Kara + Aaron

How did you meet?

My husband (Aaron) and I met in the Philippines on a ministry trip. He was on staff with the ministry and I was involved in it. Once a year they send a team about 15 people overseas to Manila, Philippines for about 2 months and in 2018 God allowed us both to go! Aaron was actually leading the team and I was along for the ride! Over time and super vulnerable moments throughout those 2 months I got to see his heart for God, his heart for leading, and his heart to love others. I quickly swooned but our 5 year age gap (I’m the younger one) made me a little insecure that he wouldn’t notice me. Back in America we went our separate ways- he lived in Florida and I lived in Georgia. One month later he randomly called me and asked me on a date. I WAS THRILLED!!! It was the start of our amazing adventure together.

When did you know they were the one?

I knew Aaron was the one when, firstly, I moved to South FL, about 4 hours away from where he was. He was quick to affirm me that he was 100% in it and I knew this was a testament to how much he cared for me and us to work. Second, about 3 months into our relationship we both sat on the beach and talked about our commitment and let each other know we weren’t here to waste each other’s time and definitely saw marriage in the future.

What are your three favourite attributes of your partner

Aaron is so incredibly talented in all his hobbies. Seriously I can’t think of any other person that has as many hobbies as him and are actually successful at all of them. He surfs, photography, woodwork, and cocktail making…thats just a few. I love it.

He is so open about what he does wrong and knows he is in need of becoming a better man each and every day. He is a strong man of faith and puts his relationship with the Lord before all things.

He puts others’ feelings before his own. He always looks around and wants to help the one that is the outcast to feel loved. AHH like how selfless???

Where did you fall in love with your dress and why?

I fell in love with my dress at a bridal shop called “White Magnolia” in Jacksonville, FL. I’d gone looking online and then had a dress appt. somewhere else before my White Magnolia fitting. I’d tried on several that I loved but only loved 1 or 2 things about each dress. Overall they weren’t THE DRESS. About 10-15 dresses later I tried on the MWL Riley dress…It was all the things I adored in the dresses I tried on before BUT EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT. It’s like it took every piece from each dress and made it into one dream dress. Gosh, the lace detail was what I originally fell in love with just on the rack. It hit in all the right places. I knew I wanted a fitted style dress and the Riley dress gave me hugs in all the right spots. I fell in love with the “eyelash” look on the lace of the train. I wanted to look sexy yet like an elegant bride…it made me feel exactly like that with the deep V’s on the front, back and sides. Plus Aaron LOVED it 😉 my dress was the first thing he commented on during our first look!

Who proposed and how?

MY FAVE PART (besides the wedding, of course) OF OUR RELATIONSHIP. Aaron proposed in Yosemite National park in California. We took a trip with 6 of our friends to the West coast for a getaway with some cool people. We spent over 12 hours in the park. From 5am sunrise to about 8pm sunset. We set out for a sunset viewing spot on the iconic mountain called “Glacier Point” -it gives you the most incredible view of all spots of Yosemite. (Aaron and I talked about engagement but never WHEN.) We were all exhausted just looking for a chill spot to watch the sunset…LITTLE DID I KNOW. Aaron let our friends in on it prior so it was one of our friends’ jobs to capture the moment. He proposed on a cliff edge overlooking “Half Dome”. It was the most shocking moment and I’ll forever get teary-eyed over the memory.

What was the best moment for you at the wedding?

Best moment? The best moment that Aaron and I both shared was that we were able to bring all of our friends and family from EVERY season of life together in one place. It was childhood to adult friends. It was far relatives plus our parents being with us on our special day. It was so cool to see and feel. Fun fact: Our parent met for the first time at our rehearsal. Talk about scary HA!

What surprised you most at or about your wedding?

I was surprised at how chill it was. Chill as in no chaos, no drama, no stress. We were incredibly blessed to have a great day-of-coordinator and wedding parties that were willing to help in ANY WAY! All of our vendors came and blew everything out of the water. We were so stressed in the season of planning (we did everything ourselves) and it was such a breath of fresh air to ENJOY the day!

What advice would you tell other brides?

As I talked about in the last question, ENJOY your day. I understand random uncontrolled things may happen but NO ONE WILL NOTICE if the cookies are sugar and not chocolate or that the aisle markers are shorter than you planned…those things will quickly turn your mind to stressing something you can’t change. Just laugh it off, say “maybe that’ll actually be better”, or just say “dangit” and smile. You and your forever Man are about to commit your life together FOREVER. May that be your focus and take it in with your girls around you<3

What was the one thing you did differently for your wedding?

We didn’t have a traditional wedding cake. We had bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! We got 2 tiered cakes with about 4 flavors to make everyone happy. It was way cheaper and ADORABLE! Your florist can still decorate it too!
Hmmm, I love dried flowers and earthy colors so I really wanted to incorporate pampas grass. It was a dream of mine while planning. AND because we had majority dried flowers/plants, we got to save them to decorate around our house to remember our wedding day. We literally have all the pampas grass scattered randomly around the house HA!

 

 

 

Details.

MWL Design:

Riley Boho

Venue:

The Bluff Venue: Kingsland, GA

MUA:

Mikayla Lirette

Flowers:

The Wild Thistle (THE MOST INCREDIBLY TALENTED PEOPLE)

Bridesmaids:

My bridesmaids got their dresses from different places. I gave them a few colors and that wore different colors and styles.

Rings/jewelry:

My engagement ring is from “The Faithful Platform”. You can customize your rings.

Shoes:

Target 😉

Suits:

J.Hilburn

Photographer:

Michael J McDaniel (insta: @michaeljmcdaniel)

Your MWL stockist:

White Magnolia