What do a pre-road-trip oil change, beach-combing for shells in Florida, and a Kentucky farm have in common? They all led to wedding bells for Blair and Bryan Howe! On May 18, 2024, the couple said “I do” in front of their loved ones in an atypical vow-free ceremony with multiple maids of honor. The bride even wore a blue wedding dress!
But wait until you hear how their love story began.
Believe it or not, Blair met her future husband when she was only 16 years old. However, the pair didn’t start dating until nearly four years later … all thanks to an oil change.
“I went to high school with his little sister,” Blair explains, “and their family invited me on a camping trip.” She agreed to join them on the outing but was adamant about changing the oil in her car before making the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Red River Gorge. Fortunately, her friend offered the services of her older brother — and Blair’s future husband — Bryan Howe.
“That’s how I met him,” Blair recalls. “I just went over to their house to get my oil changed and saw this gorgeous, tall glass of water! I was in love for three-and-a-half years until we finally started dating.”
Fast-forward to April 2022, when the couple headed to Bryan’s mom’s house in Florida for spring break. They took a boat to an island off Shell Key, a 1,828-acre archipelago preserve at the mouth of Tampa Bay. “People go to collect shells there, and there’s this little bush … where people find shells with holes in them and put them on the branches,” Blair says, adding that she grew up searching for shells with her nana in New Jersey and loves the hunt.
After spending a couple of hours collecting shells, Bryan presented Blair with a handful of his finds — with one facedown. Pointing out this particular shell, he said, “I think this is a pretty one, but I really like what’s underneath it.” He lifted the shell, and lo and behold, an engagement ring was sitting just underneath it.
“I had no clue!” Blair exclaims. “I didn’t expect it, and I didn’t know it was real until I turned around and [saw that] his mother was videotaping it. I wish I could remember everything he said, but I was shocked. The last thing he said was, ‘Will you marry me?’ I was like, “Yeah, of course I will. That’s a silly question to ask!”
Once they started researching venues, a close friend invited them to look at their property for consideration. “It’s a nice-sized field in the back of their house, and it’s this perfect square area with a fire pit,” Blair says of Gatewood-Purnell Farm in Fisherville, KY. “We left that day, and we were like, ‘This is where we’re going to get married.’”
Every detail of the occasion was carefully curated to reflect a bit of both the bride and groom. Bryan tends to lean toward monochromatic hues, whereas Blair loves pops of color.
“Anytime I went to a bridal shop, I just didn’t like the dresses I saw,” she tells us. She decided to walk down the aisle in a one-of-a-kind wedding gown rather than settle on something she wasn’t over the moon about. To create the perfect dress, she turned to a seamstress she’d worked with once before.
I showed her visions of lace with flowers and bright colors,” Blair says, adding that she tends to shy away from white clothing and wanted to do the same on her wedding day. The seamstress felt confident she could fulfill Blair’s wishes for a blue dress — and she came through. “The skirt underneath was pre-made,” Blair says, “but … she measured me and made the sleeves and the bodice and the cups and everything, just from looking at a sketch.”
The two were wed on the farm in front of 110 friends and family members — including six maids of honor and six best men. “We didn’t want to put the stress of the traditional expectations of that job on one person,” Blair explains, “and they were all equally important.” One of the best men was Bryan’s brother, who also officiated the ceremony.
The moment Bryan saw his bride walking down the aisle in her unique gown, he burst into tears — and it’s one of Blair’s fondest memories from that day. “He was a blubbering, sweet little mess,” she recalls. “He was crying, and I was trying not to cry. That was probably my favorite moment.”
The couple decided against doing vows — not only because Bryan has stage fright but also because they simply didn’t feel it was necessary. “We do a really good job of telling the other how much we love and appreciate the other person on a regular basis,” Blair says. “It didn’t feel like something we had to … put into words.”
After the ceremony, the Howes and their guests enjoyed a buffet of Southern fare from Momma’s Mustard, Pickles & BBQ. For dessert, the two-tiered cake and a variety of cupcakes were available on a table beautifully decorated with eucalyptus, the bride’s favorite plant. After the food and drink, the new couple celebrated their nuptials with a night of dancing.
“At the end of the day, I just wanted a big party for all of our favorite people,” Blair says. “That’s really all we wanted.”
Thanks, Blair and Bryan, for sharing your day with us.
RESOURCES
Wedding Gown: Tabitha Yaa Fosua
Photography: Michelle Bordenkircher
Florals: Costco and Publix
Venue: Gatewood-Purnell Farm
Cake: Matt Laukhoff
Officiant: Michael Bordenkircher
Groom and Wedding Party Attire: Amazon and Azazie
Hair: Jerry Robertson
Makeup: Kayla Greenwell
Catering: Momma’s Mustard, Pickles & BBQ
DJ: Mark Kleiner
Rentals: Rent & Rave
**********
For more wedding inspo, head to our wedding archives HERE!
