Simple Elegant Kentucky Wedding at Warrenwood Manor

Rachel & Austin’s Simple Elegant Wedding

June 8, 2020

Blog

Meet the Couple – Rachel & Austin

The Bride – Rachel is a counselor in training at Asbury Theological Seminary as well as a gymnastics and tumbling coach!

The Groom – Austin is a full-time freelance professional in the film and television industry. He owns his own company called Make Something Media in which he works on projects for local and global businesses and entrepreneurs. He also is a wedding videographer working under Make Something Memorable.

Honeymoon Location – Cancun, Mexico

First Dance Song – “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” cover by Joey Stamper

Favorite Date Night – We like going on a walk, getting Ice cream, and then watching a movie at home.

Rachel, tell us your story…

TELL US YOUR LOVE STORY!

We met at Asbury University through a mutual friend named Phil. We knew each other for my first semester but were just friends. Funny enough we both didn’t make a move because we thought we were out of each other’s leagues. As time went on we both began crushing harder on one another and the night before Valentine’s day Austin told Phil he wanted to go look around campus to see if I was around. They ended up getting candy and handing it out to random people. They eventually found me in the library and stopped and talked. Austin then ran up the stairs, threw chocolate at me from the balcony above, and goofed off some more.

A few days after Valentine’s day I found a note and chocolate in my PO box from a “secret valentine”. I honestly had no clue who it was from and only figured out it was Austin after a friend snitched on him. Eventually, he asked me out for coffee (I said yes then ran off and did cartwheels down the hallway where he couldn’t see me). We got coffee and ended up talking from 6:00 pm to 1:00 am. From then on our relationship just kept growing. One day after a weird and crazy but fun second date we said goodnight, and as I walked away I heard his car door open and he got out yelling “Wait, will you be my girlfriend!?” I said yes and he kissed me as we stood in the headlights.

TELL US YOUR ENGAGEMENT STORY!

It was the week before my birthday and we went out to get pizza pies and pints with our friends Brett and Bella for an “early birthday celebration”. (I was completely caught off guard because I thought he was going to propose to me on my birthday!) As we ate I noticed Austin seemed to be in a REALLY good mood, like in a jumpy giggle good mood and I even made a comment about it. After we finished eating our friends said they had to go to Starbucks to get a gift card, but Austin wanted to get coffee from a different shop in the opposite direction. This was kinda weird (not just weird, but like Austin doesn’t even like coffee weird), but I felt like I should just go with it – we were having a nice time and I like that coffee shop. The shop ended up being closed so Austin said “Why don’t we go check in triangle park they have a little stand?” I thought it was closed and it was getting kinda cold but I was enjoying our time, and for some reason felt like I should just go with it.

So we started walking alongside the lit-up fountain and I noticed a musician and a street artist sitting together. I thought it was cool because I like art but I was also curious because you usually don’t see two street artists sitting together in a low traffic area. I thought about calling our friends because the instrument that the musician was playing, an upright bass, was the same that Brett played and they were just at Starbucks close by. However, I decided I wanted Austin to myself and to not call. We got closer and Austin asked if I wanted to go over and see what the artist was painting. I was nervous but said yes. What was the harm in walking by?

As we got closer I recognized the brushstrokes on one of the canvases poking out from a blank one and before I could even say “Isn’t that our painting” the “artist” looked up and asked to paint our picture in a funny voice with a big smile. It was another one of our friends in his wife Parka!! Austin pointed toward the musician and said “I think he wants us to dance”, it was Brett dressed as a homeless man playing his upright bass! So still in complete shock, I nodded my head yes and we started to slow dance. Austin proceeded to whisper to me in my ear as we danced and eventually he said “Do you want to see what he painted?” and I turned expecting a sign saying “Will you marry me?” only to be surprised with a beautiful commissioned painting of Van Gogh’s café scene except it had us painted into it and Austin was on his knee proposing to me (same outfit and everything). I turned around to look at him and he was on one knee and said “Will you marry me?” to which I said “YES!” and we hugged and kissed and then he flipped me around and I saw my parents, little sister and more of our friends sprinting at us cheering. I felt so known and so loved.

Rachel, tell us about planning your wedding…

What are three words you would use to describe the style of your wedding day? How would you describe the feel?

Cozy, Carefree & Elegant

Where did you gather inspiration from for your wedding day?

Pinterest helped for reference, but we are both creative people who had a vision. We started with colors, the metal accents, and then the flowers.

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

The venue was beautiful, the manor had an elegant modern touch, and we loved that we could get ready, have our ceremony and reception at the same place.

What were you most excited about on your wedding day?

Austin was excited to see all of our friends and family celebrate our marriage.

I was excited to take time to be still and celebrate the beginning of our life together.

In what ways did you personalize your wedding day?

We played a playlist from when we first started dating (“night drives”) as guests came in. For our guest book, everyone signed fabric squares for a quilt we now have displayed in our house. My bouquet had a small heart picture frame with my late grandmother- Opal Christine Deich- in it so she could be with me on my wedding day.

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

The rain was perfect. The first few drops started as we entered the barn, by the time we were together at the end of the aisle and the doors were closed it was like heaven opened and it rained fiercely. It set a cozy atmosphere and made it feel like God was routing for us- one of our guests even said it was God pouring down his blessing over us. As soon as the ceremony was over and it was time to walk back down the aisle the rain had stopped as suddenly as it started. We had time to walk outside and celebrate with our wedding party and take a few family photos.

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

Things will go wrong, just remember at the end of the day you will be married. Your feelings of stress, anxiety, and frustration are real and valid, but do your best to breathe and go with what happens. Also, play to one another strengths. Austin didn’t know flowers so I took care of flowers. I didn’t know menswear so Austin picked out menswear etc. – Also a spreadsheet is a great tool to keep track of your budget.

What is something about your wedding that you thought you would care about, but ended up not?

I thought I would care about the weather being nice but we ended up having a perfect day despite the weather- also I don’t remember even looking at the centerpieces.

What have you been up to since your wedding day?

We have moved twice since the wedding. Thankfully we will be staying in our current residence for a few more years before we have to move again. We have been creating relationships in our area and doing our best to create healthy habits (physically, mentally, and spiritually) as a couple to set the tone for the rest of our lives.