Permission or Forgiveness?

I enjoyed this wedding for many reasons. It challenged me in a way I hadn't been challenged before. You may know, I am now living in Rochester, MN. The mother of the bride contacted me from Kansas City; and therefore, we had a bit of a working, long-distance relationship. Surprisingly enough the mother and I had only two phone conversations and one meeting the day before the wedding. I have to say I was extremely proud of the bride's vision, the mother's organization, and my implementation with the amount of detail that went into this wedding.

Even better, this bride and I could easily be best friends - we love the color orange, Corvettes and are both major daddy's girls.

Let's get started! The ceremony was at Country Club Christian and was very traditional and classy. Everything was simple, black and white - with the exception of the bride's surprise orange bouquet!


Her mother's dress was remade to fit her perfectly. You have to love the uniqueness and significance of this dress.




For all you daddy's girls, I couldn't resist this picture!


And, without a doubt, I have to highlight the mother of the bride after all of her hard work. She and I worked very well together. This is how a lot of our conversations went: "Anne, I don't care what they tell you, I want 12 votives on each table." "Anne, it doesn't matter what they say, I want the Corvette parked right here!" My external answer: "Yes, ma'am!" My internal thought: "I LOVE this lady! Let's get things done!"


Gotta love the first see.



For their recessional, the bride and groom had a traditional, petal toss exit. It was great that the church allowed us to drop real petals in the aisle, which is pretty uncommon. Anticipating the newlyweds to cross the threshold, a few youngsters were waiting above in the balcony to shower them with petals! So, not only did they get petals tossed from side to side, they had them drop from above. This was one of my favorite things to coordinate. I love the little touches! (And though you don't get a great idea from this picture, just use your imaginations!)


Here is one of the 'do you ask permission or forgiveness' instances. If you can't park the Corvette on the street, why not just back it up right on the sidewalk? Our families would get along so well!


There was also a running joke/concern between the father and the youngest son of will the car stay idling - will it actually start for them to ride away in...


Success! Dad was so proud of his baby (both car and daughter)!


And now to the party! The reception was held at the Hilton President downtown where they turned it up a notch. Unlike the subtle, black and white ceremony, the reception screamed with personality in orange and green. There was a definite transition, while taste and class were never compromised. There was a cocktail hour in the mezzanine and once the wedding party arrived, the guests were escorted to the ballroom.



The flowers provided by Botanica were exquisite.



The mother of the bride gave her kids these figurines as Christmas gifts when they were young. Now they are being used as their cake toppers. Love it!



It's common today for the bride to choose something interesting and personal as her guest book. This could be a photo album, a coffee table book of their favorite city or a symbol of something important to the bride and groom. This couple chose to let their guests write notes to them and drop them in a large brandy snifter. It was a great focal point of the entry table.


And my baby of the wedding - the entry table. Give me something with great detail and you'll make my night! Another commonality between the bride, her mother and me was a love for orchids.




Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your big day. It was such a treat for me to travel to Kansas City, and your wedding night will always be one that I remember. I hope that the same is true for you and that it exceeded your expectations!

Photography - Wirken Photography. Check out Becca's blog here.
Cake - Take the Cake
Flowers - Botanica
Chair Ties - Be Seated
Transportation - Horizon Limousine
Band - KC All Stars