My husband and I returned this week from the fabulous wedding of Garland H. Barr (Andy) and Carol Leavell in Lexington, Kentucky. The wedding weekend consisted of days of parties and celebrations for the 500+ guests in attendance. It was truly Kentucky at its finest. This wasn't the first time we had been out to Kentucky to visit our dear friend Mr. Barr (ever the true gentleman), attend the Derby with him, races at Keeneland, bourbon tastings. etc. but this time was that much more special because it all involved the charming Ms. Leavell. She is truly about as All American as one can be, a classic beauty in all ways. She was filled with all of the grace and charm one would expect of a rosy-checked bride-to-be on her wedding weekend. I truly enjoyed watching her taking it all in from the rehearsal dinner at the Keeneland Clubhouse overlooking the race track complete with jockey centerpieces at each table to the brunch the following morning at the Bodley Bullock House downtown. As we were walking down along a serpentine brick wall approaching the entrance to the brunch we saw Carol dash and hide in a corner so that her husband-to-be wouldn't see her as he was coming to join the brunch a bit earlier than expected. We loved remembering all of the traditions that go into a wedding weekend. Robert Clay (a close friend of the Barr family and past president of the National Thoroughbred Association and on the board of the Breeder's Cup) brought us back to his stunningly beautiful Three Chimneys Farm http://www.threechimneys.com/ truly a horse-lovers dream and home to Big Brown, Dynaformer (father to Barbaro), Smarty Jones, Seattle Slew and other famed thoroughbreds. It is one of the most beautiful farms in the country. The wedding itself was held at the Idle Hour country club. The evening was perfect and the hundreds of guests spilled out over a beautiful Southern veranda and onto the grounds of the club as music played and bourbon was poured. The bride and groom looked as happy as could be as the left the evening amidst a shower of rose petals and flash bulbs. We were happy to have been included in such a fun-filled weekend and I left thinking about how many items on The Well Appointed House website evoke true Kentucky living. If you were to do a Site Search with the word "horse" as we have done here http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=wellappointedhouse&quer... you would come up with hundreds of equestrian related items. There are too many favorites to list but here I have posted a beautiful oil painting that we sell for just $362!
For those of you who love all things horses, please do a search to see all of the wonderful home goods that we sell that will fit right in with your decor. I personally have an entire library at my home that is decorated all around our love of horses. The equestrian theme has thrived for centuries in decorating classic homes and will continue to do so for years to come. We have equestrian themed needlepoint pillows, cachepots, paintings, figures, bookends and more! Happy Shopping and best wishes to Carol and Andy Barr on their marriage and for continuing to inspire those of us who love horses!
-Melissa Hawks