Kimball, added fresh Georgia peaches and beautiful silver horses (Kentucky) into the wedding décor. To add to the Kentucky flair, Type A Catering added a bourbon bar to the cocktail hour, which was a huge hit for our guests. The bar itself was made of bourbon barrels. We even created his (Kentucky Mule) and hers (Peach Mojito) drinks for guests to enjoy at the reception. Mallory McCamy, a local artist, created a beautiful portrait of Warrenwood, which I framed for guests to sign as our wedding guest book.
A lot of family members and friends contribute to our wedding. My mother, Kerin Reed, is a music teacher, and coordinated the musicians and music selections for the wedding ceremony. Lisa Weller, my aunt, designed my wedding dress. My college friend, Blaire Kimball, was our wedding designer. My high school friend, Zack Howard, was our DJ.

Of all of the beautiful moments of your wedding day, which do you cherish the most?

Kentucky “showed up” to give us a very memorable wedding day to enjoy with family and friends. Although it had been raining for all of April and most of May, the weather was absolutely perfect on our wedding day. The sun was shining and rain predictions had disappeared. We were given a beautiful sunset and a full moon to enjoy that evening.

WHAT WAS THE FUNNIEST THING THAT HAPPENED ON YOUR WEDDING DAY?

Growing up, my church would put on an annual talent show for fellowship. One year, my father, our pastor, and three of my father’s church friends decided to dress up as members of ‘N SYNC and performed “Bye Bye Bye” as their talent. They called themselves “Not ‘N Sync” and the performance was a hit. At the time, I was in high school and jokingly (but seriously) requested the group perform at my wedding one day. Little did I know, that’s exactly what they decided to do! During the reception, our DJ stopped the music, switched over to “Bye Bye Bye,” and my father, our pastor, my brother, and two of my father’s church friends surprised us with a comeback performance of Not ‘N SYNC. They were decked out in jerseys, Hawaiian shirts, and baseball caps. There were some breakdancing attempts and my brother even did “the worm.”

What advice would you give to a newly engaged couple starting the wedding planning process?

We highly recommend hiring a wedding planner, even if it’s just for the month of the wedding. There are so many decisions to be made and details to tend to so it was wonderful having Blaire to guide us in the right direction throughout the entire process.
Create a master timeline to provide to all your vendors. Make certain it includes everything you want to do on your big day. If you love photography as much as we do, make certain your timeline matches the time frame you booked with your photographer so all of your precious memories will be captured.
Enjoy cocktail hour with the guests or create an opportunity before the reception (i.e. receiving line) to quickly say hello to guests. Once the reception is underway, there is very little time to walk around from table to table and greet everyone.