Bio

Melanie & Bob

We're Finally Married!!!

Somehow a weeklong rain broke for one perfect afternoon. We had the wedding of our dreams and are so happy to be married.

Melanie & Bob

Girls Getting Ready
Meeting for the first time
The Ceremony

The Reception

Our Little Work in Progress
Hawaiian Honeymoon
Vendor Info
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Girls Getting Ready
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One of my favorite vendors, Michelle Taylor, making us pretty.

Last little touch ups, running really late!

Somehow the guys had planty of time for lunch!

Meeting for the first time
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The Wedding Singer was on TV as we left for pics. We saw this movie on our first date!

Riding the trolly to take pictures downtown

Us with our Matron of Honor and Best Man

Dancing in Union Station. One of my fondest memories of the day.

Doesn't this look like it came fom a magazine?

His huge family. Five siblings all married! Cute shot of our youngest bridal party member.

My tiny family, just one brother

We had lots of kids in the bridal party. They had so much fun

My husband and his siblings. Two sets of twins! He's the only single!

The Ceremony
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Our programs and guestbook. We were still tying ribbons the morning of the wedding!

Our amazing flowers by Katherine Buss

My little cousin was too short to light the candles so her big sis helped.

Our DIY pillow

Ringbearers. I love the black converse. It turned out so cute!

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Very nervous flowergirls about to go down the aisle. I thought for sure we would lose one.

They made it!

My dad walking me down the aisle

My brother reading "Union" by Robert Fulgam

Lighting the unity candle

The new Mr and Mrs

Can you tell the boys thought the petal cones were stupid?

The guest followed us up the bridge to reception

Group shot with all of the guests

The Reception
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The turn to the house was so hard to find we wouldn't want anyone to miss it!

Little pink pails were the containers for the Candy Buffet. It was a hit! People stood in line for it!!

We had seperate favors for the kids since almost 20 attended

Centerpieces short and tall

Making it official

Classic Cakes- Andrea is wonderful!

The finished product. I was so excited to see this idea come to life. Neopolitan cake!

Being Toasted

...and then Roasted!

The dance floor light

First dance to "Oh" by Dave Matthews

Me and my Dad. He surprised me with the song he sang to me when I was a little girl. We managed to dance without practice!

Dancing with our ballroom teacher Tony

The garter and boquet toss

At the end of the night our photog put up our pics for everyone to see. Everyone gathered around the computer.

Our cherry blossom wish tree

Wreaths on the chapel doors with silver monograms. We saved them for our Christmas tree.

Tired Bride and Groom

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Our Little Work in Progress
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House Before

House After

Hawaiian Honeymoon
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McNuggets the bear was our wedding gift from our best friends. He has been on many a roadtrip with us! Two days on Oahu.

Pearl Harbor on Oahu

Our $40 per person nature hike. When we arrived the set of "Lost" had taken over. We didn't see much nature, but we did see a take of the season finale!!

Cool Shots on Oahu

We made it to Maui!

A lot of Maui remided us of Kansas

Until we saw this from our hotel room!

We got up to see the sunrise. The time change helps!

Waterfalls on the road to Hana

First rainbow we saw in Hawaii

Snorkeling at Molokini

Vendor Information
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Ceremony Location - Hawthorne House

We worked with Della and our coordinator was Adonna. They were wonderful to work with. Hawthorne House is pricey on the food and drink cost, but they have wonderful service that makes it worth every penny. Everything is taken care of for you. I felt like a guest at my own wedding. I loved that I didn't have to be a frantic bridezilla on my wedding day. Adonna kept the ceremony and reception flowing but didn't rush anything. We had a special way to have our cake plated which they did perfectly. I never had to remind anyone. The food was excellent, many compliments, and we picked the least expensive menu. No one had any idea. The DJ kept the music to our exact requests. He also put up our light and gobo which came from another vendor. I could go on and on... the perfect location for any wedding. Highly recommended.

Cake Creator - Kansas City Classic Cakes- Andrea Adams-Britt

First of all Andrea knows her way around a Martha Stewart Weddings magazine better than I do. I knew immediately that she was our baker! I cared a lot about the look of our cake, but also wanted frosting that didn't taste like a grocery store birthday cake. We had tastings with other bakers but Andrea's cake tasted as good as it looked. We didn't eat dinner the night of the tasting the little bites were so filling. I also wanted to do a neapolitan cake. I wanted a thick bottom tier with three flavors. She did this for the same per slice cost we were originally quoted. She has one price for her buttercream cake. That's it. No additions or hidden charges. She also made merienge monograms for the plates and still came in within our budget. I loved our cake. Highly recommended.

Florist - Lotus Distinctive Florals- Katherine Buss (913) 486-4523

We had a top three list for our wedding, the place, photographer and florist. I knew that great ones booked quickly so we began to look very early. I knew that I wanted modern, architectural flowers. I wanted to use cherry blossoms and wheatgrass. I also wanted a florist who would partner with me to make my day exactly what I wanted. I didn't want someone who would take over or someone who would drop off the flowers and leave for the next wedding. Katherine fit perfectly. She was immediatly in tune with my style. She took a broad description from myself and a scrapbook of magazine tear outs and created a masterpeice. She also found a way to do everything I wanted and cut the cost by $1500 when our original budget changed. She helped me to narrow down my favorite 50 flowers to tulips as our primary flower. She also dealt patiently with reworking the budget and the samples until everything worked out just right. She and her team assembled everything for the reception on site. It was an amazing task. I had tears in my eyes as I walked into our reception. Flawless. My bouquet was so beautiful I wanted to carry it all night. The pictures hardly do it justice. Every detail down to the wreaths on the chapel doors with our monograms, everything was perfect. She not only made sure that the flowers were just right but also that every table was set up just as I had wanted. The runners, napkins, and candles, everything was exactly as I had pictured in my mind for so many months. She stayed through the evening to help with anything that we needed, like helping me take off my shoes during the reception! She really was one of the people that helped to make our day perfect. I can not say enough good things about Katherine Buss, please book her for your wedding too!

Photographer - Nichols and Company Photography- Matt Nichols

We knew as soon as we were engaged that we should start looking for a great photographer. We did some research and were having a hard time. Everyone seemed to have a great website. We really didn't know how to find someone who we could trust and who would be the artist we expected to capture our day. We finally called a friend of my mom's, a professional photojournalist. She said she would have trusted Matt Nichols to photograph her own wedding. I knew as soon as we met him that he was our photogrpher too. He showed us boxes of pictures each representing a different wedding, not just a portfolio of his all time greatest shots. On our wedding day he was exactly what we expected. He took charge when we needed him to and then faded into the back to capture the day as it happened. He kept us organized and calm. He worried about the timeline so all we had to do was just enjoy. He was more than a photographer to us. He became a great friend through the process. I can not reccommend him enough. I think our day was flawless and much of the credit goes to Matt Nichols.

Videographer - Dreamscope Wedding Films- Marty Grusznis

We originally had planned to go without a video. I am so glad that we changed our minds. We just recieved our movie and are do glad we chose Dreamscope. We loved Marty the minute we met him. We loved the he creates movies not just the typical wedding video. His style is really unmatched in the midwest. We talked to many others. He was without a doubt the best. His work looks like someting you would see from a high dollar NY wedding, not something shot in Kansas. His prices are very much the same as the other videoraphers we met with in the area though, really the best of both worlds. On our wedding day, Marty was there to film our ceremony and group shots and his assistant was there for the pre wedding, ceremony, and reception. I really would have never noticed them had I not made it a point to look. They managed to just blend into the crowd and we never felt that we had to act a certain way because we were "on camera." The end product is so unique. We didn't want music that our parents would have had in their wedding video, nothing cheesy or sappy. Marty was able to find modern music that we actually listen to that still captures the emotions of our day. The best discription of our movie is to say that it is a modern music video staring our wedding. The camera is constantly moving in our movie. There is never a still shot, even during the ceremony. The shots alternate between black & white and color. He uses effects to keep it interesting, but not enough to over shadow the actual footage. We really loved eveything about it. One thing to understand about Marty's work is that it is not a traditional documentery style of wedding video. The finished product will not be 4 hours of footage. Our entire day is edited into about 40 minutes. The difference is every minute of those 40 is amazing and interesting. You won't want to fast forward through anything! I have no hesitation to recommend Dreamscope to others. Their professionalism and style leave no doubt that you will be as happy with your movie as we are with ours.

Transportation - Crossroad Tours

We used the trolley to take the bridal party downtown for pictures before the ceremony. It was so much fun. We reserved them at the last minute and are so glad we did. It was plenty of space for the bridal party and photographers to all ride together. Our driver even stayed a bit late to take all of the kids for a ride around the block. They were so excited! This company was great to work with and I felt the price was reasonable as well.

Rental Company - The Party Patch

We ordered brown cloth napkins through The Party Patch. The were polite, helpful, and everything arrived as promised.

Tuxedos - Mens Warehouse- Olathe KS

All of our tuxes arrived on time. They didn't call everyone to let them know however. We did deal with some rudeness on the phone. We also didn't receive suspenders, button covers and cufflinks with all of the tuxes. We also had one set of shoes come in too small. Overall, just OK. The price is good at the bridal show. Everyone rented for less than $75 a piece. We thought that was a decent price. Maybe they are better when it isn't prom season. B-

My Dress - David's Bridal

Cheap dress, expensive alterations. Lots of variety even if you aren't a perfect size 10. I loved my dress, but a simple hem and bustle for a sweep train cost as much as the dress. I would buy and have alterations somewhere else if I had it to do again. Shop when it's not too busy. Not the best in customer service, but not the worst either.

Bridesmaid Dresses - David's Bridal

Loved the bridesmaids dress from the first time I saw it. It flattered all of the girls who were various sizes. They came in very quickly even though we ordered a bit late. We had dresses in pearl pink and I wanted a brown wrap to go with them. We had to make the wraps though. They have a brown that looks red with their pink dresses. I would have thought that they would coordinate their collection better. Oh well! I was pleased with the dresses.

Makeup Artist - Michele Taylor

I booked Michele on the word of my photographer a week before my wedding. Had I know how indespensible she would be on my wedding day I would have booked her the day I got engaged. I had no time to do a trial so things could have gone very differently. Somehow, she knew exactly what to do. I have never had the best self image and have always been very critical of myself. On my wedding day, with Michele's help, I felt like the most beautiful woman in the room. I didn't look like someone else though, instead like the best version of myself. Her make up was comfortable and pretty and let me shine through. She also did makeup for each of my bridesmaids. Everyone was as pleased as myself. It began to get very hectic in the bridal suite as I was getting ready. She ask everyone to stay quiet so I could relax. She has a very soothing way about her. It helped me to stay calm and enjoy the moment. She also helped to style me before meeting my fiance for the first time that day. She fixed my wrap, straightened my veil and train, touched up my hair and then emptied the room so we could be alone. I felt like I had my own personal stylist who really cared that my day was perfect. We left for pictures and I would have assumed that she would leave as well. She didn't! I heard later at my reception that Michele stayed to help do set up. She not only finished tying ribbons on my much procrastinated programs, but also set up my candy buffet! I had left this in the hands of my frantic mother and aunt who seemed confused by my picture and instructions. She took the project and it was absolutly perfect. I owe so much to Michele. I would highly recommend her to anyone.

Other Vendor - Amore Dance- Tony Witt & Jessica Thompson

I loved taking lessons with Tony and Jessica. We were total beginners and on our wedding night we received so many complements, genuine complements about our dancing skill. We did a package called "sprinkle of magic." It included 8 private lessons and dance facilitation at our wedding. The private lessons can be shared with up to 6 people so my parents learned to dance also! We loved taking lessons. It was nice to have time during hectic wedding planning to focus on doing an activity as a couple. It felt like a weekly date night. The instructors were fun and so patient. We never felt stupid about our lack of skill. They went at our pace so we never felt lost. We had a choreography for our first dance but felt comfotable about getting up and dancing to other songs at the reception too. Tony and Chrissy, both teachers at Amore, attended our wedding too. They helped to get everone up and out on the dance floor. They taught our friends and family some steps and then choreographed a routine that eveyone did together. It was great! We have received so many compliments about the dancing. Everyone had a blast and many have said they should get out and take lessons too. We loved everthing about Amore Dance and would recommend them highly.

Other Vendor - A to Z Theatrical- Custom Gobo

We rented a light, stand, and had a gobo made with our monogram. We worked primarily with Mike. Everyone was so helpful and really went out of their way to make sure we got exactly what we wanted. We went into the shop to see samples when we weren't sure about the distance to the dance floor. They answered all of our questions without hesitation. The price was so much less than I expected too! Highly recommend.

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