Weddings make my heart happy, and this special day? Well it’s managed to make my heart actually jump for joy, I mean JUST LOOK AT THAT PUP! With Mike Cassimatis Photography behind the scenes snapping up every sweet second, we’ve got every bit of this big day waiting for you in The Vault!
From Mike Cassimatis Photography…Tayla and Andy are two of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet and their Boston Terrier, Wesley, is the ultimate American Gentleman. The couple lives in NYC but had their wedding in their hometown of St. Louis, Missouri at the World’s Fair Pavilion in Forest Park. The location was special to them as that was where Andy proposed.
From The Bride…Andy and I met and fell in love in St. Louis, Missouri. We relocated to New York, NY two years ago, following career opportunities. We loved (and still love) both St. Louis and Forest Park, but have really grown as couple in NYC. We wanted our wedding to represent both. I wanted the styling of the wedding to be elegant and sophisticated like a NY/black tie wedding (tuxes, formal/classic wedding dress, reception design, long/elegant bridesmaids’ dresses), but also with a sweet, Midwestern side (focus on flowers, nature and family). Forest Park was a very special place to us, and our Boston Terrier, Wesley, while living in St. Louis, so we wanted everything on our wedding day to be in the park, and for Wesley to be a part of it too. I wanted the color pallet to be muted (ivory, champagne, blush) except for the flowers. I wanted those to really pop!
Our Boston Terrier, Wesley, was an honorary groomsman. Andy & his family are Croatian, so we wanted to include details & traditions unique to their culture. Our wedding merged two beautiful cultures – American and Croatian, and we had touches throughout the day to represent both, and also who we are as a Midwest raised, northeast living/working couple. We had a traditional & BEAUTIFUL Croatian dessert bar full of homemade Croatian/American desserts, which were all made and contributed by Croatian families/friends. The best man also performed the traditional rakija canteen passing (homemade rum brandy in a hand carved canteen from Zagreb, Croatia). Our ceremony was completely written by Andy and me to represent who we are as a couple with portions in both English and Serbo-Croatian. My uncle married us (who we’re both very close to). Our guest book was a beautiful black and white coffee table book containing photos of NYC, and in lieu of wedding favors we made a donation to Forest Park Forever, the not-for-profit that supports the park we love and were married in.
My favorite moment was doing the traditional Kolo dance with my family, my new husband and his family, while holding hands and dancing in a circle to Croatian music. To me, that was the first moment that our marriage and the union of our families felt real! My favorite crafted details were the GORGEOUS floral wreath that hung over our dance floor at the reception, and the two handmade wooden boxes we used for our unity ceremony (special bottle of wine & cards written to one another were placed in the box to be shared on our 1 year anniversary) and the card box at the reception. Both were made from a member of my family who is a very talented woodworker.
Pick the one or two things that really mean the most to you when you start planning and only allow yourself to stress (if need be) over those one or two things! To experience completely stress-free wedding planning is rare, but if you remember what you truly care about the rest of the planning seems easy. For me, it was the music and the flowers. As long as we got those right, I was confident everything else would fall into place.
Photography: Mike Cassimatis Photography | Event Planning: Kristin Ashley Events | Floral Design: The Special Event Florist | Cake: Sugaree Baking Company | Stationery: M. Haley Design | Ceremony Venue: Forest Park | Reception Venue: Catering St. Louis | Catering: Catering St. Louis | Hair + Makeup: DanielleStyle | Band: Griffin And The Gargoyles | String Quartet: Rosewood Ensemble | Transportation: JED Limosine | Film Processing: Indie Film Lab | Rentals: Exclusive Events, Inc