Inspiration + Experience

Season: Summer

The Day: Kaitlyn + John were married on a rainy August day in 2018 at Irongate Equestrian Center. As most Ohioans know, weather can be unpredictable, so as the storms blew in we were ready to make it look good.

John and Kaitlyn met after he finished officer school in the Marine Corps. It turned out they had mutual friends prior to their first interaction, but they never crossed paths. It was at a Christmas party where he was dressed as Marv from Home Alone and she was a reindeer that they first truly met face to face. He left shortly thereafter for the Marines, and when he returned that summer they began talking.

Thank goodness for Irongate having many covered areas with natural light for us to use. Once the weather broke some, we took out the clear umbrellas + sat in the back of Glady’s, my 1966 Ford truck.

Color: Maroon, Pinks, Gray Suits, Dark Red

Details: Their first official date was the Marine Corps Ball in Las Vegas. At that time, John was living in Canton and she was living in Columbus, both of them working night shift. They hadn’t officially said they were dating but he invited her as his date to the event. A few days before they flew out, they went to dinner and while driving to meet their friends at a bar after, he asked if he could introduce Kaitlyn as his “girlfriend”. She told him that would be fine. Haha 😉

John was in between training and had 10 days to get home, repack and leave for DC. Our plan was for him to come down to Columbus to say goodbye prior to heading out to the east coast. He changed plans on her and asked if she could come to Canton instead which she agreed. He then asked if they could go out with her good friends Steve and Sarah (who live in Cleveland) for dinner. Kaitlyn didn’t think anything of it because that was a normal occurrence when they were up there. Turns out, John had the whole thing planned. They went to Great Lakes Brewing Co. for a tour and dinner and afterward took a walk to the Hope Memorial Bridge where he got on one knee and asked her to marry him! I was completely shocked and to top it off after I said yes, they went to a bar where more of their friends showed up to celebrate! Best night ever!

Favorite Story From the Day: When I asked them what they remember most from their wedding day they said, “People aren’t lying to you when they say the whole day is a blur. It truly is. It starts off slow as you begin getting ready, but you blink and it’s time to walk down the aisle and then head to the reception! The most memorable part of my wedding day was when John and I were sitting at our head table. We had just finished dinner, and the other tables were still enjoying the food and we were able to sit back and look at how it all came together. We tried to spend as much time as we could with our guests and our bridal party the entire day, but those 5-10 minutes were just between us, and it was perfect.”

the Vendor Collective

• Photography: Ashley Rene Photography
• Invitations: Minted
• Bridal Shop: Essence of Australia
• Floral: MariaLynn Floral
• Cakes, Desserts, + Catering: Catering by Scott
• Music + Entertainment: DJ Axcess
• Hair: Shannon Goode of GoodeHair
• Makeup: Make-Up by Tatum
• Men’s Fashion: BlackTux
• Bridesmaid Dresses: Brideside

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