Kelsey + Vincent’s Winter Wedding

July 27, 2020 Nicolette Meade

Kelsey and her mom, Patty, were such a great team when it came to wedding planning. Mother and daughter were on the same page as far as style and really seemed to enjoy the process. Being a holiday wedding, they embraced the festive season so rich in tradition. Deep burgundy, gold and forest green colors gave the style a sense of elegance without getting too far away from traditional Christmas reds and greens. Accents of evergreen branches “donned” (that’s my subtle Christmas pun, LOL) the stationery suite and grounded the monogram. A subtle embossed border framed each card and the gold foil envelope liner told guests that the bubbly would be waiting for them on ice!

The reception took place at Burnham Hall in the historic Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. Vaulted, gold and white ceilings seemingly held up by massive columns along the perimeter set a tone of classic elegance. Lush white and red florals paired with evergreen stems brought the room to life along with gold chargers, interesting vessels, and so many candles! Photography by Frame 805 unless otherwise noted.

Photo by Poeme

Tell us about the proposal.

Vince proposed in October 2018 at Larz Anderson Park. The proposal was a total surprise. My friends and I got our nails done and had lunch together earlier that day (under the premise of a friend's birthday celebration), and afterwards my friend "wanted to show me a house her and her husband wanted to buy."

As we pulled up to the park, I saw Vince and our dog Bernie there. The park overlooks the river and city, Vince had flowers and opera cream cake, and it was just wonderful. He used a drone to capture the whole thing on video and from the sky. Afterwards, he told me that our families were waiting at my parent's house.

When we arrived, our extended families and friends were there as well! He had reached out to some friends from out of town, and they came in and surprised us. We celebrated late into the night.

Tell us about you and Vincent.

I am from Cincinnati (Hyde Park/Mt. Lookout area) and Vince is from a town called Minster, Ohio (about an hour north of Dayton). His mom is originally from Cincinnati though, and legend has it that our grandfathers (both deceased) knew each other a long time ago.

We met through mutual friends at Japps in Over the Rhine at the end of 2015, but didn't go on our first date until after the holidays in January. Vince is a Sales Engineer and I am Speech-Language Pathologist. We have a Bernese Mountain Dog named Bernie that we are obsessed with and we love to travel together. We just bought a house in Hyde Park which has kept us busy.

Photo by Poeme

How was your everyday style reflected in your wedding day or was it a departure from your usual style?

I would say that our everyday style is pretty simple and classic, and I feel like we incorporated our style into our wedding. Vince and I agreed on pretty much every planning aspect. The guys wore classic black tuxes and the bridesmaids wore evergreen velvet dresses.

Tell us about your wedding stationery vision and how it came together.

Since we got married right before Christmas, we wanted to incorporate the season without being "over the top Christmas-y." We settled on aspects of a wreath and greens and golds. My mom and I knew we wanted to keep it relatively traditional and formal to reflect on what the day would be like. It really came together as we got to try different ideas with Kristen. My mom also had kept wedding invitations she had liked as well, which was helpful to start with concrete ideas. Once we had the invitations planned, the extra stationery came together really easily. We wanted to incorporate our dog into the big day (but knew he was not going to be physically present at the wedding), and put his face on the cocktail napkins. It was one of the most commented on pieces from our day.

Photo by Poeme

Describe your wedding day.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, it really was perfect. We got married on December 21st and the weather was FANTASTIC! It was sunny and warm. I got ready at my parent's house with my bridesmaids, aunts, girl cousins, and grandma. The guys got ready at The Renaissance (also where the reception was). It was incredible to see all of the details and planning come together so seamlessly and the whole day felt very relaxed and joyous. We look back on it and feel so lucky to have been able to celebrate with all of our family and friends together. If we had to plan again, I honestly think I would choose each detail over and over.

What detail of the wedding did you focus on the most?

There are so many details we incorporated throughout the day that it's hard to identify one detail we focused on the most. Having a band was really important to us and my parents, so The Sly Band was one of the first vendors we picked. They were amazing! We also knew that we wanted indoor venues and we needed a space that would accommodate a large wedding. We settled on Saint Ursula Academy (where I went to school) and The Renaissance Hotel, which were great to work with.

What advice would you offer to engaged couples?

When we first started planning, Vince, my parents and I talked about our 1-2 biggest "must haves" for the wedding, which can help prioritize where to spend and where you can budget/save. Invest in vendors that you trust and communicate well, so that on the actual day, you can have peace of mind and won't worry about the little things. Have fun planning together and enjoy every second. We feel so lucky to have a great experience from our engagement, to planning, to the actual wedding day. We had such a great team of vendors that I could go on and on about, and I feel like that made such an impact on keeping us relaxed and comfortable throughout the whole process.