Kansas City Wedding by Becca Spears
Up next is a farm fête captured by Becca Spears that just needs a category all of its own. It's all the things we love about weddings down on the farm - the barns, the scenery, the casual elegance but the twist comes in when you see the ceremony in the stables. Think twinkling lights and styled ceremony backdrops. It's a combination that SMP dreams are made of, and you can see it all right here.
From the Bride... We decided very early on that our priority in planning was to be able to include and involve as many of our favorite people as possible — and to give everyone a taste of the our favorite parts of Kansas City. We had uncharacteristically warm weather for March, and even though it had rained all week long, it was sunny and 80 degrees on our wedding day! So perfect! Our wedding took place at 6 p.m. and I had really hoped the sun would have set so the room where the ceremony took place would be mostly lit by candles. We even bought shades for the windows to make sure this would be the case. Somehow the shades were forgotten and never pulled ... and that was the best thing that could have ever gone wrong. The way the stable looked for the ceremony was just dreamy. It was kind of hazy, with the light pouring in through the windows. I couldn't have imagined it more perfectly. We both had eight people standing up with us, and each person was equally as instrumental in our lives. We wanted to make them feel special. I love shopping at antique stores and vintage markets, so I decided I wanted to find a locket for each of the girls that would remind me perfectly of them. Then I had a local jewelry designer, who was also a friend, put all of the lockets on chains that looked similar and were the same length. My fiance, Will, decided to do the same thing for his guys. Each groomsmen got a personalized set of cufflinks (the ringbearer got some amazing Spiderman ones).
I also love details. I bought wire from Michael's and hangers from Target and made personalized hangers for each one of them. Our centerpieces were wine bottles that we painted white, gold and silver and filled with flowers. My favorite touch on the tables, though, were the table names. Will and I named the tables after our favorite places/things to do in Kansas City, and each one also had a description of why we love that place so much. "Jardine's," for instance, is a jazz club in Kansas City where he took me on our first date. Another detail I loved was the gold doily place setting that everyone had at their seat. We kept the Kansas City theme with our food. Since KC is known for it's BBQ, we catered in our favorite meats from our three favorite local BBQ places (Oklahoma Joe's, Jack Stack, and Arthur Bryant's) so that people could try them all side by side. We also hired a caterer, The Gourmet Grocer, to make some amazing things to go along with that! Will loves cake more than anything in the world, so when I realized our budget was running low and we still hadn't picked a groom's cake, we decided we'd have the caterer decorate one of our sheet cakes. He LOVES traveling, so a map was appropriate. We did an outline of the world and then marked the places that were important to us: Kansas City (where we live), Nashville (where I lived when we met and started dating), Fort Worth (where Will went to college), Paris (where we got engaged), and Costa Rica (where we were going to honeymoon).
I am a singer/songwriter and lived in Nashville for nine years. I just moved back last year to be with Will! Seven of my eight bridesmaids are singers and so they all got up and sang surprise songs at some point during the reception. That meant so much to me and might have been my favorite part of the evening! And now, about my shoes. Two of my bridesmaids were friends from growing up in Kansas City and the other five were all Nashville friends. One of my KC friends was helping me to find shoes — I wanted something fun, but comfortable. She ended up sending me a link to a pair of shoes that I couldn't decide whether I loved or hated. They were either amazing or completely ugly. I decided to poll my Nashville friends to see what they thought, and not one of them responded. My feelings were pretty hurt because I had also mentioned how much I wished they were in the same place so that I could be planning with them. Anyway, I just assumed they were too busy and forgot about it. The very next week I flew to Nashville for a shower, and those shoes were on top of my cake. Apparently, one of my bridesmaids had already bought them to put on top of my cake when I had sent the email out the week before, and all of the other Nashville girls knew she had gotten them, so no one could figure out who had told me or why I had emailed them a photo of those exact shoes out of the blue. It was meant to be. I guess they weren't ugly after all. Or maybe they were. :) Who knows. I loved them.
Wedding Photography: Becca Spears / Wedding Venue: Mildale Farm in Edgerton, Kansas / Floral Design: Marianna Hendrickson of Bergamot and Ivy / Catering + Wedding Cake: The Gourmet Grocer / Band: Barclay Martin Ensemble / Wedding Dress: Tara Keely / Bride's Shoes: Vivienne Westwood by Melissa / Bridesmaids' Dresses: Dessy / Bridesmaids' Necklaces: Antique & Vintage Stores (Lockets) + Kathy Logan Jewelry (Chains)
I also love details. I bought wire from Michael's and hangers from Target and made personalized hangers for each one of them. Our centerpieces were wine bottles that we painted white, gold and silver and filled with flowers. My favorite touch on the tables, though, were the table names. Will and I named the tables after our favorite places/things to do in Kansas City, and each one also had a description of why we love that place so much. "Jardine's," for instance, is a jazz club in Kansas City where he took me on our first date. Another detail I loved was the gold doily place setting that everyone had at their seat. We kept the Kansas City theme with our food. Since KC is known for it's BBQ, we catered in our favorite meats from our three favorite local BBQ places (Oklahoma Joe's, Jack Stack, and Arthur Bryant's) so that people could try them all side by side. We also hired a caterer, The Gourmet Grocer, to make some amazing things to go along with that! Will loves cake more than anything in the world, so when I realized our budget was running low and we still hadn't picked a groom's cake, we decided we'd have the caterer decorate one of our sheet cakes. He LOVES traveling, so a map was appropriate. We did an outline of the world and then marked the places that were important to us: Kansas City (where we live), Nashville (where I lived when we met and started dating), Fort Worth (where Will went to college), Paris (where we got engaged), and Costa Rica (where we were going to honeymoon).
I am a singer/songwriter and lived in Nashville for nine years. I just moved back last year to be with Will! Seven of my eight bridesmaids are singers and so they all got up and sang surprise songs at some point during the reception. That meant so much to me and might have been my favorite part of the evening! And now, about my shoes. Two of my bridesmaids were friends from growing up in Kansas City and the other five were all Nashville friends. One of my KC friends was helping me to find shoes — I wanted something fun, but comfortable. She ended up sending me a link to a pair of shoes that I couldn't decide whether I loved or hated. They were either amazing or completely ugly. I decided to poll my Nashville friends to see what they thought, and not one of them responded. My feelings were pretty hurt because I had also mentioned how much I wished they were in the same place so that I could be planning with them. Anyway, I just assumed they were too busy and forgot about it. The very next week I flew to Nashville for a shower, and those shoes were on top of my cake. Apparently, one of my bridesmaids had already bought them to put on top of my cake when I had sent the email out the week before, and all of the other Nashville girls knew she had gotten them, so no one could figure out who had told me or why I had emailed them a photo of those exact shoes out of the blue. It was meant to be. I guess they weren't ugly after all. Or maybe they were. :) Who knows. I loved them.
Wedding Photography: Becca Spears / Wedding Venue: Mildale Farm in Edgerton, Kansas / Floral Design: Marianna Hendrickson of Bergamot and Ivy / Catering + Wedding Cake: The Gourmet Grocer / Band: Barclay Martin Ensemble / Wedding Dress: Tara Keely / Bride's Shoes: Vivienne Westwood by Melissa / Bridesmaids' Dresses: Dessy / Bridesmaids' Necklaces: Antique & Vintage Stores (Lockets) + Kathy Logan Jewelry (Chains)