Bethany and Steve met while they were both out celebrating friends birthdays.  Their respective groups traveled around to different spots throughout the night and ended up at the same Philly Cheese Steak place by evenings end.  Steve made his move, and the two hit it off right away.  After a year and a half of dating over Thanksgiving weekend the couple took a trip to Los Angeles to visit some of Steve’s family and friends.  They decided to head to Pismo Beach to visit some wineries and spend time together.  While walking along and taking in the beautiful views Steve saw his opportunity, and popped the question.  Bethany had no idea he’d been sneaking around for weeks visiting jewelers, and was totally (and happily) surprised.

Who, What, Where ~~ Ceremony: Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church.  Reception: The Berg Event Space.  Photography: RPM Photography. Catering: Cupinis.  Flowers: Linda Howe.  Hair and Make-up: Cara Sue Hall.  Transportation: Carey Limousine. Coordination: Event Studio.

Bethany and Steve chose the colors garnet and turquoise, which are their birth stones, as their main color palette.  They originally planned to have the wedding in small-town Skowhegan, Maine, in the church where Bethany’s parents were married, with the reception at the Inn her grandfather built on the Kennebec river.  Logistics became a problem, so they did their best to create feelings of tradition and casual elegance in a woodsy garden setting.

Having tradition and family as part of their day was important to Bethany and Steve.  Her grandmother took flower appliques she had hand-sewn on Bethany’s mother’s dress and put them on her dress almost exactly 37 years later.  Steve wore his grandfather’s cuff links, and Bethany wore the cross pendant her mother gave her for Confirmation.

Bethany’s great uncle has married every couple in her family, including her parents, brother and sisters, and it was only natural that he also officiate for them on their wedding day.

Bethany and Steve did lots of DIY projects for their wedding including designing and printing programs for the ceremony, and ribbon wands for the church send off.

They took lots of pictures throughout Kansas City in various spots where Bethany had memories from growing up, or where they had spent time together as a couple during their courtship.

Steve is from Chicago, they both love old architecture, and they wanted to encourage a great party, so the downtown rustic loft feel of the Berg Event Space was a perfect choice for their event space.  At the reception Bethany says she was intent on giving every detail a personal touch, and did TONS of DIY projects including: butterfly place cards,  colorful pom pom decorations, fun seating chart, the hand drawn thumb print guest book, bird cage cardholder, moss covered initials for the bride and grooms chairs, and the favors which were whoopie pies in little burlap bags.  Various types of vintage vases, dishes, and silver pieces, along with old books were combined together to create eclectic centerpieces with lots of different flowers, and plants.

Bethany’s favorite part of the night:

Having so many family and friends travel to be there, my dresses and veil, the church, floral arrangements, groom’s cake, the special dances, and day-after brunch.  Also at the end of the night the last song was “Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing, and I kid you not, Steve broke out the best Swayze moves I’ve ever seen!  All our bridesmaids were circled around us, making it so special.

A big thank you to Bethany and Steve for sharing all the details of their beautiful day with us, and to the always fabulous Rachel of RPM Photography for submitting their wedding.