Real Wedding: Kelsey & James

Planned by Ashley, Real Wedding

December 17, 2020

Desert Botanical Garden

Phoenix, Arizona

Saturday, March 7th, 2020

Today’s real wedding is about Kelsey and James. Their love story starts in Flagstaff, AZ. James was in his last deployment with the Army, and when he came back, he visited Kelsey. They hit it off immediately and he decided she would be the first girl to bring home to meet his family in Illinois that fall of 2015. Despite being long distance for a year and a half, they loved traveling together, taking road trips and meeting up in different places.

Fast forward to spring of 2017, they decided to settle down in Flagstaff so Kelsey could start her interior design business. The following summer, they took a trip to London for an immersion with James’ MBA program, which they of course had to extend into a vacation! During their first week there James proposed in the Kew Gardens. Kelsey had no idea that he had an engagement ring in his backpack the entire time!

James still deploys for his current job so he alternates being gone 2 months and then home 2 months. So while James was away Kelsey took on the majority of the wedding planning. She still wanted to involve James and have him weigh in on certain decisions so once she found details and vendors she liked, they would both decide on items together. Some items that were important on his list were the food, beverages and his outfit.

Kelsey remembers, “It’s funny how when you’re just living life you don’t realize your patterns, but now that I’m spelling it all out and thinking about our relationship. I’m realizing how much we love spending time outdoors together. I supposed that’s why we wanted an outdoor wedding!

There were so many fun details that went into their wedding day! Being an interior designer, Kelsey loves color and textiles and she wanted that to show in their design. Instead of playing it safe with more neutral tones, she opted for bright, bold colors that reflected their joyous and energetic love! Linens were a big focus of their design process.

Their wedding planner Ashley said, “It’s always fun working with another designer to create the space. Kelsey wasn’t afraid to play with color and texture to create a truly joyful space. That’s really what the day centered around, a joyful celebration surrounded in love.”

The celebratory nature of the couple led to other fun elements like bridesmaids tambourines instead of bouquets, and even a flash mob during the reception with guests and wedding vendors! They thought about each moment of the day to not only make it meaningful to them, but to their family. Kelsey wanted her new family to feel at home because James and his family are from Illinois and huge Cubs fans, she was able to use her table numbers and seating chart as a nod to their favorite baseball team!

Wedding planning coordinator for their wedding day, Amanda, remembers, “This was one of my favorite weddings I ever worked. I had been involved in the planning process from the beginning alongside Ashley. They are one of those couples that are welcoming to strangers and make you feel like you have known them for years!”