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It’s a reverse Las Vegas wedding

howard m. snyder Herald-leader social columnist

The social scene in ­Lexington was alive and well last weekend. The doors of Floral Hall at The Red Mile were thrown open for the annual Black & White Ball, but first, a group of maybe 200 folks were in town from Las Vegas for, of all things, a wedding.

Why?

A month or so ago, at a gathering of the Lexington Public Library ­Foundation, Meg Jewett and Trish ­Truesdell, both board ­members (Jewett is the chairman), asked me about covering Trish’s daughter’s wedding. More ­specifically, the parties ­surrounding the wedding.

If The New York Times can cover a wedding in Berea, which it did last year, why not us?

So, for her friend of 30-plus years, Jewett opened the gates of her Walnut Hall Farm for the rehearsal dinner of Ric and Trish Truesdell’s ­daughter Stacie Truesdell and her intended, Justin ­Michaels. All are of Las Vegas.

Entering this storied horse farm, started in the 1880s by Jewett’s great-grandfather L.V. Harkness, was a treat. Like a bunch of curious children, just about every horse in the pasture — and there were a bunch — ran up to the fence along the long drive to the main house. The driveway had to have been more than a mile, maybe 2, through field and forest, and there it was.

I’d seen Walnut Hall in books. It looks big in photos, but it’s colossal when you’re standing in front of it. I guess the folks from Las Vegas weren’t wanting for accommodations.

Everyone was in the back yard, if you could call it that. Jewett had several tents pitched, and all of the guests were mixing and mingling as the sun set on the farm. I was still wondering why the ­wedding was here and not in the wedding capital of the world.

Truesdell said that when your family started the wedding-chapel industry in Nevada, as did her husband’s family, it’s not a lot of fun to get married in Vegas.

Another group of Nevada guests was excited about attending the wedding reception at Keeneland Race Course. But there were some local ties.

”I’m originally from Chicago, but my dad was born in Lancaster, Ky.,“ said Chris Guinchiglian. ”My grandma and grandpa had a restaurant back in Lancaster — Pearl’s.“

After Pearl’s burned, they moved to Louisville and from there to Chicago. Now Guinchiglian is a county commissioner of Clark County, Nev. ”Leave it to Ric and Trish to bring us back home,“ she said.

Folks dined on Cajun-fried turkey and herb-encrusted lamb loin, provided by Bayou Bluegrass Catering at The Red Mile.

On Saturday, Stacie Anne Truesdell and Justin Martin Michaels were married at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Lexington. Then they were off to Keeneland for a cocktail party and the reception. The folks from Las Vegas were dazzled.

Full-color Black & White

Speaking of The Red Mile, The Black & White Ball, a benefit for the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center, was at Floral Hall, or as horse people call it, The Round Barn.

Built in 1882, when South Broadway was the grandest boulevard in Lexington, it’s the beautiful white round building at the entrance of the track. It’s now a museum.

This was a party-hearty crowd of revelers. They paid dearly to dress in black and white (most of them were) and to benefit the Rape Crisis Center. This is the biggest fund-raiser for the ­organization.

Patrons sipped wine as they mixed and mingled in the historic barn, now called the Standardbred Stable of Memories, and shopped among hundreds of items donated by local businesses for the silent auction.

Over in the big tent, added for dining, dancing and a stage show, an 11-piece band called The Quack played hits from four decades.

BRCC board member Brandl Skirvin, owner of State Beauty Supply, said they were expecting about 700 people at the party.

”Last year we raised about $50,000,“ he said. ”We hope to hit about $65,000 this year. We’re having a ball.“

His company is one of the event’s major sponsors. He said that last year, ”we introduced a hair type of show to the event, and it was a huge success.“

For the stage show, they brought in Mickey Svircevic and Bradley Tuggle of Farouk Systems in Toronto. I wasn’t able to stay for the show, but a couple of colleagues told me it was unusual, with the two guys on stage with scissors putting on a highly stylized hairstyling clinic to music.

You can see for yourself: Mickey & Bradley are on YouTube.