This next year BRS and I have many weddings on our calendar prior to our big day!  It is such a fun season of life and we are so glad to have the chance to celebrate these special times with our dear friends and family. As these weddings come up I’ll be featuring these precious brides and grooms and their wedding day details here on “From Madi to M.R.S”!

Today’s wedding is one that I hold near to my heart for many reasons.  This gorgeous bride, Amy, is the daughter of my father’s best friend, Danny. For many years I have looked up to Amy and have held her as a role model. Watching her love story with Brian unfold has been such a joy.  Because our families are so close, we have always felt like family and the crazy/wonderful thing is…in just 5 months we WILL be considered family! Now how exactly does that work? Amy is also Bret’s cousin! It’s a complicated web of connections, that is for sure, but I couldn’t be more excited to be related to such great people.

Amy and Brian’s wedding may be the prettiest thing to ever hit “From Madi to M.R.S.”. Their ceremony took place in the bride’s family’s church, Second Baptist , and the reception was held at the Hilton President in downtown Kansas City. Everything about this day was elegant and celebratory.

How did you meet? : Brian and I met 5 years ago as students at the University of Kansas.  We had a few mutual friends and hit it off immediately!

Wedding Date : May 19, 2012

Three adjectives to describe the day : Classic, timeless, and fun!

Tell us about the special touch you included for your guests : Kelly Rose, also the day-of-assistant to Patti Gehring, put together hotel welcome bags for our guests that had traveled. They were a fun way to let our guests know that we appreciated them traveling to celebrate with us! The goal was to include items that were meaningful for Kansas City and we were so happy with the way they turned out! Kelly helped us put together a booklet of information that our guests could use throughout the weekend. It included directions to the ceremony, a weekend itinerary, restaurants in the area, as well as things to do around Kansas City. The bags were filled with lots of goodies including, Boulevard Brewery beer, Topsy’s popcorn, Russel Stover chocolates, Boulevard Brewery snack mix, Gates BBQ sauce, sunflower seeds, KU mints, bottles of water, and Tylenol.

What did the morning before your wedding look like? : Brian treated his groomsmen and ushers to hot shaves in the morning before having lunch and getting ready at the Hilton President. All the women had hair and makeup done [by Jill Kinsey] at my parents’ home before heading to the church. We didn’t start getting ready until noon for the 5:00pm ceremony. It was nice to sleep in that morning and even get in some yoga!

What inspired the style of your wedding day? : I feel like I had a clear vision of what I wanted my wedding to look like since I was a little girl.  It was amazing to see it actually come together!

Tell us about finding your dress : It was a little stressful! I went in knowing exactly what I wanted, however, when I tried that style on it was just okay. I had to adjust my expectations and keep an open mind while trying on every possible style before deciding what I loved best. Amy wore a a beautiful style by Rivini, purchased at Laura’s Couture Collection in Kansas City.

What was your favorite vendor that you booked for your big day? : I don’t think I can pick just one! First, I’m so pleased we chose to have a wedding coordinator. Patti Gehring [Patti Gehring Signature Weddings] allowed us to have stress free planning and a stress free wedding day! She set us up with all wonderful vendors who worked together to make our day perfect.  I could relax knowing that all the details were in place and all I had to do was show up on that day and ENJOY! I also think that having a good photographer and videographer are key. I am blown away with the work Freeland Photography and Creative Video did to document our day. And of course I have to mention the cake from Kay Benjamin at Take the Cake KC! It was important for us to have a delicious (and beautiful) cake because wedding cake is the only reason my Dad goes to weddings (yes- even his daughter’s :)  )

Any budget splurges? : I got a little carried away on flowers. They were just so beautiful and nothing sets the tone and mood like beautiful decor! Our florist, Craig Sole, exceeded my wildest expectation and it was worth every penny!

Favorite memory from the day : I had an emotional moment right before walking down the aisle. I was standing in the back of the church with my Dad, looking at my bridesmaids who were about to walk down the aisle, and just knowing that not only was my groom waiting for me at the other end, but that we would be surrounded by our family and best friends. I was overcome with incredible gratitude and was reminded how lucky I am to have such wonderful people in my life.

What was the best part of wedding planning? : For me, the best part of wedding planning  was that we had a longer engagement (15 months) and that wedding planning did not consume us. We were able to do little bits at a time without it getting overwhelming. Also, the quality time I spent with my Mom! I live in Arizona so every time I was back in Kansas City my Mom and I had some fun, marathon wedding weekends!

What was the hardest part of planning? : I think the worst part of wedding planning is the guest list! We wanted to have a big wedding and include everybody, but had space restrictions at our venue. We ended up inviting more people than the venue could seat, which caused a little stress as RSVPs were coming in. With May being such a busy month we had quite a few regrets. Our final guest count worked out to be a perfect number!

Any advice for fellow brides? : Keep the big picture in mind.  While a wedding is very special and fun, it only lasts for one day.  Your marriage and relationships are what is important and what will last forever.

To Mr. & Mrs. Hood ::

Everything about your day was stunning and the love between you both is such a beautiful thing. I am so thankful we were able to join you on this special day! As we prepare to “officially” become family members, I can’t tell you how excited I am for the many memories we will share together in the coming years! You both mean so much to us!

With love,

The Reid Family

**One of my favorite parts about this post was the last piece of advice from Amy.  It is so true!

Click here for the preview of Amy and Brian’s wedding film produced by Creative Films. Enjoy!

Photographs used in this post were taken by Freeland Photography and Madi Reid.