REAL BRIDE: Jess

Jess + John

8.13.21

Nothing is quite as wonderfully heartwarming as watching your friends live their best day. It’s even better when their wedding looks, feels and represents the couple perfectly. Despite COVID-19 forcing Jess and John to reschedule their winter wonderland wedding to a mid-summer fairytale, these two rolled with the punches and were able to modify their initial plans with ease and grace.

Surrounded by the industrial vibes of The Everly in downtown Kansas City and their closest friends and family, Jess and John celebrated their union and danced the night away! Keep scrolling to see more unique and fun details from this stunning wedding and prepare yourself for the sweetest first look, ever.

How did the two of you meet?

"We met my very first weekend at K-State on a blind date. John's fraternity was having a date dash at the ice skating rink and at the time my best friend was dating one of John's friends so she was helping him find a date. My friend asked just about every girl she could think of including her sorority pledge class with no luck until she texted me. I was the last person to ever say yes to a blind date, especially with it being my first weekend in Manhattan after transferring from Arkansas at semester. At the ice skating rink John wore ice skates that were 3 sizes too big and if you've ever been ice skating you know that this was disastrous. At the end of the date, I decided we'd be "just friends" even though John had other plans. A few weeks later, I was back at John's fraternity with my friends. John wasn't with us and when one of the guys knew I was there, they went and found John in the shower to let him know where I was. After his shower he waltzed into room 202 wearing just a blue towel where everyone was hanging out. He pretended not to see me and finally goes, "Oh, I didn't see you there! What's up? I'll be right back!" He comes back a few minutes later (clothed this time) and in the girls group message, everyone starts texting "Who's the guy in the gray shorts? I call dibs!!" in which I reply, "Well I never said I didn't want to date him!" From there, the next 7 years are history! We thank God for good friends, blind dates and for John's sake, the blue towel.”

Tell us about the proposal!

"Covid complicates everything, doesn't it?! Originally, John had booked a surprise trip to Santa Barbara to pop the question at the end of March 2020. He planned out every little detail and even texted one of my co-workers for my boss' email so he could request time off for me and make sure I had someone to cover my clients while we were gone. Sadly this trip never happened but the proposal that did happen could not have been more perfect. On May 4th, 2020 we decided to take a day trip up to Manhattan to check out all our favorite places and socially distance from the world. When we got to Manhattan, we stopped downtown because John wanted to do a wine tasting at Harry's. I was so confused because we never went there. It also happened to be 80 degrees that day and I was panicked about leaving our dog, Maverick in the car. As we're walking down the sidewalk bickering about our dog, John says he forgot his wallet in the car and we have to turn around. When we turn around he tells me to look up and above is the downtown marquee sign that says, "Jess, will you marry me?" I was stunned, shocked and so happy!! My friend Alex jumped out to take pictures and had champagne waiting for us. Manhattan will always hold a special place in our hearts, it's where we met, where John lavaliered me and where we got engaged!”

How did you decide to get married on August 13th?

“Ya know, the date is a funny story. We had always dreamed of a winter wonderland wedding, snow on the ground was the D R E A M so we crossed our fingers and toes for January 16th, 2021. Covid was upon us so we had to tour all of the venue's on zoom. Everyone was on the same page and assured us that there was no way Covid would last longer than the summer -- ha, funny joke. It was around mid-November when we got the news that KCMO was banning all weddings larger than 10 people through midnight on January 16th. Yep, heard that right, OUR wedding day. Because of this, our venue had to reschedule all of the weddings from mid-November through ours. Since we were the last wedding of that timeline, we unfortunately were the last ones to pick a reschedule date. Our two options were one month later (still peak of Covid) or 2022. We were stressed, panicked, and depressed and started to look at other venues in the area to see if they had any 2021 openings. By the grace of God, one week later, The Everly called us and said "We know it's not an ideal date but how does August, Friday the 13th sound? A couple just backed out." Without even batting an eye we said yes and were determined to make Friday the 13th our luckiest day yet -- and to that, I say we were pretty successful ;)”

What was one of your favorite moments from your wedding day?

"First look HANDS DOWN. If you are debating it, don't hesitate!! It was such a special and intimate moment for us that we'll never forget. And trust me, you'll still have plenty nerves before walking down the aisle! Our other favorite memory was the last song of the night on the dance floor with all of our friends. Our friends play such a huge part in our lives, it was amazing having 70% of our guest list stay on the dance floor until the very end. We belted "Dancing Queen" at the top of our lungs, cried happy tears, hugged and chatted, an hour and a half past the music stopping. We finally understand what it means when people say your wedding is the best day of your life!!”

Did you have a specific theme in mind while planning?

“Our main goal was making as much of our winter decor work in August! Luckily the bridesmaids dresses were neutral colors. We were still able to change our flowers and made 80% of our centerpieces work! We shifted from winter wonderland to a timeless, bright and clean look. It's funny now when people say certain themes only work in certain seasons. To that I say it's your wedding, do what you love!”

What advice would you give to other brides in regards to dress shopping?

"Focus on finding the ONE dress that makes YOU feel like the most beautiful, confident and empowered bride. Sometimes brides put a lot of pressure on themselves by trying 20, 30, 40+ dresses. Keep an open mind and let the dress come to you. You might end up saying yes to the first gown you ever try ;)”

How did you know your gown was the one?

"I didn't know it at first, I told my consultant Anna that I wanted something simple with a twist! The very first dress Anna put me in was a "simple" dress with clear beading head to toe. I was shocked at how well I liked it, but it was the first dress so we kept going. After running through a handful we jumped back into favorites. I was still wrestling with the idea of fitted or A-line which was when Anna went and grabbed an overskirt for a two look moment. I was in HEAVEN. I hesitated for a second but my family and friends reassured me that this dress was made just for me and we weren't going to top it. I have never felt as beautiful as I did on my wedding day. Thank you SWBB for making all my bridal dreams come true!!”