Zach and Kari’s wedding planned by Elite Elegance and captured beautifully by Mandy Ford Photography combines tradition with romance in the loveliest way! Plus, once you read all about their romantic and personal touches (especially what they did with their flowers after their big day), you’ll fall in love with these two as much as they have with each other.
HOW THEY MET
From the Bride, Kari – “What started as a friendship turned into something beautiful. We met as teenagers while attending the same high school. We spent our high school time as friends, making breakfast on delayed start mornings, driving aimlessly around playing music on Friday nights, and spending time creating the friendship base of what would become something worth living for. That something was the love others had seen for a while, but took us a few years to figure out. We started dating in undergraduate school once realizing that we kinda liked each other, and a great romance, partnership, and foundation began.”
HOW HE ASKED
“We met in Denver, Colorado for the weekend to get away and spend a little romantic time together playing in the snow. The next day, we ventured into the city to have a fun day and do a bit of beer and wine tasting before we had a ‘city tour’ scheduled for the evening. During the day, we passed this beautiful clock tower and I had mentioned what a cool building it was. After a day out and about exploring Denver, we got ready for our tour, which coincidentally started at the same clock tower we had talked about earlier that day. We met up with our ‘tour guide’ who took us to the top of the tower, right inside the clock, overlooking all of Denver.
When we walked out of the elevator, it was the most beautiful sight. Rose petals covered the floor, romantic music played, wine and cheese was laid out, and the lighting was perfect. The tour was actually a proposal! Zach got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him! It was an instant yes!”
THEIR WEDDING VISION
“Our wedding vision was elegance and romance mixed in with a bit of a classic and modern feel. Our ceremony took place at Lakeridge Golf Course where we had the beautiful grass, trees, and nature while our reception was held at the Nevada Museum of Art on the roof top overlooking the city. A little twist of venues but it represented us and our style and vision for our wedding so well. It was classic, modern and romantic all in one! Our colors were hints of cranberry, gold, greens, sages and plums. Very fall but very romantic and exactly us!”
THE FLOWERS (AND WHAT THEY DID WITH THEM AFTERWARDS)
“Our flowers from Blake’s Floral Design were perfect! They were everything I had hoped they would be. They were timeless but a little bit wild. The elegance of them with the slight wild addition made them utterly stunning. Our colors were so perfectly represented and they did an amazing job.
The day after the wedding, we actually went to the nursing home my grandfather was in before he passed and donated all of our flowers. We figured they brought us so much joy, if we could share that joy with others we would be lucky. It was amazing to see the residents light up as we shared our flowers with them. It is something I will never forget!”
THE DETAILS
Our wedding cake by Isabel’s Bakery was 4 tiers! The first and largest tier was a square cake of white vanilla bean cake with cream cheese mousse and raspberry filling. The second, third and 4th tiers were decreasing sizes of round cake. The second tier flavor was almond cake marbled with chocolate with an almond mousse filling. The third was a traditional spice cake with cream cheese filling and the 4th tier was the same as the first tier. We will eat it on our one-year anniversary!
For our wedding favors we did coasters! We love the bible verse “I have found the one whom my soul loves” Song of Solomon 3:4 and we used it throughout our entire wedding from our invites, welcome table, to our favors. We had glass coasters printed with the verse and our wedding date in gold lettering. We currently have them on our coffee table! They turned out so great.”
TRADITIONS
“For personal details, I did the ‘something old, new, borrowed and blue”. For my borrowed, I asked Zach’s grandmother if I could borrow one of her diamond bracelets. I wore it during the ceremony and her putting it on my wrist for me was so special. For my blue, I had a light blue garter embellished with crystals that I had made. I loved it! For something new, my mom gifted me my wedding necklace and earrings the morning of my wedding.
For something old, I utilized someone special to each of my 4 grandparents. I had my great grandmother’s bible, my grandmother’s favorite teacup, my grandpa’s boxing bracelet from his service in World War II, my grandmother’s handkerchief that I wrapped around my flowers, and my grandfather’s rosary. It was so personal and special to me to represent the people who helped shaped me and who could not be there with me physically to celebrate our big day. Having some of their personal things made it feel like they were there with me! I am so happy I was able to represent them and how much they mean to me.”
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Photography: Mandy Ford Photography // Event Planning: Elite Elegance // Floral: Blake’s Floral Design // Videography: Tony Castaneda Films // Wedding Cake: Isabel’s Bakery // Hair and Makeup: Salon Platinum Reno // Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero // Groom’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse // Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka // Bridesmaid Dresses: Jasmine Bridal // Submitted via: Matchology // Ceremony Venue: Lake Ridge Golf Course // Reception Venue: Nevada Museum of Art
