Kara + Andrew's Belle Event Center Wedding

October 6, 2014 Nicolette Meade

Cupid himself could not have picked a better pair! We love the story of Kara + Andrew's introduction, an instant connection between two wonderful individuals. We love how Kara incorporated her interest in the architecture and history of a space into her choice of reception venue and played one of her grandmother's favorite songs which happens to be a Christmas song at the reception! The spontaneous stop at the blue house adds a touch of whimsy and a great memory to a day full of them. Kortnee Kate Photography

How did you and Andrew meet?

My best friend Darcy and her family are long-time members of Hyde Park Country Club. Over the years, her family has made great friends with a couple of other families from the club. Darcy would always tell stories about the "Golfing Foursome Kids" and occasionally we would run into them at various parties in high school. Fast forward to October 2011 - Darcy was living in Denver but the "Golfing Foursome Kids" were growing up and getting married and she came home to attend one of their weddings. The night before the wedding, Darcy and I walked to Bangkok Bistro for dinner and decided to stop at Dutch's for a glass of wine and some girl talk. Just as we were about to leave, she got a text from her friend Andrew who was another one of the "Golfing Foursome Kids". He just so happened to be in town despite a crazy work schedule, just so happened to live right down the street from Dutch's and just so happened to be having people over to his house. Darcy really wanted to go see him but I was exhausted from a long work week and told her that I didn't want to go.

After some pressure from Darcy, I reluctantly agreed to join her but only after she promised we would only stay for one drink. We walked to his house and it was just Andrew and one of his friends there when we got there. We stood in the kitchen and talked for a while and Andrew kindly poured me a (very very strong) drink. The next thing I knew, the house was full of people and we were calling cabs to go out to the bars. So much for that quick one-drink stop! We talked off and on the whole night but never ended up exchanging numbers. The next night was the wedding that both Darcy and Andrew were going to. I got a call from Darcy afterwards asking if I wanted to go out and then informing me that Andrew, his sister and his future brother-in-law were all with her and they were already on their way to get me. I was not prepared at all and frantically rushed to get ready! This time, Andrew and I spent thewhole night talking in a corner at the bar. One of the topics of conversation was food and I mentioned that I loved Indian food but no one else I knew liked it so I hadn't eaten it in a while. Andrew didn't miss a beat and said he would love to take me for Indian food "someday" and got my number. He called the next day to invite me to Baba India and the rest is history!

How did you ask your bridesmaids to be part of your wedding?

I told my sisters for weeks that I was going to hold bridesmaid tryouts and I actually think they were a little disappointed that I didn't! In all seriousness, I knew I wanted it to be about how special they all are to me and not an elaborate Pinterest creation. I wanted to make sure they all knew how thankful I was to have them in my life and how honored I would be to have them by my side on my wedding day. I searched for inspiration for a while and eventually found adorable silver knot bracelets on Etsy along with cards (letterpress, of course!) that said "I can't tie the KNOT without you by

my side!". I wrote each of them a handwritten letter within the cards and I arranged to give them all in person... except Darcy's which I had to ship to Denver.

How much of a role did Andrew play in the planning process?

Andrew is a Merchant Marine and he is away for three weeks at a time for work, often without phone contact. This made it a little difficult for him to be very involved and, honestly, he didn't want to be involved in much. I made sure to have a conversation with him about what was important so he would be included in those decisions. He was very passionate about the cake, food and the band. He wanted to wear a tuxedo. One of the first vendors we booked was Johnny Clueless for the band at Andrew's request and they were AWESOME! I also made sure to schedule the cake and food tastings when he was home and deferred to him on those choices.

I preferred that the guys wear suits but we compromised on a fabulous gray tux that we chose together. Other than that, I did most of the wedding planning while Andrew was away at work. It was a good distraction for me while he was gone and allowed us to focus on our relationship and spending time together while he was home. He was incredibly supportive of my decisions along the way and often would respond with something along the lines of "If you're happy with it, I'm happy!" His mom and older sister trained him well!

What aspect of wedding planning did you enjoy most? The least?

I LOVED the wedding planning process! When we got engaged, a friend from high school who was recently married sent a congratulatory note and mentioned that being engaged is a magical time and encouraged me to take sure that we take time to enjoy our engagement. From that point on, I made a very conscious decision to not get anxious or stressed about wedding related things, to truly enjoy the whole experience AND focus on our relationship and engagement. And I did! I am so fortunate to have found such a fabulous team of wedding vendors that are not only incredibly talented but also great people who were so much fun to work with! I trusted them to do what they did best and they absolutely knocked it out of the park!

Truly, I don't know if there's really any part of the process that I didn't like! I will say that I got a bit obsessed with finding the "perfect" tie color for the groomsmen. I would like to think that this was the closest I ever got to a bridezilla. My obsession resulted in the ordering of about 25 ties in various different shades of "mint green" off the internet. Andrew decided to bring all of the ties to the rehearsal dinner and every male in attendance walked out with their very own tie in one of the 25 different shades of "mint green". Oh... and after all that, I found the perfect tie in the tux rental book at Carrie Karibo and never even went with any of the options I bought!

Tell us about your reception venue.

I am an architect's daughter and have always had a love for old buildings and the stories that they hold within their walls. I knew all along that the place I would someday choose for my wedding reception would be historical, intimate, full of detail and have a "story" of its own. Throughout the years I had seen various pictures of The Bell Event Centre in blogs, magazines and in social media and it was on my mental list for consideration. When we got engaged, I asked a few people who had weddings there for opinions and every response was positive. Not just positive but rave reviews! Not to mention, they all mentioned something about how amazing the food was - completely unprompted!

We are self-proclaimed "foodies" so that was very important to us. We scheduled a visit and I knew pretty much right away that we were going to book it. The courtyard outside is beautiful and we knew it would be a great gathering space for our cocktail hour if weather would permit (thankfully, it did!). We walked through the doors inside and onto the former altar and I was speechless. It was dark and intimate inside, there were candles EVERYWHERE, beautiful stained glass windows and amazing detail from top to bottom. I knew it would be a place that our guests would remember and wanted OUR story to be one thatit would hold within its walls. We could not have been any happier with our choice in venues!

What surprised you about planning your wedding?

I never knew that many shades of mint green ties existed!

In all seriousness, I was a bit surprised by how decisive I was throughout the process... except those dumb ties. I am terribly indecisive about where to eat, what to wear, and everything else in life so I wasn't expecting to be so decisive with the wedding planning! Overall, I knew what I wanted, trusted my instincts, researched the vendor before I met with them and used the meeting to confirm that it was a good fit. In all but one case, I chose the very first vendor that I met with. The one exception was actually the stationery and I broke all of my own "rules" - I didn't follow my gut, I stopped in to a store unplanned and without having researched the vendor and I knew right away that I should have just gone to Poeme to begin with!

I was also very surprised by how collaborative my wedding vendors were throughout the entire process. I constantly felt like they went above and beyond for me. They were quick to respond and flexible with my schedule, they joined me at other appointments, they were a sounding board for opinions or advice (even sometimes unrelated to their specific area of expertise) and they shared my excitement for our wedding day. While I certainly felt special at the time, I am sure they treat all of their brides that way and it is just another reason why they are all so awesome at what they do. I was so thankful that I chose such thoughtful, passionate and all around GREAT people to work with!

Tell us about choosing your dress!

What an INCREDIBLE experience! I booked a day full of bridal appointments starting with Hyde Park Bridal. From my name on the sign at the front door to champagne and cupcakes, I felt like complete royalty at Hyde Park Bridal! I had filled out a survey and spoken to Amanda a few times about what I thought I wanted and she had several gowns set aside waiting for me when I got there. Some were exactly what I thought I was looking for and others were different and a little outside of my comfort zone. I was willing to try on anything and was actually pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the ones that were SO different than what I originally had in mind.

Then I ran into a major problem... I loved every single dress she picked out for me! I had only brought my mother and future mother-in-law with me initially because I didn't think I wanted a lot of commotion or opinions. They were both great but I should have known better than to think I didn't want more opinions! I have 3 younger sisters who always had opinions (whether I wanted them or not) and at that moment, I needed them.

Thankfully, they were nearby when they got the call and came to join us. I truly have the BEST sisters in the world and I was immediately relieved when they walked in the door. I tried on all of the dresses again and when I put on the Lillen Collection gown with the veil, I started to cry. I turned around to see my sisters' reactions and I knew when I saw them that it was "the one". The dress fit me perfectly, the silk taffeta material felt like a nightgown AND it had pockets! Flattering, comfortable and useful - what else could you possibly want in a wedding dress?

It actually turns out that choosing the dress was only the beginning because then it was time to accessorize. We had so much fun pairing all different sashes and jewelry with the gown to dress it up. It was amazing how different the gown looked with each variation. I knew I wanted my accessories to be unique and, with Amanda's help, I was able to custom-design a sash with a champagne ribbon for a little "surprise" in the back and also incorporated champagne stones in the earrings and bangles. Needless to say, I canceled the remaining bridal salon appointments that day!

The best part is that I can't even tell you how many times I heard "Your dress is so perfect for you!" throughout the wedding night and ever since. I knew I wanted a gown that reflected ME and that's EXACTLY what I found. I could not be happier with the whole experience and the way that it all came together!

Did you incorporate any family traditions into your wedding?

I'm not sure if it's really a "tradition" or not but... my grandmother LOVES Christmas music and she has always loved Emmylou Harris' Christmas Time's a Comin. It has become a family anthem of sorts and some of my favorite memories are centered around our family packed in Gramma's living room singing, clapping and dancing to that song. My Gramma's happiness in that moment is absolutely contagious. I knew I wanted to incorporate it into the reception so I shared it with Johnny Clueless and they played it through an iPod right before my Gramma left. The rest of the guests may have

thought we were a little crazy playing Christmas music in April but it is a memory I will never forget!

Advice to future brides?

1. ENJOY your engagement. Take time to focus on your future marriage, not just planning your wedding day.

2. TRUST your vendors. Do your homework beforehand but once you make the choice, let them do their thing. You hired them for a reason - they are great at what they do!

3. Set PRIORITIES. Very few brides can truly have everything that they want for their wedding. Align on what is really important before you start the process and be willing to sacrifice in other areas in exchange. Not only does it prevent difficult situations down

the line but you will also appreciate those things more knowing that you made sacrifices to have them.

4. HONEYMOON! It doesn't have to be elaborate - even if it means you drive a few hours away for a night or two. It is so important to have that to look forward to in the last few weeks of wedding preparations. That time together after the wedding is truly incredible and the perfect way to refocus yourselves on your relationship and marriage.

What were your something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?

Truthfully, I didn't really plan out anything except my "something blue" but I think I ended up having them all anyway!

Old: I wore my great grandma's engagement ring on my pinky all day. It actually almost fell off during the first dance which was a little scary!

New: My dress, sash, jewelry, shoes.... a lot of things!

Borrowed: My grandma's hanky. I definitely didn't plan this one out! I am so blessed to still have 3 grandparents in my life but I especially missed my "Mutti" (my maternal grandmother who passed away 10 years ago) on my wedding day. I mentioned something quietly to my mom the morning of the wedding. She apparently called my aunt who brought over one of my grandma's lace hankies. I felt an incredible sense of calm as soon as I slid it into my pocket - it was one of many reminders I had that day that she was there with me in spirit.

Blue: I had my seamstress add my monogram under my dress in light blue. This was the only one I actually planned out!

We love the wedding photographs! We especially love the ones at the blue house. Was using this house always part of the plan? The colors go so well with all your other details.

We love Kortnee too! One of the reasons we hired her is because she has such an incredible ability to envision a beautiful image in the most unique places. I told Kortnee that I wanted our images to be colorful and fun and I left the rest totally up to her. She absolutely nailed it! Other than the first look in Ault Park, I had no idea where we would end up.

When we came down Tusculum and I figured out where we were going, I let out a squeal! The thought of using the gorgeous "Painted Ladies" never crossed my mind but of COURSE Kortnee had thought of it! I won't lie, I think we were all a bit skeptical when Kortnee pointed to the porch and we noticed that it was covered in animal droppings.

My amazing bridesmaids got down on their hands and knees and wiped down the porch with paper towels before they would let me up there... it was that bad! But we trusted Kortnee completely and the results were beyond anything we could have imagined! Kortnee could not have chosen a more perfect location for us and she captured our entire day with the utmost perfection.

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