Amy Blevins and Bo Bott love all things vintage. They fittingly found a wedding spot at Joe Ley Antiques in downtown Louisville last spring. Find out how they made this wedding work perfectly to fit their interests. #TheBottsTietheKnot16
Bride’s Favorite Memory: The day before the wedding, one of my best friends Nikki and myself, were setting up for the reception, and we found a pile of tiny kittens in the reception yard! Needless to say we organized a little rescue, and shuttled them off to Derby City Kitties rescue, and they were later adopted into loving homes.
Advice to Others: Don’t sweat the small stuff. Something will always go wrong.
Best Planning Tip: Let someone help you, whether it be a dear friend or a hired professional. No need to try and conquer the entire process yourself.
Best Money Saving Tip: I’ve got nothing! I found that no matter how hard I tried to save money, almost everything ends up costing the same in the end.
Location of Ceremony: Joe Ley Antiques Downtown Louisville, 8pm for 100 people
Why It Worked: While dating, Bo and I loved to visit Joe Ley and search for treasures there. We always said, ‘If we ever get married, this is where we want it!’ Even though no one had ever been married there before, as soon as we were engaged, our first stop was to ask Joe and Sheila Ley if we had their blessing to use their magical space.
I Would Have Changed: Can I change the weather? I would have requested NO RAIN!
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| Photos by Christine, Darling Tales of Darling Bones |
Location of Reception: Joe Ley Antiques, 615 E. Market Street, Louisville
Why It Worked: It’s unique and quirky, just like us. No one had been married there before and that made us love it even more.
I Would Have Changed: Not a thing. It was perfection.
Photographer: Christine, Darling Tales of Darling Bones
Favorite Photo: Bo and me in the courtyard, in front of the backdrop our dear friend made for us, with the floral wreath.
Special Choices: I requested more candid shots, and lots of friends and family, especially of my Papaw who is 93 and made the special trip from Virginia.
I Would Have Changed: I would have loved to had a few more formal family photos. You can never have enough.
Dress: Claire Pettibone Dress, purchased at The Dress Theory Nashville
Why It Worked: It was the perfect mix of vintage yet modern
I Would Have Changed: Nothing. It was the first and only dress I even remotely loved. I was thrilled when The Dress Theory tracked it down and had it shipped in from Los Angeles for me to try on.
Bridesmaids Dresses: Rent The Runway
Why It Worked: Renting the bridesmaid dresses was genius. Not only were they not stuck with yet another bridesmaid dress that they'll never wear...they paid a fraction of the cost for an amazing designer dress.
Tuxes: J.Crew
Why It Worked: Regular tux rentals were outdated and costly. The guys were able to pick a modern navy suit that they can wear again. The cost was even less than renting a tux, because they found them at the J.Crew Outlet.
Video: Happy Camper Film & Photo
Why It Worked: Allison and Tyler are a traveling husband and wife duo who have seriously mastered the art of videography. They listened to our vision and executed it more than we could have imagined.
I Would Have Changed: We should have splurged for the extended version of our video.
Food: MozzaPi Food Truck
Why It Worked: The venue had very limited space and no room for a lot of seating. Nor did it have a kitchen or prep area for a typical caterer. Mozzarella Pi brought its gorgeous copper oven into the reception area and made the appetizers, pizza, and even S’mores on site and ready to serve.
I Would Have Changed: Nothing, the food truck was the perfect solution.
Drinks: Open Bar
Why It Worked: This was an uber-casual affair, so we kept it open to whatever beer and spirits our guests would like.
Cake: We chose to not have one large traditional cake, but rather several different flavored cakes baked and designed by Kristin Brill. We also had wedding cookies that had our caricatures on them as well as two of our pet cats Nugget and Teeny. The cookies are by the very talented Ashley Donohoo of Lexington.
Special Choices: Our four cakes were Coconut Chiffon Cake, Buttermilk Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting, Vanilla-Almond Cake, and Strawberry Cream Cake.
Why It Worked: We have never been big on being traditional and loved the idea of having choices of cake for the guests. These were served on a vintage tea cart, that has been passed down from my grandparents. It had been purchased in Iran in the ‘60s.
Flowers: Susan Tapp
Why It Worked: Susan and I met and talked a lot about what would go with the vintage-boho look we were shooting for. She crafted the huge flower wreath on the ceremony backdrop, as well as the flower girl’s flower crown. My flower crown and my bridesmaids’ crowns were made by Christy O’Connell aka ‘Pure Pollen Flowers.’ Christy really nailed it when I sent her my request. I had searched high and low for someone who could execute what I wanted and Christy knocked it out of the park, effortlessly.
What You Would Have Changed: Not too much. I knew I wanted a large part of our budget to go toward flowers.
Music (both ceremony and reception): Hog Operation
Special Choices: I met with Steve Cooley and just let him pick some appropriate yet fun choices for me walking down the aisle as well as exit songs. They're an amazing Bluegrass band, so really you can't go wrong with song choices.
Why It Worked: Bluegrass music really set the stage for the vintage vibe we already had to work with.
What You Would Have Changed: Nothing.
Décor Specials: Magbooth photo bus ‘Maggie’
Special Choices: Photo bus ‘Maggie’
Why It Worked: We love photo booths, but felt like they were really played out, yet we wanted our friends and family to have a fun takeaway from the evening. Maggie the bus was so much fun and again, went right along with the vintage theme.
Planner: Nikki Grizzle (dear friend)
Why It Worked: She is one of my best friends, and would NOT let me spend money on a professional planner. She went above and beyond with our wedding, and it went off without a hitch.
I Would Have Changed: Get Nikki an assistant.
Rings: Bride’s engagement ring — Genesis; Bride’s band — Family Heirloom; Groom’s Band —Genesis
Invitations: Custom made from an Etsy artist from Spain The Paperberry
Why It Worked: We wanted something personal and quirky, and she was really able to capture everything we wanted. They were magical.
Makeup/Hair: Nickie C.Makeup & Cindy Cashen (Hair)
Why It Worked: They are both my dear friends, so wedding prep was a breeze and so fun.
I would have changed: Believe it or not, I was so consumed with final planning during wedding week, I failed to make time to get a mani/pedi. I was painting my own nails the day of.
Rehearsal Dinner: The Old Spaghetti Factory
Why It Worked: Since I was a kid, we have celebrated every special occasion at The Old Spaghetti Factory, and that's exactly where Bo popped the question. It only seemed fitting to have our rehearsal dinner there as well.
I Would Have Changed: I wish the dinner lasted longer so we could savor every moment with friends and family that are never in the same place at the same time.
Other Special Things You Did That You Would Like to Include: We were very blessed to be able to share this very special day with all of our family and friends who came from every corner of the country. Little did we know, it would be the last time my family would all be together as my Uncle Jay passed away unexpectedly in January 2017.
Length of Planning Time: Nine months
Awesome story! This sounds like a very special day filled with quirky ideas for everyone to enjoy.
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