Wow, does this wedding ever look like fun! What started as a joke from Danielle’s father turned into a wedding theme that was a perfect expression of the bride and grooms fun-loving personalities. This wedding makes me want to get married again – just so I can use some of their great ideas.
Danielle & Drew | October 24, 2009 – Graystone Estate (Private Residence) Louisville, Kentucky
How he proposed
Unbeknownst to me, Drew had talked to my boss and had him set up a fake business meeting for me on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. My boss had been harassing me about the meeting all week, telling me to make sure I wore “something nice” since this was an important meeting. Looking back, the day before it happened, Drew and I had lunch and I told him I really didn’t want to go to work the next day and was thinking about calling in sick. Normally he wouldn’t have said anything but he seemed surprised and told me I needed to go to my meeting.
That morning, I got up and begrudgingly got all dolled up for my “important” meeting. I remember getting ready and looking over to see Drew putting on a tie. He normally never wears a tie unless he has a huge meeting but I just shrugged it off. The breakfast meeting was to take place at The Seelbach in Downtown Louisville. My boss is normally late so I waited outside for him before going in. After emailing and calling him, he finally called me back and told me to just go ahead, he would be right there. I walked in to the restaurant and was completely surprised to see Drew, mouthing to him “What are you doing here?” He had arranged for the server to escort me to his table, which didn’t work out because I argued with her about how I wasn’t there to meet him. Finally, when he realized there was no chance I was walking over to his table, he walked up the servers’ station, got down on one knee and proposed. I was completely and totally surprised. The cherry on top was that he had arranged for me to have the rest of the day off as well!
The ceremony
The ceremony took place in front of the home right at the fountain. We wanted it to feel intimate despite having over 200 guests – so we did the seating in the round. It was one of my favorite parts of the wedding. We didn’t do many decorations for the ceremony since the location was so beautiful. We did hang ribbons from the trees in my wedding colors which I think was the perfect amount of detail.
The reception
The reception was where our theme came to life. We had all kinds of carnival games and things for people to do. Then, just like at a church picnic, we served fried chicken, mashed potatos and green beans. The food was simple but delicious and not frilly at all which fits Drew and my personalities. After dinner, the reception just became a big dance party!
The moment Danielle will never forget
Drew and I went to the University of Kentucky and the song Dixieland Delight by Alabama was something everyone who has been to school there remembers singing along to on nights out. When they played it at our wedding, all of our friends were in the middle of the dance floor singing. It brought everyone together.
The wedding’s theme
If so, what was it and how did you bring it to life?I always loved fairs, carnivals and church picnics growing up. When I got engaged, my Dad jokingly said I should have a carnival-themed wedding and I thought it would be perfect. Drew and I are all about having fun and that’s what we wanted all of our guest to do as well! I think the carnival theme helped take every one’s fun to the next level. We brought the theme to life by using all kinds of fun decor touches as well as having a popcorn machine, cotton candy, fair/carnival games for guests to play and a photo booth.
How she knew her wedding dress was “The One”
I probably tried on about 10 dresses. I lost count. It sounds cheesy or cliche that you know when you’ve found the perfect dress – but you really do. I didn’t think I wanted a dropped waist gown but the silhouette and fit on my dress was just perfect. I loved that it was simple but also had a few small special touches, like the flower detail on the hip.
Advice for other brides
Enjoy every single minute. People kept asking me if I just wanted to leave on my honeymoon and I was like ‘No!” The wedding was so fun to plan and so fun to experience. I can remember all the best parts of the day. Don’t let other people stress you out – just enjoy the moment.
