Kenneth and Madison's Wedding in Lake Ozark, Missouri

My parents have a big building on the property that we call the "barn" but really it's just a big renovated garage/warehouse that we like to party in and play shuffleboard, but also it's where we park the RV and store random stuff.

We knew that by not going with a traditional wedding venue, there was going to be a lot more work and a lot of weird tasks. For example, we had to figure out how to get portable toilets in there that wouldn't feel like portapotties, deal with parking on a very small residential street, find a place for the caterers to store food and stage, and on and on. So basically, we were totally in over our head.

Our first (and best) decision was to hire wedding planner extraordinaire Holly Davidson from Simple Elegance. I don't even know where to begin and end with my praise for that woman. She clearly had so much going on being a wedding planner in the midst of COVID (and a mom and a regular person) but she was just consistently ON IT at every step of the way like a god damn superhero. Also, she was a joy to work with and I'm genuinely sad that I don't have a good excuse to hang out with her during our monthly wedding planning calls anymore.

Seriously, even as curevball after curveball was thrown our way, she just handled it and got shit done. (Sorry if I shouldn't cuss in this? I figured that is a "real" wedding thing, so it's probably cool?) A few days before the wedding, the forecast was showing huge thunderstorms during the entire wedding day. This was rough because the entire ceremony was planned for outside in a grassy (AKA potentially muddy) area, and the reception was supposed to be open air in the barn with dancing outside under the stars. To put it lightly, my fiance, my parents and I were all stressing the fuck out.

But not Holly! Or if she was, she hid it well. She worked closely with Andrea Deschaine, our event designer and florist (from Branches & Twigs and Ultrapom Rentals in Leawood, KS) and they just handled things. On the morning of the wedding, the weather was looking better, but still iffy. For anyone familiar with Midwest Fall weather (or kinda any season out there), you'll know the weather changes really quickly so you're kinda SOL making any plans. But alas, it looked at least like the grass was going to be too muddy to have the wedding in front of the beautiful gazebo that my parents specifically built for the wedding, so we decided to move it over to our driveway instead. Andrea got to work making it beautiful, only for us to switch things up again and decide only a few hours before guests were set to arrive to go back to Plan A. (Wow, writing this out is really making me think about how difficult we were as clients. We need to tip those ladies more!)

Unfazed, Holly, Andrea and their teams switched gears again and created an incredible ceremony setting, the likes of which I'd only seen in magazines or RomComs. It's really hard to explain, but the vibe was magical. And then I got to marry the man I'd waited for for so long, in front of 100 of our closest friends and family, officiated by my aunt (who recovered from Stage 3 cancer during COVID) in truly the most breathtaking scene overlooking the lake and the home my grandparents had until they passed away.

It's hard to pick my favorite part, so here are some options:

I really wanted to include my Grandma June (who I get my middle name from) in the big day, but she passed several years ago. So my plan was always to wear her beautiful 1950s wedding gown. The problem is, she legit had a 19-inch-waist! Well I clearly didn't get that gene from her, because I tried it on and it wouldn't get over my shoulders. So instead, I took some of the lace from her dress and Emily Bridal salon in Kansas City turned it into this super cool, vintage-inspired birdcage veil that I absolutely loved!

Another favorite is when Kenny (my husband) and I totally crushed it on our first dance! We were very nervous because there were two lifts involved but it went great! That is until I got the pictures and my astute sister in law pointed out that I clearly had a nip slip in our grand finale pose. I asked our photographer to edit them out of future pics (that was just our sneak peak) but so far no one else noticed at least! And whatever, cause #FreeTheNip.

Our adorable baby flower girls, one of whom is named after me, were perfect angels the entire day. That is, until Kenny and I tried to hold them for photos, at which point they screamed their heads off making the most hilarious photos.

Our dog Brady served as Best Boy in the wedding, but stopped to take a pee on a lighted tree during photos. You could tell he really got the gravity of the day.

We did a voicemail guest book where our guests could call in with this cool vintage phone and leave voicemails for me and Kenny, which were then all compiled and put on a record by FeteFone. Listening to those in order was hilarious as you could hear people getting drunker and drunker throughout the night.

But really, one of my absolute favorite things of the day, besides the whole actually getting married part, was my dad's ugly cries! I realize that sounds insensitive, but if you saw the pictures you'd know that any reasonable person would just laugh at that. (During our first look photos , he really just looks like a toddler having a temper tantrum.) He is known for being an ugly cryer, but this was a new level. And it basically never stopped the whole night! To be fair, it was also his 65th birthday that day, so he had a lot of feels all around.

All in all the day was very different from what I expected even a few days before the event, but I wouldn't change a thing. Some things got messed up, and some things were so unbelievably beautiful that they seared in my mind forever. I am so grateful to everyone for giving us this day. We're so lucky.