In an elopement style micro-wedding, Kateland and Kayla shared their day with their favorite people and their favorite holiday, Halloween.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do for work and fun?
Kayla works with kids at a preschool. Kateland works in financing at a Credit Union. We both love hiking and doing anything outdoors. And, both love to read, going on trips, cooking and, just spending time together.
We have been together for six years and actually met at work when we were both working at the same preschool. We started as just friends, but it quickly turned to more in a matter of months, and here we are today.
Tell us about the proposal.
There wasn’t necessarily a proposal. We had talked about getting married for a few years and we knew we wanted to, but it was also just talking. Then one day, Kayla just said, “I want us to get married this year.” And I quickly said, “Okay, I agree.” After that came the planning
There were ten months between when we officially decided to get married and the big day. So not a lot of time to prepare, but we knew we wanted something intimate and wanted it to be for us. So it wasn’t as strenuous as initially expected.
Any stories from the lead up to the wedding, stressful or funny?
Most of the planning was stress-free, but there was an hour on our wedding day where I was extremely overwhelmed and stressed. My mother had just called and said that they had been in standstill traffic for about thirty minutes. I knew Kayla was supposed to be traveling that same route to get to the destination with her mom and sister. So naturally, I thought, “what if no one makes it in time? What if it’s just my parents and sister that don’t make it?” I didn’t want to get married without them! I called Kayla and was nearly in tears after about thirty minutes of panicking, but she talked me down from my almost breakdown.
Talk to us about your experience finding the perfect outfits.
Kayla got lucky and found her dress the first time she went shopping for it and got even luckier because it fit perfectly!
It took me a little longer to find mine, and I did have mine altered but it was a straightforward process for both of us. Both of our moms went with us to the dress shop so that was helpful.
Talk to us about the big day!
The big day was fantastic and went by way too fast! Our day was similar in style to an elopement, but we did have family and friends attend. We didn’t have to prepare much because the location was already gorgeous.
Seeing each other for the first time will always be one of the highlights of our big day and reading our vows to each other. If I could go back and relive that day over and over, I would. There were a few hectic moments, but it was overall fantastic and the happiest day of my life.
Advice for other couples planning a wedding?
Do everything how you want! Your day is about you. Even though EVERYONE is going to have an opinion, it’s ultimately up to you if you’re going to have it big and fancy or small and intimate. At the end of the day, it’s about two people deciding that they want to spend the rest of their lives together.
Anything you are glad you did? Or wish you didn’t do?
I love that we wrote our own vows. We were both nervous about writing them and even worried about having to read them correctly to each other. But overall, that is one of the best decisions we made for that day.
To have Allie as our photographer was the perfect touch. We both decided that we wanted amazing pictures of our day, and we were not disappointed. We are extremely happy with how they turned out. I even cried going through all of our images when we got them back.
Lastly, what does marriage mean to you?
Marriage is two people who love each other enough to commit to spending the rest of their life together. But to have a happy, loving marriage, you have to work at it. It’s not something that you can expect to receive and not give back to; it’s work. You have to work on your marriage and you both have to be willing to give it your all or nothing.
Getting married is hands down, one of the best and easiest decisions I have ever made. Everyone has asked if it has been any different since we have been married, and the answer is surprisingly no.
We both still have this overflowing feeling of happiness and love. I think that getting married, even though it is just a step to committing to each other, has made our relationship grow abundantly, and it has been so intense and beautiful. We cant wait to see what comes next for us.
Photography by Allie Chambers Photography
Ceremony Venue Cheekwood Estate & Gardens
H&MU Shaby2Chic, Ulta Beauty Salon
Hair Piece Bella Michelle Hair Accessories Boutique
Reception Venue Maggianos Little Italy
