Fun & colorful - authentically them

Dec 5

McKenzie and Austin’s wedding day was filled with so much laughter and fun. With vibrant colors and bright personalities, their wedding was an absolute joy from beginning to end.

But, obviously, their story didn’t start there.

While they had met in high school, like so many, they didn’t really connect until college.

McKenzie and Austin were both students at Missouri State University, and one day as they were walking to class, their paths crossed. As they made eye contact, there was a moment of “I know that person”. They waved to each other but continued on. A few hours later, Austin sent McKenzie a friend request on Facebook, and then slid into her DMs a few days later. They talked off and on, until it became consistent.

Fast forward five years, they had no doubt they had found the one they wanted to spend forever with.

“I knew Austin was the one because he is everything to me that I've ever wanted in my husband,” McKenzie told us. “He's funny (not a day goes by without him making me laugh), he is patient with me (the amount of times he's had to explain tech things is astronomical), he loves snuggles as much as I do. We both want to build a family together. I can't imagine my life without him being in it. He is truly my other half.”

“McKenzie always brightens my days and she's the most enjoyable person to be around,” Austin said. “We both get each other and can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together.”

Confident in each other and their relationship, the timing was right, and they were ready to take the next step.

“Austin proposed at the Japanese Stroll Gardens in Springfield,” McKenzie reported. “It was a Monday night, and I didn't expect it at all! He had texted me and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner, well we didn't end up eating first! We went to the Stroll Gardens and he had enlisted the help of our friends, Jacob and Becky, to help out. Becky had set up a cute little picnic scene with pillows and a little basket with sparkling grape juice, and Austin proposed in front of it. It was perfect and everything I had hoped for in a proposal.”

Having been together for five years, they already knew what they wanted in a wedding, it was just a matter of executing it. They booked The Venue at Shadow Rock the day after getting engaged, and then booked the rest of their big ticket vendors in the three weeks following. They planned the entire wedding in just over three months.

“It was a busy time, but it was so good,” McKenzie said. “I also was blessed to have a lot of help from my mom in the whole process.”

When asked what they were most looking forward to about their wedding day, they said, “Pretty much all of it! We've been waiting for this day for so long that we are excited about it all!”

When asked what they were most looking forward to about marriage, McKenzie said, “I look forward to being together for all the important things and for all the small moments and experiencing all that together.”

“What she said,” Austin agreed.

Just three months after getting engaged, the couple’s wedding day dawned bright and sunny. They filled the venue with color and vibrancy and joy, and in an outdoor ceremony, they started the next chapter of their love story as they promised each other forever.

Laughter filled the air often during the evening, as well as throughout wedding pictures, and especially during McKenzie’s brother’s entrance to the ceremony as he came in with style as the ‘flower dude’ in place of a flower girl. It was a beautiful, fun-filled day to celebrate a beautiful, fun couple.

Asked what advice they had for other couples preparing for a wedding, they said, “Do what YOU want! It's your wedding and it should be what you and your spouse want. Your opinion matters most because if you aren't happy with your wedding day, then it could be something you regret for the rest of your life. Make your wedding day what you want it to be.”

That’s great advice from a great couple who were able to plan a wedding that was beautiful and authentically them in just over three months!