Matt & Cindy’s Circus Wedding

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Photographer: Allison Wonderland Photographie    Ceremony Venue: Kansas City Downtown Library Rooftop    Reception Venue: Foundation Event Space    Coordination: Come Join Us    Gown: Lucia’s Sarto    Menswear: Paolini Garment Company    Invitations: Whiskey Design    Cake: Dolce Bakery    Florist: Hitched Planning & Floral    Hair: Ryon Matthews    Makeup: Abby Lugo    Officiant: Timmy Gibson    Catering: Cheeesy Pops’ Pizza & Beauty & the Bistro    DJ: Jukeboxx Media    Band: Crush    Tattoo Artist: Jered Arlo Banister    Bar Service: 3 Blondes and a Martini    Photobooth: The Photo Bus    Videography: Shawn Gormley

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Matt & Cindy’s Love Story Matt and I met while working at the same advertising agency in Kansas City. We had always been good friends, even working on the same team for a while. However, we were both in relationships at the time, and it wasn’t until those were ending that we realized we had chemistry. I think both working in the same crazy industry gave us the empathy for each other’s long hours and demanding workloads, instead of causing animosity. We were both ambitious in our careers, so we both ended up starting our own companies, and ten years later, we decided we should make it official! The proposal was great! We had purchased a ring together several months before, so I knew it was coming at some point. Every special occasion I would think “This has to be it!” but it wouldn’t happen. Then, a few weeks before Christmas we joined another couple and took a limo ride around Kansas City, stopping in at some of our favorite bars. After a cocktail at Plaza III, my friends pretended to set up a photo opportunity for us in front of the plaza lights. As I turn around, Matt is down on one knee. After saying yes, we made our way to the next stop, Ca’Va, where all our friends were waiting for a surprise engagement party.  Owning my own business, I knew I wouldn’t have time to worry about all the little details with the wedding; so the first thing I did was hire a wedding planner. We are not really traditional people, and we really just wanted to have a big celebration for all of the important people in our life. All of the traditional things just didn’t feel right to us, so we started customizing the whole day into something that really fit our personalities and the vibe we wanted to have. Food trucks instead of a sit-down dinner, custom dress instead of one off the shelf, the list goes on. The way I always described it to people was street fair meets carnival. From the time people started arriving at the ceremony, until the time they left for the night, we wanted them to be smiling and having a great time. Everyone we have seen since that night says it was “The best wedding EVER!”, I think we accomplished our goal. A Few Special Pieces:  The one thing I wanted to incorporate was something from my late father, so I had the florist wrap my bouquet in one of his old ties. He had one with lions and tigers on it, so as crazy as it was, it fit right in with the theme.  Matt picked out our walk-in song for the ceremony, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and then produced a custom wood sign-in piece for our guestbook that referenced that song. It was just those little details that made everything so special. The Groom’s Favorite Part of the Day I loved that there was hardly anyone that just sat the whole night. Everyone was up, dancing, playing games, getting tattoos…. It was a true party all night. The Bride’s Favorite Part of the Day My favorite part of the wedding day was the look on Matt’s face when the surprise Bon Jovi cover band started playing! I had arranged for the band to play and he knew nothing about it until they started.