Molly & Jonathan || Refinery Events

The Proposal

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Molly & Jonathan

Jon and I met on the dance floor at a local bar in Louisville, KY, late one night in February of 2016. Another man out on the dance floor wouldn’t take no for an answer, and Jon swooped in pretending to be my boyfriend. After pretending to be my boyfriend for the night, he actually became my real boyfriend- and we dated for 3.5 years before he finally popped the question. Although it wasn’t when we were in Paris, France on New Year’s Even like I had hoped it might be, it was just a few months later in Saugatuck, MI, on the lake, underneath the fireworks on the 4th of July when he finally asked me to be his wife. After a night of rocking out at the Lil Wayne and Blink 182 Concert in Indianapolis, we continued our trip up to Saugatuck, MI, to celebrate the 4th of July weekend, just the 2 of us. Due to the number of drinks, Jon ordered us at the concert (little to my knowledge, this was him trying to calm his own nerves about the proposal the next day), my hungover state almost ruined the proposal on multiple different occasions. Everyone is right, though when they say once it happens, it doesn’t matter when, where, or how- because the moment turned out to be absolutely perfect, and the entire story is one of our most cherished memories- and we captured it on video!

The Wedding

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Molly & Jonathan

Being a teacher, I knew I wanted to have a summer wedding so that I would have plenty of time to dedicate to planning and so that we would be able to take an extended honeymoon afterward. After getting engaged on July 4th, this day became essential to us, and we booked a venue for our wedding on July 4th, 2020. Once Covid hit in March of 2020, we knew there was a chance our wedding day wouldn’t happen. As things continued to get worse and numbers continued to rise, in May, we made the difficult decision to postpone our wedding 1 full year to July 4th, 2021. We were heartbroken and devastated. After a long year of waiting, July 4th, 2021 finally came, and it was everything we could’ve dreamed of and more.
Our rehearsal dinner on July 3rd was the most on-brand “us” rehearsal dinner we could’ve had. We hosted it at our favorite neighborhood wine bar, Vines Wine and Spirit Shop, and had Lil’ Cheezers grilled cheese food truck cater. We had a giant Board and You, charcuterie board, macarons, a fantastic Bourbon-themed groom’s cake, and plenty of wine and spirits.

The morning of our wedding day was beautiful. The sun was shining, and the humidity was low for July in Kentucky. The girls got ready with me at my house, and the guys got ready at Jon’s parents’ house in Georgetown, IN. Our dog Calvin accompanied the ladies as they got ready all morning and was dressed in the fanciest doggie tuxedo. We had a beautiful white trolly pick us up and take us to Jon’s parents’ house for bridal party photos. Their backyard is absolutely stunning and was the perfect memorable location for our first look. When I walked up behind him, I reached down and gave his booty a playful grab instead of tapping his shoulder. When he turned around, tears filled his eyes, and it was like the 2 of us were the only people in the world. The way he looked at me when at that moment was the way every bride dreams of being looked at on her wedding day.
We took some full bridal party photos, where the green from the outdoor space really complemented the bridesmaids’ sage green skirts and greenery bouquets and headed to the church in the Trolly. St. James Catholic Church in Louisville, KY, is a breathtakingly stunning church. We were married there by Father Gary Padgett, who was the most welcoming and personable priest. He included so many personal moments throughout the ceremony- like having a private moment with our families and each of our bridal party members during the sign of peace- that truly made it a unique and memorable day.
After the ceremony, the bridal party rode in the trolley to our reception venue, The Refinery, in Jeffersonville, IN. On the drive there, we finally got to let our nerves settle, have a few drinks, and practice our dance moves for the reception. We grabbed a glass of champagne from the champagne wall in the courtyard on our way in. When I got engaged, the ONLY wedding decision I had made was that I knew there would be a champagne wall – so my dad made me one, and it did NOT disappoint.
The bridal party entered T.I’s “Bring Em Out,” and Jon and I made our grand entrance as the newly married Mr. And Mrs. Shackelford to “The Greatest Show” from The Greatest Showman (one of our all-time favorite movies). From there, we headed straight into our first dance to Haley Reinhart’s rendition of “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” which was meaningful to me because I was raised by my dad to love Elvis. I danced with my father to one of our favorite classics – The Beach Boys “God Only Knows,” and Jon danced with his mother to Rascal Flatts “My Wish,” which is the same song his sister and their father danced to on her wedding day.
Jon’s father said a blessing before we indulged in our pasta bar for dinner. We used our KY Derby-themed cake cutting silverware set to cut our 3-tiered chocolate, vanilla, and lemon wedding cake, topped with the same cake topper my grandmother and grandfather used on their wedding cake in 1956 and my mother and father used at their wedding in 1987. My father, maids of honor (my sister Emma and friend Alli), and Jon’s best men (his friends Ben and Caleb) gave great speeches before everyone danced the night away to The Wax Factory Band out on the dancefloor.

Molly’s

Bridal & Formal

Experience

I had a fantastic experience at Bridal and Formal. We showed up early for my appointment, and we were able to look around and pull dresses while we waited for a room/consultant to be ready. It was in these moments that we pulled “the dress”- so without this time and Bridal and Formal’s flexibility, I may have never found it. They made room for me and my entourage of 5: my mom, sister, maid of honor, cousin, and grandma, and poured us all champagne to celebrate after saying yes to the dress. My cousin was the one who actually pulled the dress I said yes to, and she is now engaged and planning to say yes to the dress at Bridal and Formal very soon! My dress and veil were both ready for pick up within the original estimated time frame given, and pick-up went smoothly. I would definitely recommend finding your perfect dress at Bridal and Formal.
My sales consultant Courtney was absolutely amazing. After visiting 7 dress shops and trying on 50+ dresses- I was beginning to doubt if I would ever find “the one” and have that magic “when you know you know” feeling. I expressed this to Courtney, and she made it her mission to help me find it! I think everyone knew before I did when I tried on Grady by Maggie Sottero that this was the dress. My search was over! Courtney took me in the back, worked her magic with my hair up, and added earrings and a veil. We called the entourage back to see me in the veil room, and that was it! Everyone was in tears- even Courtney! It was the most perfect “Say Yes to the Dress” moment.