Open Minds and Open Hearts
Kayla and Adam's November 2020 wedding
Our goal at Clarice’s Bridal is not just to help you look fabulous, but to help you feel fabulous! Our passion is helping brides find gowns that help them feel their most confident and beautiful as they pledge their love to a partner. Kayla is the perfect example of a bride who prioritized her thriving and healthy relationship with her partner over the small details—and looked incredible doing so!
Kayla and Adam have been together for almost six years and friends for even longer! Over the course of a year, the pair became close friends over nights out and casual hangouts. “There was no super romantic ‘we just knew’ sort of thing. We just got really close, [and it went from there],” Kayla explained. Once things progressed beyond friendship, they found themselves deeply invested in their relationship. After four years of dating, Adam finally proposed! He took Kayla to a show of Christmas lights through a decorated park in December of 2019. He treated her to a private carriage ride through the display. Kayla, who keeps and rides horses, recalled the somewhat stressful experience, “I was watching the horse’s behavior, and I know horses. That horse [did not] want to be pulling that carriage! He was [so agitated] . . . It was bolting behavior, and I was expecting this horse to bolt on us!” The carriage pulled off the path onto a dark trail, and Kayla became even more nervous. Luckily, the situation remained safe and even exciting, as Adam revealed his surprise. “He pulled out a switch [that lit up] a sign.’” Kayla smiled. “He got down on one knee, and asked, 'Will you marry me, Little Babe?'" calling Kayla by his sweet nickname for her.
The engaged couple approached wedding planning with a laid-back attitude and priorities in check. Kayla recalled the planning process, “[It was] easy as can be because I honestly didn’t care about anything else besides getting married. . . I just wanted to get married and for everyone to have a good time!” The couple made use of The Knot app and recommends other brides do the same. The app provides a suggested timeline with “due dates” for each step of wedding planning specially laid out with the wedding date in mind. They followed the suggested timeline, let friends and family take care of decorations, and made a lot of planning decisions online. “It was a pretty easy process because we made it that way,” Kayla explained. “I am more focused on our marriage and relationship than anything else.”
That low stress attitude was evident in Kayla’s bridal gown appointment. Clarice’s Bridal was her first and only shop, at which she tried on just two wedding dresses! “Honestly, it was the easiest part [of wedding planning]! You guys made dress shopping so easy. It was the easiest thing in the world!” she chuckled. “. . . I didn’t think I’d like a mermaid dress, but I saw it [and thought], ‘Let’s just try it,’ and I was immediately like, ‘This is it!’ I was probably there for less than forty-five minutes!” Kayla suggests keeping an open mind and trying to find something that makes you feel beautiful on your big day rather than becoming fixated on recreating an imagined style. She explained, “If I stuck with what I expected, I probably would’ve tried on one hundred dresses and never been happy.”
When the big day finally came, Kayla stunned in her jeweled mermaid gown! The day was filled with touching moments. While getting ready, Kayla’s maid of honor presented her with a video message full of her closest friends giving their well wishes for the big day. She and Adam chose to recite traditional vows but expressed their feelings to one another through love letters before the ceremony. “I had given him this big card with all my feelings, and my feelings were kind of hurt because [I thought he didn’t] write me a note,” Kayla said. “The best man actually just forgot to give it to me. . . I ended up reading his letter right as the ceremony started which turned out to be perfect!” Another moving experience honored Kayla’s late father. She recalled, “My father passed away when I was sixteen. . . We had a little memorial for him at the ceremony and reception. Seeing John, my dad’s cousin, there was almost like my dad was there. We could all feel him there—just pure bliss and joy in the air!” The day was just about perfect with its seventy-five-degree weather in November and meaningful experiences with family and friends. “I really do believe that God blessed us with that day,” Kayla said.
Since the wedding, Kayla and Adam have been treasuring every moment together. He travels for work and spends a lot of time away. Kayla says of his work, “It really makes us appreciate our time together [and] makes us prioritize our relationship.” As demonstrated in their wedding planning process, they really do have their focuses set on one another! They plan to take a honeymoon when COVID-19 allows. To brighten up their lives during the era of the coronavirus, however, the couple purchased a new horse. “We actually spent our honeymoon money on a new horse! I’m the one who rides, but we like to spend time in the barn playing with him,” Kayla smiled. That time together is invaluable, and they know it! In Kayla’s words, “[Your wedding] is one day, and it is important, but your marriage and relationship are forever!” Best wishes to Kayla and Adam as they journey toward “forever” together!
Photography: Danielle Ambry Photography
Venue: Sunset Bluffs
Hair and makeup: @_4theloveofbeauty_
Flowers: Rouge Events and Design
Cake: The Sweet Divine