Nikki & Kenny @ Loch Nairn Golf Course ~ Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer
From the Bride:
How We Met:
Kenny and I met a little over 5 years ago at our college’s Alumni Homecoming. Although we went to the same college, we never crossed paths until that night. I was out that night with a girlfriend and Kenny was with some of his friends. Shortly after arriving I spotted Kenny across the way. I quickly told my girlfriend that I was going to go up and talk to him. Being a very shy person my friend doubted me and was shocked when I actually did! So, that’s how it all began…me taking a risk to go up and talk to a very attractive man from across the room. It still surprises me today that I had the courage to approach him first but as I look back and remember that night, there was absolutely no hesitation. I just knew I had to meet him.
The Proposal:
Kenny and I were dating over 3 years and spoke occasionally of marriage. The night before my birthday I brought up the “future” topic, but he quickly dismissed me. Well, this made me want to discuss it more. Finally at the end of it all, Kenny told me that I just needed to stop. So I did unwillingly. Little did I know he had a ring and was planning on proposing to me on my birthday. To throw me off any suspicion he waited a week or so.
The night of the proposal I came home late and was ready to go to bed right away. Kenny, the night owl, decided to follow me up to go to bed also. Strange but ok, didn’t think anything of it. As I open up our bedroom door, I noticed the lights out, candles lite, and roses petals laid out on the floor spelling “Marry Me”. He then hands me a ring; his great aunt’s ring. I am looking at him waiting for him to ask, but he is telling me the story of the ring and asking if I liked it. This was his way of distracting me. He then pulled out the real engagement ring and got on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes.
Wedding Planning:
We both wanted a fall wedding but we got engaged in May and did not want to feel rushed or have the stress of planning a wedding so quickly. So we decided to wait until the following fall. Best decision ever! We had 1½ year to plan. I knew, however, that I needed to book certain things quickly since fall is now a very popular time to get married. So we went out searching for our location shortly after getting engaged. As we went from place to place nothing seemed to fit right. We knew we wanted the ceremony outside and also wanted the ceremony and reception at the same location but nothing caught our eye. A friend of mine recommended going to Loch Nairn. We instantly fell in love with its atmosphere and charm. Their event coordinator, Rebecca Brooks who unfortunately no longer works there, also fit our easygoing personalities. We couldn’t have asked for a better location.
Although Kenny was a big help…I did most of the planning. I was very lucky to have such wonderful friends and family members that gave me a ton of advise and help during the planning stages. I used a lot of Loch Nairn’s recommended list of vendors and did a good amount of research before committing to something. Let’s face it I had the time, so I was able to do so. I used bridal magazines, blogs, and surprisingly enough Facebook. All I would have to do is put up a status asking for advice. I was surprised on how many people would respond. My table cards come from a Facebook idea. I am a kindergarten teacher and I knew I wanted something unique while incorporating my students. I got a ton of ideas from others through Facebook. I then combined the ideas into what worked for me. I ended up having my students write out the guests’ names in fall colored crayons and they turned out adorable! And best of all I killed two birds with one stone; a writing lesson for my students while not having to write out them myself!
I can honestly say our wedding was us. Simple but elegant. Laidback but polished. It couldn’t have been a more perfect example of Kenny and I and our love for each other.
Thank you to all the vendors who made this day possible!
Reception: Loch Nairn
Caterer: Loch Nairn
Cake: Liberty Lane Bake Shoppe
Flowers: Blue Moon Florist
Music: Rich Buchanan- DJ
Hair and Makeup: Bella Hair and Spa contact Kelly Miller at weddingbybella@gmail.com
Wedding Dress: Tara Keely
Shoes: Lulu Townsend
Bridesmaids dresses: Dessy
