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Wedding Day Forecast:
photos by Scott Myers Photography
Jenna Salmons and Felix Rodriguez honored family members and traditions during their September 17, 2016, wedding, while adding some unconventional touches that made the occasion personal and endearing. Even the moon cooperated.
The bride and groom met in August of 2013, when Felix, who is from Virginia, came to Columbia for a friend’s wedding. Mutual friends introduced them, and they enjoyed each other’s company until, alas, they had to go their separate ways: Felix back to Virginia and Jenna to her classes at Mizzou. They skyped, they texted. One day in October, Felix made a surprise appearance on Jenna’s front porch, where he asked her to officially be his girlfriend.
Jenna graduated that December and moved to Lawrence, Kansas, for a job; Felix relocated to Columbia the next month, shortening the distance in their long-distance relationship.
In June of 2015, Felix hatched a plan. He told Jenna he was going to make a Craigslist purchase at the house where she lived when he had asked her to be his girlfriend. What a coincidence! He invited her to come inspect the potential purchase. When they arrived on the front porch, he proposed to her while her closest friends hid in the neighbor’s backyard.
They were married at Blue Bell Farm in Fayette, with Deacon Godsey officiating (Jenna’s minister from Vintage Church in Lawrence). The wedding took place on the lush farm lawn and the couple exchanged vows under an arch made by Jenna’s parents from trees on their property. It was decorated by Jenna’s sister with swags of greenery and roses, and the aisle was marked with globes containing a bloom and a fern frond.
Jenna wore a Maggie Sottero floor-length sheath gown with a light gold silk slip and ivory lace overlay. It had a boat neck and low illusion back, with pearl buttons down the back and floral lace trim along the hem. Her hair was loosely swept up in a braided crown with a pearl hair vine at the back. She wore Kendra Scott rose gold druzy earrings and her great-grandmother’s bangle bracelet and handkerchief. (Her great-grandmother, who would have been 100 that day, wore the bracelet on her wedding day, too.) Jenna carried dahlias in memory of her grandfather, who specialized in growing them. The bridal bouquet also featured roses, succulents, wood, moss and other greenery.
And on her feet she wore… nothing!
“I went barefoot all day, because I have always loved feeling the earth beneath my feet,” Jenna recalled. “I grew up loving the outdoors, so I had to have lots of natural hints throughout our theme. Our colors were wine and blush, with lots of neutrals and gold touches. I wanted a wedding that was romantic and a bit woodland, and not too traditional. Even our rings follow that — mine is a natural grey diamond with some wonderful imperfections and his is tungsten with a koa wood inlay.” The couple also has matching tattoos, an ampersand, on their ring fingers to denote their connection.
The groom wore slim dress khakis, a light blue chambray button down shirt with pin dots, tan leather suspenders, a navy vest, wine linen tie and cognac brogue dress shoes. His boutonniere was eucalyptus, fern, burgundy astilbe and a single pink rose.
His groomsmen matched his outfit, minus the suspenders, vest and rose, but Jenna’s seven attendants chose their own dresses with her only criteria being the color — wine — knee-length, and something they enjoyed wearing.
“I absolutely loved seeing what they each chose to wear and how each dress had a bit of each girl’s personality in it,” said Jenna. They carried bouquets of fern and eucalyptus with light pink flowers, and a handkerchief embroidered by Jenna. The ring bearer bore Jenna’s grandfather’s Bible as he walked down the aisle.
During the ceremony, Deacon Godsey asked Felix and Jenna to turn to the audience to take a moment soaking up the joy and love that surrounded them.
“That was a surprise, but I am so thankful we got the opportunity to really connect with our guests during that sweet, irreplaceable few minutes during which we were becoming husband and wife,” Jenna said.
The couple’s parents also potted a dogwood sapling (the state tree of Missouri and Virginia) during the ceremony to signify unity, and the bride and groom watered it while Gungor’s “Beautiful Things” played in the background. “It painted a really beautiful picture of the joining of our lives and our families together, and of our belief that God is creating something beautiful out of each of us, and through our new marriage,” said Jenna. “The tree is now planted in our backyard in Lawrence, Kansas.”
The reception took place in the barn and surrounding yard at Blue Bell, continuing the romance woodland theme with centerpieces of wood slices, moss, fern, succulents and single stems of roses or dahlias, with ivory candles and glass and gold terrariums. An empty table was dedicated to the couple’s deceased loved ones. Lights decorated the perimeter, high top tables were available for guests, and yard games ensued. The couple chose comfort food and pie over traditional wedding cake, except for the red velvet groom’s cake shaped like Captain America’s shield, with which Jenna chose to surprise Felix; he, in turn, surprised her by dropping his piece on the front of her dress.
Salsa music, to honor Felix’s Puerto Rican roots, enlivened the reception. “My dad, who is typically very reserved, salsa danced with Felix’s aunt,” said Jenna.
Felix and Jenna honeymooned in Puerto Rico for six days, meeting Felix’s extended family, snorkeling, hiking in the rainforest, exploring Old San Juan and just relaxing on the beach. Now the couple is at home in Lawrence, where Felix is a Survivor Access Advocate at the Willow Domestic Violence Center. Jenna works in the buying department for Payless ShoeSource, headquartered in Topeka.
Jenna is the daughter of Brad and Jana Rae Salmons of Fulton, and Felix is the son of Felix and Zulma Rodriguez of Portsmouth, Virginia.
The post Wedding Day Forecast: appeared first on Inside Columbia Magazine.
Honoring Memories
Photos by Scott Myers Photography
Caitlin Kerber and Luke Whaley wed Nov. 5, 2016, in the Kimball Ballroom on the Stephens College campus. The two met through mutual friends at Mizzou, where Caitlin was a communications major and Luke was in the journalism school.
A party in the summer of 2014 set them on course for coupledom. Luke said Caitlin’s intelligence and sarcastic sense of humor attracted him. “She just seemed like a very good match with my personality.”
During the next year and half, they grew closer as a couple and started picking out rings. Caitlin expected a formal proposal on her birthday, Dec. 24, which they celebrated the night before with dinner and a trip to Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza.
“I thought he’d propose at dinner, but he didn’t. Then I thought he’d propose at the Plaza, but that didn’t happen either,” recalled Caitlin. “Then we got back to my dad’s house in Warrensburg and I was so tired I just wanted to put my pajamas on and go to bed. But Luke asked me to come look at the Christmas tree.”
Caitlin had seen Christmas trees before and grew impatient but reluctantly joined Luke in front of the tree, where she gasped at seeing 20 or 30 ornaments Luke had made from pictures of them together and as children.
“Then,” she said, “he got down on one knee and proposed. It was perfect.”
Luke had spent weeks collecting the photos and putting them in small silver frames. “We talked about what great memories we’ve had throughout our lives. I guess it was my way of expressing the idea that we would go on making great memories together,” he said.
He didn’t know it at the time, but Caitlin would also plot a surprise for him. Caitlin didn’t want a theme or a set palette to stifle her wedding day. “That seemed too stagnant. I wanted the flexibility to mold my wedding into what I envisioned as I found things that spoke to me,” she said. “I knew I wanted it to be simple and elegant, but I would also say that the vision really evolved throughout the planning process.”
Caitlin exemplified elegance in her trumpet-shaped dress with a chapel length train, covered in floral lace, featuring beading and pearl detail. The dress had a v-neckline, with a lace scallop detail. The scalloped lace was also along the bottom of the dress and train. She honored her mother, Barb, who died when Caitlin was 16, by wearing Barb’s veil and customizing the gown’s sleeves so they resembled her wedding dress.
Her hair was swept up on one side by a pearl and rhinestone hair comb, curls cascading down the other. She carried a mix of rose varietals, lisianthus andlilies, with astilbe, white aster, ruscus, eucalyptus and rosemary.
Her bridesmaids wore a black dress of their own choosing. “It would have been hard to settle on one style,” Caitlin said. “And anyway, I wanted them to be comfortable and wear something they liked.” They carried bouquets of rose varietals, lisianthus, white aster, with astilbe, ruscus, eucalyptus and nigella pods.
The groom wore a black tuxedo and black bow tie. His boutonniere was a blueberry rose framed by eucalyptus and rosemary. His groomsmen also wore black tuxedos and bow ties. Their boutonnieres were red spray roses with eucalyptus.
The ballroom was decorated with garlands of salal and ruscus greens along the aisle. An antique bench, covered in flowers, rosemary and a garland that matched the aisles, served as the altar, with gauzy white fabric suspended overhead between pillars to frame the ceremony.
The bride’s uncle, Father Joseph Kerber, officiated. At the couple’s request, he took time to acknowledge family loved ones who had passed away. The couple wrote their own vows independently, then marveled at how similar they turned out. The bride and groom also asked a family member to perform a reading during the exchange of vows.
During the hiatus between the ceremony and the reception, Caitlin sprung her surprise: The wedding photos were to be taken on Faurot Field.
“I had to play my Bridezilla card to keep it a secret,” Caitlin said. When Luke asked about plans for the photos, she feigned anger. “Don’t ask me now, I’m too stressed!” she replied. She rented the field for an hour, and presented Luke with a football signed by Drew Lock. “It was kind of hard to get the guys to focus on the photos. They just wanted to throw around the football.”
Back at Kimball Ballroom, helpers were transforming the scene from wedding ceremony to wedding reception. A mix of round and long tables were topped with white tablecloths, black napkins and red metallic chargers. The same fresh flowers and greenery used during the ceremony graced the tables. The long tables were decorated with garlands and candles in antique candlesticks, and the round tables had centerpieces featuring bouquets, candles, glass domes filled with greenery and fairy lights on antique trays. The sweetheart table was decorated with an antique vase holding fresh flowers, and the couple sat on the bench that had served as the altar.
One table held wedding photos of loved ones, and a traditional white, three-tier wedding cake occupied another. The flower girls had decorated the table and the cake with fresh flowers.
“Re-using the fresh flowers stuck to my plan to keep things simple and elegant,” Caitlin said. “It was more economical, and it allowed us to focus on hosting a fun time for our guests. We had good food, a great DJ and an open bar. It was fun for us to just relax after the hard work of planning the wedding.”
Guests got a good laugh when Caitlin’s father welcomed Luke to the family. “My family members are all Cardinals fans,” said Caitlin, “and Luke’s family are all Cubs fans. After my father gave his speech, he took off his shirt to reveal a Cubs t-shirt while the DJ played ‘Go Cubs Go!’”
Caitlin’s parents are father, Tom Kerber, and stepmom, Lourie Kerber, of Lee’s Summit, and Luke is the son of Heidi and Andy Whaley of Bloomington, Illinois.
Caitlin and Luke honeymooned in Costa Rica for nine days before returning to their Columbia home, where Luke works as a transaction coordinator for Veterans United and Caitlin is a legislative director for the Department of Social Services.
The post Honoring Memories appeared first on Inside Columbia Magazine.
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