K&J | River Market Event Place | Kansas City Wedding

July 26, 2014

Photos from Kayla and John’s Kansas City wedding at the River Market Event Place by Jerry Wang Photography.

Tell us how you first met? Who what when where why? Give us the dirty details.

John and I met online, we laugh about it now because there were so m any reasons why we shouldn’t have met. Online dating is like custom ordering a husband. I want a guy who’s at least 6’, between the ages of 20-24 and within 500 miles of my current location. John fell at the top of all the categories as a 6’2”, 24 year old who was 492 miles away from me. Despite the numbers, I knew I had to meet him and so we did- just one month after first meeting online. He drove up to Manhattan and we did something no one should ever do. Haha, we actually joke about making up a better story for how we met when we have to tell our kids. J He had to work that day so we didn’t meet up until about 10pm. Not knowing where to go, we agreed to meet at the local Super 8. We met in the parking lot, exchanged a somewhat awkward hug… actually extremely awkward. When you’re used to only seeing someone from the shoulders up on Skype, it feels bizarre to find that they actually have a body past their shoulders, haha. After that, he quickly said, “want to get in?” and gestured to his car. As a safe girl in her early 20’s, I knew what I had heard about the dangers of online dating and getting in cars with people you don’t know well. All that aside, I said ‘yep!” and hoped right in! The rest is history and almost 4 years later, we were married.

When did you know he / she was the one? Was there something he / she did?

I knew John was the one about 6 months into dating. He was the funniest, most humble man I had ever met. I remember one time he was surprising me with tickets to a concert with one of our favorite bands. We drove all the way to the venue, so excited to get in and start our night. When we arrived, we started fumbling for the tickets when we realized he had accidently left them at the house. He didn’t get angry, or frustrated, just simply said- “look at that- I forgot the tickets” and we drove all the way back to his place to get them. It didn’t spoil our night at all. You can’t always change the way things work out, but it helps to surround yourself with people who can roll with the punches and not get upset over things that can’t be changed.

Tell us about the proposal (did you see it coming, how long was it in the planning? How did you feel? Nervous, excited, freaking out?)

You could say I saw the proposal coming, but then again, you could say I saw it coming for the 2 months before it actually happened too. We knew we were going to get married and since I was finishing up my final year of school, he knew I wanted at least a year to plan it. I had done the math in my head, it had to be soon. To add the pressure, I was flying to Phoenix for the summer and we wouldn’t see each other much. The day of the proposal, I remember texting him that afternoon and asking him what he was doing. He said “work” and something inside of me said “LIES!” Haha, but I moved past it, haha. That night, his parents were coming to Kansas City so I had made arrangements to have dinner with them and my mom down at the plaza. While at dinner, we started talking about John and I remember telling them that I kept feeling like he was going to walk into the restaurant at any time!! His dad smartly responded with, “well there’s only 4 seats at the table.” And with that, I was sold. There’s just no arguing against such sound logic. After dinner, we decided to walk the plaza a little bit to take some pictures. Upon leaving the restaurant, we headed down the large Spanish tile staircase outside the restaurant. Our moms commented on a limo at the bottom and how it must be for prom. At first I bought it and then suddenly remembered it was a FRIDAY! There are no proms on Friday nights! Before I had time to add anything else together, the door opened and out popped the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on. With flowers in hand, John led me to the limo as I tried not to completely fall apart. I have to confess, I always imagined that I would have more composure that I did. That boy just gets to me. Anyway, John had arranged for my two best friends (and the best photographer we knew!!) to capture the whole moment. The actual limo proposal is top-secret, but the important part is I said yes! John even claims that I screamed so loud in the limo, that the driver probably thought he was killing me or something. I’m a girl, I was excited, what can I say? After the proposal, we went back to the restaurant where we met up with everyone and had dessert!! It was absolutely perfect.

Tell us the one thing you love most about each other.

Before we dated, when I read over his online profile, I remember the question/answer section. I don’t remember all of the answers, but I do remember one. It asked, “what have you learned from past relationships?” and to it, he said “Treat women like a princes, all the time. ALL THE TIME.” What girl doesn’t want to hear that? But John meant it. Through our whole relationship, I continue to be amazed at the way he has such a servant’s heart and loves to treat me well. He is slow to anger, quick to forgive, and even quicker to give backrubs! He stills opens the car door for me anytime we go out and truly remembers the little things.

If you feel comfortable, share with us something silly or quirky the other person does

Let me start with prefacing this story by saying John is the best musician I have ever heard. And I’m not even being biased, it’s just a true fact. J But I’m not a musician. And it’s not that I don’t try. I really do. I played the recorder, the violin, the saxophone- even the piano for 8 YEARS, yet I don’t remember how to play a single one of them. I can’t carry a tune and I can’t even clap on beat at church. Despite my musical shortcomings, John loves me anyway, but he’ll always have that talent that I just don’t have. Usually it’s not an issue, except for one thing. He whistles. He whistles everywhere and every song. There’s not a note he can’t reach, not a tempo he can’t match. In the shower… at dinner… in the car… walking around the house… every time is whistle time! As you could imagine, I can’t whistle. My whistling is like a breeze in the wind and I end up spitting more saliva than sound, while John is composing a brilliant Beethoven symphony. After 4 years together, I finally found a place I might fit in and that’s with my car percussion skills. Hit the dash, hit the seat, hit the window. It’s a different style, but it’s a start and John can even match it. What a guy.

What inspired your décor or theme?

Our wedding décorwas inspired 2 things, my dress and John’s jazz band. We chose a soft look, with some classic modern accents. Pops of white on the natural wood, concrete industrial floors, lace accents on the votives. More than anything, we wanted people to have fun and relax so we thought, what is fun? Mocktails are fun, a coffee bar, awesome Jerry Wang photo booth with props, adorable tutus for the flower girls.

What’s one thing you wish you would have known earlier in regards to planning?

How does it go, the best laid plans of mice and brides often go astray? Well, it couldn’t be more true. Working an event with so many vendors, rental facilities, etc, makes it nearly impossible for everyone to be on the same page. One advice for future brides, is don’t sweat the small stuff. And I mean that. For our wedding, all the bridesmaids had to have their dresses altered one week before the wedding, John’s tux was the wrong color with no time to reorder, the cake didn’t fit on the stand, and I ripped my dress trying to zip it up. But you know what, we had an amazing wedding and at the end of the day, the small stuff didn’t matter. The event ended and I got to ride off into the night with the man I had wanted to marry for 4 years and that’s what mattered. Oh, one more thing, eat cake. People said I wouldn’t get to eat the cake on the wedding day and I laughed at them, thinking, “you don’t know my love for cake!” and would you believe it?! I DIDN’T GET CAKE! Don’t become a victim. Eat it right there when you cut it if you have to, shove the whole piece in their mouth, just whatever you do, don’t put it down! You won’t get it back…

Vendors

Photography | Jerry Wang Photography

Video | Mullinix Media Florist |

Floral Design and More (Deb Shigouri)