Lori Y.: A Color for Any Season

Mother of: Ashlyn

Wedding locale: The Quarry in Knoxville, Tenn.

Vibe: Semi-formal destination wedding

Dress: Betsy Adam from Dillard’s

Her daughter chose a champagne hue for the bridesmaids, so Lori ordered a mother of the bride dress to match. “At first I thought I needed to blend in with the colors in the wedding, even though my daughter didn’t care what I wore.” Lori changed her tune when the pale dress arrived. “It was awful. I realized that I needed to wear a color that I felt good in, no matter the colors of the wedding.”

Lori says she looks best in jewel tones. “I shopped at Christmas time for the May wedding because the stores had more of the colors that were good for me.”

She found her dress in person at Dillard’s: a navy, floor length, figure flattering dress that dipped off of one shoulder (shop her dress). “I loved the dress, along with my makeup and hair that day.”

A perfect dress for a perfect day. Her daughter Ashlyn started dating Steven in the ninth grade. They attended different high schools in the same town but went to church together. They dated long distance while Steven played football at Western Kentucky University. Ashlyn graduated from the University of Florida.

For their storybook wedding, Ashlyn and Steven chose a marble quarry in “The Marble City” itself, Knoxville, Tenn. Most of the guests came from Florida and Kentucky. The ceremony took place outdoors with a backdrop of canyon rock and greens. “God cleared the rainy skies, and the ceremony was perfect,” Lori says. The reception took place indoors, with views of the stunning landscape. The biggest surprise, Lori says, came at the very end of the evening.

“My daughter wanted bubbles but didn’t want people blowing bubbles for pictures. So, everyone had a bubble gun. It created thousands of bubbles and a very magical exit!”

| Photography by Kennedy Photography