I can’t believe it’s been about 9 months since my last post – we haven’t done too much traveling in 2023 so far and I was really busy studying for my Actuarial Exam in early May, but it was so nice to put this post together. Thanks for reading! I’ve also been more active on TikTok (mostly recipes) – I’m @jess.am.7 there.

Dom was a groomsman in his cousin’s wedding in early May, so we picked up Dom’s mom and drove from Central Illinois to our Airbnb in Wilmore, KY – about 30 minutes southwest of Lexington, KY. This post is short because we were only there for about two days and didn’t have much time to explore, but we had a great time so I didn’t want to skip sharing it. There are just two sections – one about the town we stayed in and one on the wedding.

Wilmore, KY

Once we arrived, we realized we’d heard of Wilmore before – it’s the home of Asbury University, which had the huge two-week revival earlier this year that was all over the news. The town is pretty small – I went for a run and made it through the campus, all of their Main Street, and a couple of the neighborhoods. While I was running, I saw a small farmers market and a few people out walking dogs – it was a cute and quiet town to stay a few nights in. Asbury University is a Christian college and Wilmore seemed to be a very religious-oriented town based on signs we saw; it also seemed like most of the businesses – including the local cafe and the coffee shop – are closed on Sundays.

Wilmore is about 15 minutes from Nicholasville, KY – a slightly larger town that has more chain restaurants and shops. I picked up a pizza there when we got into town, and Dom went back the next morning to do a long run on Nicholasville Path, which was a very exposed (absolutely no shade) paved trail that’s about 3.1 miles (a 5K) long.

The roads in this area were very narrow and curvy, so it was a little stressful to drive around at night. We saw one person road biking during the day on our way to the wedding, but I don’t think it’s somewhere I would feel comfortable biking – the cars coming toward us felt like they were flying, so I would have been pretty scared on a bike.

Drinklings Coffee House

Drinklings Coffee House is a local coffee shop in Wilmore and we were so glad we went because it was both adorable and delicious. If you know Dom and me, you know that we love trying new coffee shops when we travel (send me your suggestions!) and Drinklings is one of our favorite kinds of coffee shops because it had such a fun and unique vibe. It’s in an old house just around the corner from one end of Wilmore’s Main Street, and still feels very house-like when you walk in – all of the rooms still exist, they’re just filled with typical coffee shop tables and chairs instead of normal home furniture. It felt similar to Leaves ‘n Beans in Peoria Heights, IL – we used to go there with Dom’s sister Olivia when she lived near it.

There were a good number of tables outside of the house to sit at – we sat at one on the house’s front porch and talked for a bit before we we went back to the Airbnb to get ready for the wedding. They also have a basket with quilts to take outside on cooler days, which was a nice touch.

All of our drinks were really good – we had an iced caramel latte, a cappuccino, and cold brew (which their website said is award winning). I don’t know that we’ll ever find ourselves in Wilmore again since we were only in the area because of the wedding and it’s not exactly on the way to anything, but if we are we’ll stop by the shop again.

Airbnb

I’m not linking the Airbnb since we didn’t love it – it was cute, but it could have been a little cleaner and since it was an older building, we could hear the upstairs neighbors walking around the whole time; it was advertised as a townhouse instead of a downstairs apartment, so that caught us off guard . We were in a bit of a pinch to find somewhere to stay since both the Kentucky Derby and University of Kentucky’s graduation were the same weekend as the wedding, so I think the area usually has more lodging options than what we could find.

We did have a bit of an adventure though – Dom’s mom left the Airbnb while I was out on my run but we hadn’t talked about how the lock worked, and when we got back we were locked out. We called the host (who was about to board a flight – thankfully we caught her right in time) and she was super nice and told us how to get in another way, but it took us a little while to figure out out – there was an additional trick to the door that we couldn’t figure out at first. We laughed about it for the rest of the trip – Dom missed the whole thing because he was on his long run and didn’t have his phone with him.

The Kentucky Castle

Dom’s cousin’s wedding was at The Kentucky Castle in Versailles, KY – about 25 minutes from where we were staying in Wilmore. The drive to the venue was really scenic – there were a lot of horses and huge houses – but there were also a couple hiccups (and this was shortly after we had locked ourselves out of the Airbnb): we had to take a several mile detour because a road was closed, and the biggest tractor I’ve ever seen turned out in front of us and went approximately 5 mph until there was a good spot for us to pass him. It was a bit of a relief when we finally got to the Castle.

The Kentucky Castle property is really pretty – there are several fountains and the Castle itself is obviously really unique. It’s a great spot for photos – there were people there taking graduation pictures, and all of the official wedding photos I’ve seen so far from the bride were gorgeous.

The Wedding

It was definitely one of the prettiest and most organized weddings I’ve ever been to – the event staff did an absolutely incredible job, and all of the waiters and bartenders were super nice and attentive. The ceremony was in a pretty corner of the property, they had speciality cocktails that matched the wedding colors (in addition to plenty of other drinks), the permanent tent where everyone gathered for the cocktail hour and after dinner was perfect for dancing and catching up with the other wedding guests, and the event room where we had dinner was stunning. One other nice touch was that the event staff had a clip-on mic for the people who gave speeches so they didn’t have to hold a mic and their notes during the speech. It was evident the whole time that they know how to do weddings and have the process perfected. Sometimes other venues feel more like a pretty building that you can have a wedding in but still have to do everything yourself, so this felt really special and impressive.

Hotel Rooms

The groom and groomsmen were getting ready in one of the Castle’s tower suite rooms – I stepped inside to say hi and the room was incredibly nice. It felt very fancy and spacious – it would be a great place to stay and relax for a weekend.

The property has about 15 rooms and they’re all very unique – they have cabins, tiny homes, and glamping on the property, as well as the rooms in the castle. Their cabins sleep 7 and are the most expensive at around $1,000 / night, but the other lodging options start at around $200-$300 and sleep 2-3 people.

Other Experiences

The Kentucky Castle also has a farm-to-table restaurant, a spa and a farm, and they offer tours of both the castle and the farm. There are also a variety of “gatherings” on property that people can book / get tickets for like yoga, Murder Mystery Dinners, and art classes. They seem to have quite a few of these over the summer and they all look really fun – it’s not something I would have expected from a place that’s primarily a hotel and event venue.

Final notes / links:

I know this was a shorter than my normal posts and it’s a spot a little off the beaten path, so thanks for reading! It’s also my first Kentucky post (and virtually our first time in Kentucky at all), so it’s always fun to get another state on our list.

Links:

• My dress for the wedding was from Von Maur / by Karl Lagrfeld Paris and is still available in a few sizes – it is so comfortable and versatile for different occasions
• The Kentucky Castle – Versailles, KY
• Drinklings Coffee House – Wilmore, KY
• The groosmen suits were from Men’s Warehouse