20 Fall | Winter BRIDE 2015

The Wedding of

Brandy Brewer & Katie Miller

Third Time’s a Charm

March 14, 2014

September 27, 2014

November 9, 2014

Brandy and Katie, who met in 2009 while

volunteering at the Louisville LGBT Film Festival,

have a long wedding story.

When they got engaged in 2013, same-sex marriage

wasn’t legal in Indiana, where the two live, so their

frst ceremony took place on the steps of the Thomas

Jeferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., with just a

few friends in attendance.

Wanting a more traditional ceremony that more

friends and family could attend, they planned a fall

wedding at Covered Bridge Golf Club in Sellersburg,

legal or not. As the brides walked down the aisle,

the bridal party took turns reading pieces of Plato’s

Symposium. “I love the sentiment that this is the

conversation that we’ve been having since Greek

mythology,” Brandy says. “What we’re looking for is

not our better half, but our other half. Once we fnd

that person, we’re whole.”

Brandy’s mother made the desserts served at the

reception and Katie put together a candy bar for

their guests, complete with Brandy’s favorite treats:

Sweethearts, M&Ms, Red Vines and Haribo gummy

bears. They served beverages from the New Albanian

Brewing Company and Old 502 Winery because the

local companies publicly support same-sex marriage.

Two weeks later, Indiana legalized same-sex

marriage. On Oct. 7, the couple went to the

courthouse and got their marriage license, and

pastor Tracy Patton signed their certifcate at New

Beginnings Church in Jefersonville on Nov. 9. “Our

friends joked for a long time that we just like to

get married,” Brandy says. “And I told Katie, I fully

expect to get three anniversary presents each year.”

Special touches:

• The bridal party caravaned to Hazelfeld Farm in

Wheatley, Kentucky, to collect fowers and arrange

their own bouquets and boutonnieres. Brandy and

Katie have the bridal party’s dried bouquets hanging

in their home.

• The couple used anniversary greeting cards as table

numbers. They’ll now have anniversary cards signed

by their wedding guests for the next 18 years.

Fall | Winter BRIDE 2015 2 1

Photography: Stef Perri Photography

Dresses: Regiss Bridal & Prom and

David’s Bridal

Reception and catering: Covered Bridge

Golf Club

Transportation: Jefersonville Trolley

Hair and makeup: 300 Springs Salon

and Spa

Band: Sue Riley, Angie Hopperton, Cheryl

Price and Dan Pittore

Guest Accommodations: Market Street

Inn, Jefersonville

24 Fall | Winter BRIDE 2015

The Wedding of

Parisa Danesh & Chris Clarke

Fleur-de-lis Fête

May 24, 2014

Parisa and Chris, who met as high school students in

Paducah, were together for nine years before Chris

decided to propose. He told Parisa they were going

to Indianapolis to visit her friends for the weekend.

When they got there he took her to the airport

instead, for a fight to one of their favorite places —

New Orleans.

Chris led Parisa to the French Quarter, where he

persuaded her to have a caricature of themselves

drawn. “So the caricature artist proceeds to do our

caricature and starts telling us this story,” Parisa

says. “He says he has a couple coming at 1, and the

proposal was going to be through the caricature. Then

he said, ‘I know it’s not you guys because their fight

lands at 11.’ And it was 1 o’clock. So I kind of caught

on — he was basically telling me my engagement

story.” The caricature artist drew the couple while

Chris got down on one knee.

Parisa’s a big fan of the TV show “Say Yes to the

Dress,” so she decided to make the trip to New York

City to buy her dress at Kleinfeld Bridal, the shop

where the show is set. She actually got to meet her

dress’ designer, who added custom feurs-de-lis.

To honor Parisa’s Iranian heritage, the couple had a

Persian ceremony at the Galt House after their frst

ceremony at Whitehall. During the reception, a live

band and an Iranian DJ swapped turns playing music,

bringing together both the couple’s love of music and

their cultures. Parisa remembers having a dance-of

in her wedding dress and champagne bottles being

passed around the dance foor. “It was a day that was

11 years in the making,” she says. “It was perfect. It

was a dream wedding.”

Special touches:

• Beginning with her grandmother’s gold butterfy

brooch, Parisa made her own bouquet of brooches that

all of the important women in her life had given to her.

• The couple hired caricature artists to do portraits of

guests at their reception as a nod to their engagement

story.

• Instead of a guest book, guests signed a large wood

feur-de-lis. The couple picked the design because of its

association with Louisville and New Orleans. It now

hangs in their living room.

Fall | Winter BRIDE 2015 2 5

Photography: Amy Campbell Photography

Dress: Kleinfeld Bridal

Suit: Tuxedo Avenue

Catering: RIVUE Restaurant & Lounge

Cake: Galt House Hotel

Transportation: Derby City Transportation

Hair: Allison Laipply Huestis 

Makeup: Ana Crane of Applied

Cosmetics Services

Ceremony: Whitehall House and Gardens

Reception: RIVUE Restaurant & Lounge and

the Galt House Hotel

Decor: Reliable Rentals

Band: The Downtown Band out of Nashville

Flowers: In Bloom Again

Wedding coordinator: Weekend Wedding

Warrior

Guest Accommodations: The Seelbach

Hotel and Galt House Hotel