Wedding Day Vision

James and Kesia’s afternoon winter wedding in Oklahoma held a special significance for two reasons. First, Oklahoma was the place where the now-newlyweds met. In addition to playing a part in their romance, the church where they said “I do” was the same church that James’ grandparents were married in. We love this special sense of continuity.

Although the wedding took place in Oklahoma, the bride & groom wanted to include a touch of Colorado. The bouquets and floral arrangements contained pine needles, representing all of the stunning evergreen trees in the Rocky Mountains. Customized wooden ornaments featuring carved mountains, saying “Merry Christmas from James and Kesia Culbertson” were their favors.

One of Kesia’s favorite things about planning her wedding was being able to support small businesses. “We were on a careful budget and using small businesses for the flowers, wedding favors, calligrapher, and dresses made our wedding affordable and unique.”

Share about your dress shopping experience – what was your vision, did it change? What was important to you when choosing a dress?

After saving different wedding dresses to her secret Pinterest board (you know you have one, too!) for months, Kesia was sure of her wedding day vision. Lace, lace, and more lace was the only way to go! However, the moment you walk into a bridal shop and start seeing yourself in different gowns is when you begin to get a feel for what you actually want.

Once she began dress shopping, Kesia found herself nervous due to her indecisiveness and the feeling that she needed her family’s approval. After trying on dresses at one bridal shop after another, she found a dress that was lace, conservative, and would make her family happy. Despite checking all of those boxes, she knew it wasn’t the one. She quickly realized what was actually important to her: comfort, affordability, and whether or not she felt special in it, regardless of what her family and friends said.

She continued the search on The Knot to find other local bridal shops in Denver. One day after work, she ended up at The Bridal Collection, without her family and friends in tow. Kesia immediately fell in love with a simple and chic crepe wedding dress with romantic cap sleeves and beautiful bridal buttons cascading down the entire train. As a finishing touch, she added a sparkly ribbon belt. Instead of cutting off the ends of the ribbon, she kept it as her “something old”, because as a child she always wore ribbons. How adorable is that?

Kesia says, “What I loved most about my wedding dress from The Bridal Collection is that I felt so womanly and empowered. I didn’t know a dress could do that and if I could wear my wedding dress everyday, I would!”

What is a moment/memory from your wedding day that you will never forget?

As a bride, you are constantly told that your wedding day goes by in the blink of an eye, so it is imperative to cherish every moment. Taking this advice, Kesia took mental snapshots of who she saw throughout the day. One of the most memorable moments of her wedding day was walking down the aisle. Her wedding day was a blur overall, but as she made her way to her groom, everything was still. All of the planning and preparation for this momentous day was finally coming to fruition. Kesia soaked in the little spotlight, feeling every ounce of love and support from their friends and family. In that moment, she forgot about the possibility of something going wrong during the day because everything in that moment was so right.

Any advice for future brides?

Kesia says, “My advice to future brides is to not lose sight of the most important part when you are stressed wedding planning — the marriage that is to come after the wedding. Sure, some people want the absolute perfect, most extravagant wedding to top all weddings. However, do not go over budget if you do not have to, delegate when you cannot take on any more, prepare for what you CAN control, do not overly stress over things you cannot control or if there are hiccups on your wedding day. At the end of the day what matters most is that you are starting a new chapter of your life with your person, and what could go wrong with that?”

wedding ring with pine needles bridesmaids wearing floral robes black and white wedding dress bridesmaids first look bride and groom's first look bride smiling bridesmaids posing under wreath groomsmen and bridesmaids bride walking down the aisle with father walking down the aisle newlyweds rose petal grand exit bride and groom walking and posing wedding reception with friends