Get the Look
Photographer: Pond Photography Ceremony Venue: St. John’s United Methodist Reception Venue: Rumely Tractor Event Space Wedding Coordinator: Plush Productions
Gown: Gown Gallery Menswear: Tip Top Tux Hair: Encounters Salon Invitations: Jetter Creative Catering: Delish! Catering
DJ: Elite Sounds Cake: Sweet Arts Creation Flowers: Stems Flower Market Bar: 3 Blondes & A Martini
Ryan & Lindsey’s Love Story
We met in the spring of 2007 through a mutual friend while attending the University of Kansas. We dated for two years and bonded over Ryan’s English Bulldog, Clarence. After a year of working in the real world, I decided to move to Hawaii with a couple of college friends. We both agreed that the distance would be too much, so we split. We kept in touch and remained friends throughout that time, and upon moving back to Kansas City we would run into each other at KU football games and out on the Plaza. It was about two and half years after we parted ways that they ran into each other while out with separate groups of friends. We ended up spending the entire night talking, laughing, and reminiscing with one another. After that night we both realized that there was still something there and things picked up right where they left, except this time it was even better and Clarence was glad to have his “mom” back in his life permanently.
The day before Ryan proposed he asked me if I wanted to take our dog for a walk the next day at Liberty Memorial. The weather had been beautiful all week and he wanted to take advantage of it before it suddenly changed, which it often does in Kansas City. I thought this sounded like a good idea and didn’t think much of it until the next day. Ryan rarely asks to do anything in advance. He is more of a spur of the moment person and would never plan to walk the dog a full 24 hours in advance. I was hopeful that he would propose, but then thought to myself “Nobody gets engaged on a Wednesday.” I was just sure it would happen on a weekend. So we got to Liberty Memorial and walked around a bit and played fetch with Clarence with the tennis ball. Then we made our way over to a bench to stop and take a break and I then realized that Ryan was pulling something out of his jacket pocket. It turned out to be a ring box. Ryan got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I don’t remember much of what was said in those moments, other than the first thing out of my mouth was “Are you serious?” And that was quickly followed by a “Yes!”
I knew from the beginning that I wanted to do most of the wedding planning myself. I’m fairly organized, a bit of a control freak, and pay attention to detail so I knew I could handle most of the big things on my own. I decided to hire a day of coordinator to execute everything on our big day, because I wanted myself and family to be able to fully enjoy the entire day and not worry about any of the details. The day could not have been more perfect for us. Everything went smoothly and we were even ahead of schedule in the morning while the girls were getting ready. It rained a little bit in the morning, but when it was time for the outdoor photos it was nice, cool, and overcast outside. Leading up to the wedding I was worried about the possibility of rain and being too hot, but thankfully Mother Nature was on my side that day. Everything about our wedding day was amazing. It was a dream come true to have all of our favorite people in one room celebrating with us.
Special Pieces
I wore my late grandmother’s wedding band on my right hand as my something old. I never met my grandfather, because he passed away before I was born, but he had the words “Perfect Love” engraved on the inside of the ring.
The Groom’s Favorite Part of the Day
My favorite part of the wedding day was seeing my bride’s face at the First Look. It took a lot of time, effort, and energy leading up to that day, and the second I saw her on our big day I knew it was going to be amazing. She had the biggest smile and did not look stressed at all. Every second after that was an absolute blast.
The Bride’s Favorite Part of the Day
The ceremony was definitely my favorite part of the entire day. Everything about it was perfect. Walking down the aisle with my father, realizing that the church was packed with people that were there to celebrate us, seeing my groom standing at the end of the aisle, saying our vows in front of our family and friends, noticing the beautiful flower arrangements, and taking in everything the Pastor said. Every single detail was even more perfect than I could have ever imagined. I will never forget standing up there with a permanent smile on face because I was so happy to be marrying my best friend.
