Married One Year

Kyle and I got married a year ago today. Sort of. Our wedding was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, technically making our anniversary November 24. But we decided to celebrate "the Saturday after Thanksgiving" with a party every year instead. Today, we're hosting a big pig roast at the new house.

I can't believe it's been a year already. With a job change and buying a house, this year went by so quickly. But I wanted to take a few minutes to remember our super-fun (and beautiful, if I do say so myself) wedding.

Looking back, even though we definitely threw some money at it in the end, our wedding was pretty frugal. It didn't hurt that nearly all of our vendors were friends, including the photographers, bartender, caterer, officiant, and musicians.

And I thrifted. So hard. For nearly a year, I picked up milk glass, blue mason jars, and vintage linens as I found them. In the month leading up to the wedding, my girlfriends and I spent many hours putting together flatware packets, painting frames, making signs, trimming fabric, and sewing boutineers for the groomsmen. For the favors, Kyle made dill pickles, and I made the tags.

Though we had almost a year to plan, the day seemed to sneak up on us in those last few weeks, but everything came together so beautifully. We were so happy that day, I don’t think anything would have upset us. It was icing on the cake that everything ran smoothly. (I do recommend — even for DIY brides like myself — hiring a day-of coordinator to make sure that everything goes according to your well-laid plans.)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our wedding day.

Since our first date, Kyle and I have had an ongoing, lighthearted border war in our relationship. I grew up in Missouri, and when I lived in New York and told people I was from Kansas City, I got “Dorothy” often. Eventually, I got the outline of the state of Missouri tattooed on my right forearm.

Kyle comes from the other side of State Line, and has two degrees from the University of Kansas. On our wedding day, he got the state of Kansas tattooed on his left forearm so that ours match up right along the state line.

It’s just coincidence that the barn where we married is on State Line Road (the Missouri side, thank you very much).

We wanted to throw a barn party with a wedding ceremony at the beginning, and we easily agreed upon the venue — a barn in the middle of the city. It wasn’t important for us to do anything the traditional way, including seating, but it was very important to us to have wonderful food, great music, and plentiful booze. We also wanted to be as green as possible, so our save the date and invitation were both postcards. (Having guests RSVP online made it really easy for me to keep track of the guest list.)

Instead of getting one wedding cake, we asked friends to make desserts — whatever they wanted. But we did do the traditional cutting... of an entire pig.

While there were a variety of factors that brought us together, Kyle and I met briefly for the first time on his 29th birthday. I’d written a piece about the then-new band The Grisly Hand for The Pitch (Kansas City’s alt weekly) and he’d seen it. We met briefly at their next show. A few weeks later, he called me up at my office and asked me out. Almost two years after that, he proposed on stage at one of The Grisly Hand's concerts. We had no doubt that we wanted them to play our wedding reception.

Instead of a guestbook, I designed a poster for everyone to sign. It's now framed and hangs in our dining room. People like to look for their names when they come over. After the amount of whiskey that flowed that night, details are hazy for most.

Venue: Alexander Majors Barn, Kansas City, MO / Officiant: The Reverend Ann Kansfield, Greenpoint Church / Ceremony Band: David Burchfield & The Great Stop / Reception Band: The Grisly Hand / Dress: Janay Andrews, Janay A. Handmade / Emily’s Hair: Melissa Van Der Bom, Speak Salon Studio / Drinks: Jenn Tosatto, Hawthorne & Julep / Pig: Bichelmeyer Meats / Sides Catering: Kelli Daniels, Good You / Flowers: Village Flower Company, Arrangement by Sandy Krumm / String Lights: Target / Photography: M & E Photo Studio

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