Rustic Country Wedding at Warrenwood Manor

Abby & Jimmy’s Country Glam Wedding

July 21, 2019

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Meet the Couple

The Bride | Abby is a third-grade teacher in her hometown of Nicholasville, KY.

The Groom | Jimmy is a firefighter in Richmond, KY.

Honeymoon Destination | Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic

First Dance Song | “You Make It Look So Easy” by Eric Church

Abby, tell us your story…

How did you and Jimmy meet?

I was out with friends for my 21st birthday when I met Jimmy. I was at Sapphires, a bar in downtown Richmond, because there was live music, which is totally my jam. It was Wednesday so the bar was kind of dead. I remember being in the restroom when I heard a group of wild, crazy guys bust into the bar. When I got back to friends I noticed that my friend Trent was among the group. As Trent and I were catching up, Jimmy (who I did NOT know) walked right up to me and said in his thick country accent and giant grin, “I know you don’t know me but I’d put a ring on your finger the size of Texas in a New York minute!” L.O.L. I was taken aback and also NOT SINGLE at the time, so I laughed it off, said thanks and kept on with my own fun. Throughout the night though, Jimmy kept talking to me and I was honestly a little intrigued.

Fast forward about two years. I had recently been through a breakup and several terrible dates, when low and behold, I get a message from none other than Jimmy White himself! He asked if I remembered him and said he would be “interested in taking me on a date if I wasn’t seeing anyone.” So, I immediately called Trent to get the scoop on this crazy guy from the bar two years ago. I had to make sure he wasn’t going to try to kidnap me or something. Trent fullllllly supported the idea of a Jimmy-Abby date and said Jimmy was going to make sure it would be fun. I agreed and we made plans for that weekend. After the first date, I could tell he was an adventure!

TELL US YOUR ENGAGEMENT STORY

Jimmy is an avid duck hunter and while we were dating I grew to love it too. It became a fun activity we did together. So you can imagine how annoyed I was when Jimmy made plans for a guys-only hunting trip on the opening day of duck season. ***Insert eye roll here*** Instead of being a brat about it, my Mom and I decided to make plans for the whole family to meet at her house and go to breakfast together right after the hunt.

That morning, while Jimmy was out hunting, I overslept. When I woke up I rushed out the door to my Mom’s house. She said she was fine waiting, but I didn’t want to make everyone late. As I came in the house I overheard that Jimmy had snagged a coveted banded duck. In the duck hunting world, a banded duck is quite the trophy. I knew Jimmy was bound to be over the moon, but I was slightly jealous too.

When we heard the truck pull into the driveway, we all went outside. Jimmy started showing me the duck. I was surprised how big the metal band was compared to the duck’s little leg. Jimmy said, “read it.” Finally, I saw that “Will you marry me?” was engraved in the metal. Jimmy started crying and got down on one knee in the front yard with my whole family next to a dead duck. It was just perfect! It is seriously one of my favorite memories of all time!

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO HAVE YOUR WEDDING AT WARRENWOOD MANOR?

SO MANY REASONS. The house. The barn. The farmland and cows surrounding it. The staff was incredible. We could all be there the day before to set things up and could all be there getting ready together the day of! The rooms in the house are the picture of what I’d always dreamed of getting ready in and the groomsmen would all be there on-site and accounted for. Finally, the barn made my country glam wedding Pinterest board come to life and the ceremony site was exactly how I’d pictured it!

How did you personalize your Country Glam wedding day?

We had a friend do our flowers and coordination, another friend made our food, and my preacher of over ten years did our ceremony.
The flower girls threw dried flower petals I saved from every single time Jimmy had gotten me flowers while we were dating.
I had special pins on my bouquet in honor of my grandmothers who couldn’t attend.
We spent a lot of time selecting music that we love.
Jimmy’s mom makes homemade soap and she had Jimmy and I come up with a special blend for party favors at our reception.
My dad always drinks Miller High Life beer, which is known as the “champagne of beers”. Since neither Jimmy nor I like champagne, so we toasted with Miller High Life instead.
I knew I wanted a farm setting with rolling hills as the backdrop for the ceremony. So we tried a never-been-done ceremony spot and it worked out great! The cows even moo-ed amen!

OF ALL THE BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS OF YOUR WEDDING DAY, WHICH DO YOU CHERISH THE MOST?

I will always remember walking toward the ceremony with my dad. As we rounded the corner, I saw Jimmy waiting for me at the altar. We didn’t do a first look so this was the first time seeing each other that day. It was beyond perfect. This memory still makes my heart mushy.

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

Probably the dance floor and the impromptu karaoke. (I just have to interject here to explain to you how much fun Abby & Jimmy had. At one point, Abby grabbed the mic to flawlessly rap Cardi B. It was amazing. Hahaha)

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A NEWLY ENGAGED COUPLE STARTING THE WEDDING PLANNING PROCESS?

You will not have enough money (or frankly energy) to make this thing perfect. Pick the things that are important to you and focus on those things. Think about how you want your day to feel and less about what other people think of it.