Z+V

NYE Wedding at The Aspen Room

Vanessa and Zach celebrated the beginning of their life together as husband and wife at The Aspen Room at The Historic Stanley in Lees Summit on New Years Eve. Their day was dripping with sparkles and oozing with excitement! Just wait until you see how much fun their friends are. 🙂

The Details

Getting Ready

Vanessa planned the most glamorous day ever! I could have shot the entire day in only black and white. The shots below with the stripes from the blinds only added to the Hollywood Regency drama. 🙂

Um hello gorgeous!! Zach is one lucky dude, but I’m sure he knows that already. 😉 

First Look

Portraits

Again with the black and whiiiites. Are you swooning too, or is it just me? gah!

I knew Zach’s crew wouldn’t disappoint when it came to entertaining themselves for the day – their engagement session was indication enough. If you missed it, you can check out the shots we snagged in Downtown Kansas City here. I ‘had to’ include an entire blooper reel because some of Zach’s silly faces were just too good not to share!

Here come the pretties! All 11 of them. Normally, I won’t lie, I am not a fan of large bridal parties, but these ladies were SO fun and sweet and cool that I hardly noticed we were rolling with a crew large enough to give Sporting Kansas City a fair match. 😉 They were awesome and I kind of want to be the honorary 12th bestie… **See the reception photos for a better idea of how much love these ‘maids have for each other! 

Vanessa’s florals were perfect for winter! The Hydrangeas were a perfect winter white, and I specially loved the blue berry accents- such cool texture!

Side note: These were taken in the dead of winter, and these girls make it look like a lovely Spring day. Way to be, ladies!! Thanks for making my job a piece of cake!

The Ceremony

^^ One of my favorite moments of any wedding day. Congrats, you two!!

The Reception

The ambiance in The Aspen Room is unreal. Brick walls, wood floors, tin ceilings, stately bars, wooden beams, and stunning crystal chandeliers. Yes please!

Ok these cakes… they look beautiful, but let me tell you how beautiful they tasted. Missi Fizzle Cakes has it figured out. Honestly, I know I can be dramatic but this was some of the best cake I’ve had. Period.

Ok insert crazy cool bride tribe. Back story: Vanessa’s favorite movie is Love Actually. If you’ve not seen the movie, there’s an iconic scene where a love proclamation is made via queue cards/giant poster board and it’s amazing. The bridesmaids surprised Vanessa with a Love Actually inspired toast, where each held up/read a part of the toast. Are they not the coolest?! Seriously, they are the definition of squad goals.

‘ Hey Zach, buddy, help me out, I can’t read your handwriting.. what does that say?’ 😛

Such a glam room for a first dance, but duh, it was New Year’s Eve. What did you expect?

Night Portraits

I was so excited to have a ton of time on the back end of the wedding. Normally my time is much more top heavy, and we spend time taking portraits in the daylight (which I love). The nice part about winter weddings is the opportunity for cool night shots! Hence:

The Party

Let the games begin. Keep in mind, I saved the least incriminating shots for Z + V’s private blackmail stash. Brace yourselves, y’all.

If you follow me on Instagram you know that I referenced this ‘Dorito Bridesmaid’ as my spirit animal… I don’t regret that. 

^^ potentially the best one. I love the ‘crouch down and fix the eyelash’. I’m going to have to incorporate that into my repertoire of dance moves. 

Can you tell how fun these people are?! Really.

Zach and Vanessa,

I had a blast ringing in the new year with you two and your awesome friends and family! Thank you so much for including me and allowing me to capture your most precious of memories!

 

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Vendor Love:

Hair and Makeup: Posh KC Blow Dry Bar

Dress: Casablanca via Something White Bridal Boutique

Shoes: Alex Marie

Bridesmaids Ceremony Dresses: Vow to Be Chic

Bridesmaids Reception Dresses: Rent The Runway

Menswear: Combatant Gentlemen

Flower Wall: Emily Pittman Garcia

Wedding Venue: The Stanley Aspen Room

DJ: Crystal Productions DJ Service

Cake: Missi Fizzle Cakes

Florist: Sarah Clayton

Photography: Felicia The Photographer

Assistant: Helen