Caroline and Doug

Ceremony: Chapel at Hawthorne House
Reception: Hawthorne House
Photography: Adrienne Maples Photography
Cake: Annie O's
Flowers: Branches and Twigs
Ceremony Music: Helios String Quartet


Caroline and Doug were married on October 10th, 2009. They were such a joy to work with. You could tell just how excited they were to be getting married.

Such a quaint little chapel. Just simple and beautiful.

A little pre-ceremony smooch!

I love the Uggs. It was unseasonable cold that day for October in Kansas City.

Doug and Caroline had some real troopers in their wedding party. I think they endured an hour of outdoor photos even though it was freezing out.

Caroline really did look so gorgeous. I think Doug agreed.

The table decor was very crisp and fresh. Various colors of hydrangea and lime green napkins were so bright and pretty in the Hawthorne House which is mostly white.

The first dance.

Caroline's little sister gave a speech that moved them both to tears.


The evening finished with a grand exit into an antique car with their guests ringing bells to celebrate. Doug and Caroline are the type of client make my job so enjoyable and rewarding!

Danielle

Emily and David

Danielle and I have a "November List". Throughout the year, we'd get behind or think of things we needed to update/do. We were crazy busy with weddings so we always said, "Put it on the November list". Post pictures of our weddings on our blog is on the November list, so over the course of the next month or so, we'll be doing what we're going to call our Year In Review (in no particular order).

First up, Emily and David - August 14, 2009. Emily and David are crazy in love with each other and it was so apparent all day. Their thoughtfulness and care for each other was inspiring. Emily and her mom Kay put so much time and effort into making the event have a very cohesive look and feel. Very modern and art decoish.

Church - Queen of the Holy Rosary Wea - 227th and Metcalf (by far one of the coolest churches I've worked at so far)
Photographer - Jennifer Fortin Photography
Videographer - Mike Varel
Flowers - 18 Flowers
Reception - Terrace on the Green
Specialty Lighting - Celebration Party Rental
Catering - Affordable Elegance
Cake - Spectacular Cakes

Monica with 18 Flowers did an incredible job making the flowers feel very modern by using lots of wires and really cool shaped flowers.

This church was by far the coolest church I have worked in. It was WAY out south at 227th and Metcalf and it was gorgeous! It was built in 1870 but then destroyed in 1905 because of a lightning strike. The church was rebuilt and almost near completion when it was destroyed again due to a tornado! It was rebuilt - again - and has avoided natural disasters since!

This was the sweetheart table for the bride and groom. Monica created a halo of orchids that hung over the table.

The cake was amazing. Emily and David got engaged in a gazebo so Emily's dad re-created that very gazebo which was place on the cake. He also made the cake topper and all the mirror boxes that the centerpieces sat on!

I love first dances.

The day was gorgeous and so were the bride and groom!

New Bella Pictures

The very talented Becca Spears of Wirken Photography came over and took some pictures of the store so we thought we'd share. They put my pictures to shame! Enjoy and please feel free to stop by and visit!

Danielle, me and Lauren at our Grand Opening party

Up close and personal with all the varying fabrics and colors!

Looking into the store from Oak Street.

And the space isn't just for Bella!

Recent Press

Just wanted to share some of our recent press for Bella Bridesmaid. I apologize for my poor scanning and cropping skills!

The first was an article in the October issue of KC Magazine

This second article was in last week's Ink and highlighted many of the shops on our little strip.

Check out the January issue of KC Weddings for more on Bella Bridesmaid!

We're Open!!

Bella Bridesmaid is now open for business! Below are some pictures of the finished store. We've been open for a little over two weeks and have been very encouraged by the response so far. Also check us out in Ink Magazine and on page 23 of KC Magazine!

http://www.inkkc.com/article/shop-block-63rd-and-oak-brookside#
http://www.scribd.com/doc/19821208/KC-Magazine-October

Bella Bridesmaid Open House

This Saturday, October 3rd, we will be having an Open House! Please stop by anytime between 2pm and 5pm to take a look at the new store and see the transformation, schedule an appointment or just get more information. Since we will technically be by appointment only moving forward, we are taking this opportunity to invite anyone to just stop by for one afternoon. Bella Bridesmaid opens this Thursday, October 1st and we are currently taking appointments. Our hours will be Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday - 11am-5pm, Thursday 11am-8pm and Saturday 10am-5pm. For more information please contact us at kansascity@bellabridesmaid.com or 816-361-5700. Or visit the website at http://www.bellabridesmaid.com/!

Hope to see you Saturday!

Ashley and Taylor

This is the wedding of Ashley and Taylor Hankins on August 16th out at the Loose Park Rose Garden. We were so lucky to have the wonderful team of Josh and Jenny Solar to photograph the whole thing. We were in between flooding rain that had be going strong all weekend. They caught a 20 minute break of the downpour to say their vows.

Taylor could hardly wait to see his bride. Needless to say he was thrilled at the sight of her.

Just as the officiant instructed Taylor to kiss Ashley the rain started pouring down! It couldn't have been more perfect timing.

They were such great sports about the rain that day. They made it safely to their car and on to the rest of their evening.

The night ended with family, friends and beautiful send off as husband and wife!

Before and After

After three weeks of renovations - here is our most up to date before and after. We still can't believe the transformation!

Before...

After....
We started installing the flooring last night and just for the record, lock in laminate flooring IS NOT as easy an everyone says it is! Hopefully by the end of this week we'll be able to share images of the finished product - at least for the build out phase.

Bella Buildout Update

The past week and a half has been CRAZY! Our painter was scheduled to arrive this past Tuesday so last weekend we had some major work to do to get ready for him. All the walls were up and the major construction finished, however we had lots of "finishing" work to do. Our Labor Day weekend was filled with finishing trim (my favorite!), fixing the stairs, fixing little imperfections and the biggest challenges - electrical and building the shelves. In many of the pictures you see Joel and John working on our future dress racks. We decided (after much debate!) to scrap the old shelves and build new ones. The new racks they made are awesome and they did a really great job! Our painters finished up yesterday and last night we started prepping for the the floor installation which is today's big task. I've got pictures of what the store looks like now that I'll post later today. You will not believe the difference!

Thank you to everyone who gave up part (or all!) of their Labor Day weekend to help - Our dads - Doug, Steve and Tom, our husbands - John and Joel, our good friends and other family - Chris and Ryan and my mom Kathi for planting our beautiful new flowers and providing nourishment! Check out the pictures below.