Nicole & Kevin
Gorgeously set in the heart of downtown Kansas City, the wedding of Nicole and Kevin intimately celebrated their beautiful story. Nicole, lovingly nicknamed ‘Coco’, wears the Anna Campbell classic Coco.
Wedding Location | Kansas City, Missouri, USA Wedding Date | September 6, 2020
Meet Nicole & Kevin | Nicole works as an audiologist and specifically work with hard of hearing adults and help them to hear better with hearing aids. Kevin recently served five years in the US army and now has left the service to attend law school at the University of Virginia. We have a dog, Harvey, and a cat, Tank, and recently bought our first home together here in Virginia! We love to travel, climb mountains, and explore craft breweries!
A Modern Meet | Tinder! If you can believe it! During my last year of school for audiology, I moved to Colorado for my full time externship. Kevin was stationed in Colorado for the army. Both of us had just moved to the state and had only a handful of friends. We matched and eventually met up for our first date in downtown Denver. That first date was only the beginning because we managed to see each other a total of three times in that first week – and at the time, we lived 90 minutes from each other! We both could tell there was something special and worth exploring.
The Dress Story | I LOVE my dress story! It’s going to be one of my favorite stories for the rest of my life!
After a day of wedding dress shopping with my mom, sister, and friend, I had not found anything I liked. I felt like a cupcake in so many white poofy dresses (and I knew I never wanted anything with a lot of tulle and fluff) and was starting to feel slightly discouraged.
We went to The Sample Shoppe in Atlanta, Georgia. It was actually Valentine’s Day (2/14/2020) and it was going to be our last stop for the day. The Sample Shoppe is part of the White Magnolia, which is a high end bridal shop. The Sample Shoppe is designer sample dresses, usually slightly older and it’s a beautiful store. We were the only ones in there and we were all just looking through dresses when all of a sudden, I find something on the rack that really makes me stop and think. It actually was my Coco dress but at first glance, I just couldn’t tell why I liked or what it jogged in my mind. I skipped past it! Then, my sister pulled out a different Anna Campbell dress that I recognized at the time. She said I might like this one based on all the AC pictures I showed them of the style I was looking for. That’s when it hit me; the dress I had passed over was an older AC dress! I tried them both on but the choice was so clear. I had pictures of the Coco dress on my phone and pintrest board already! I have loved this dress since it first came out (I think 2016?). I could not believe the luck I had in finding it!
She was actually in really good shape already, even being from a sample shop, and fit me almost perfect. The alterations were very easy and minimal.
One thing that did worry me was getting the beads right and back in perfect condition. The Coco dress is made by the beautiful beading on the front and straps and I knew that had to be perfect. I actually contacted Anna Campbell, DURING COVID, and the most wonderful company ever sent me so many beads all the way from Australia to complete my look and make my wedding dress dreams a reality! Actually, with the extra beads, my sister surprised me and had earrings and a necklace made for me. I wore the earrings at the wedding!
My Coco dress was quite literally the dress of my dreams. It was an absolute showstopper at my wedding since it was so unique and beautiful. It fit my style and our wedding theme perfectly and to this day still gives me chills thinking about how lucky I was to wear this dress.
Also, even more of a coincidence, my name is Nicole and my family used to call me “Coco” when I was younger! I grew out of the nickname, but my mom remembered and loved that part of the dress!
Coco Comforts | It might sound cheesy, but I felt like royalty wearing my dress! I had never in my life worn anything so fancy and I don’t know if I ever will again, which is a very strange thought! So I wore that dress to the fullest! I was able to dance worry free since it fit me so well. I was able to sit and be comfortable in my dress. I was able to dib and spin and move, all while in such a beautiful wedding dress. What bride is actually completely comfortable and has a killer dress all at the same time? Anna Campbell brides, that’s who!
The Proposal | While I was living in Colorado, Kevin got surprised moved to Georgia for his final year in the army. Without hesitation, I told him “no big deal, I’ll just move to Georgia too!” Which, was actually a huge deal because I had never set foot in the state and would be moving 1,600 miles to our new home. I told him that he did not have to propose to me to have me move; that I wanted to move and that we already knew we would get married but that this big move didn’t mean he had to propose right then and there.
Kevin planned a special “welcome to the South” trip the first weekend I was there. We went to Bluffton, South Carolina to the nicest resort I had ever been to. We had an amazing dinner and the road bikes to a special spot he had picked out. He hugged me, told me he loved me, started crying and got down on one knee. Actually, he didn’t even have time to ask, “will you marry me” because I started sobbing “YES” before he had the chance!
As an added surprise, his best friend was there and in the bushes taking pictures the whole time, which Kevin knew would mean so much to me.
He proposed on June 6, 2019 and later that night, we picked September 2020 as our wedding weekend!
Why Anna Campbell? | I have been absolutely in love with Anna Campbell for years! I have the Pinterest board to prove it! Some of my first pins on that “Future Wedding” board were my favorite Anna Campbell dresses. I honestly don’t know what it is about the dresses that attracts me so much. I am not a super flashy person while the dresses are full of pizazz. I really think it’s the ability Anna Campbell has to make the dresses look almost boho style yet impeccably classy and timeless at the exact same time.
I love the details on every dress. I love they way they photograph on your instagram page, but also on real brides. Now having worn the dress and trying on other dresses, the quality is unmatchable. Anna Campbell has always been my favorite wedding dress designer and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to wear my Coco dress at our wedding! Also, I studied abroad in Australia and lived there for 6 months. It will always be a special place for me and knowing that that’s where my wedding dress was created makes it all the more meaningful to me!
“The second I put on the Anna Campbell dress, it just physically felt different. Just…. It felt to me the way a dress that special should feel.”
Dress Details | The quality was unmatchable with my dress. And remember, my dress was a sample dress that was about 4 years old and had likely been tried on by hundreds of women before I found her! I had tried on other dresses that day and, in all honesty, they just felt like prom dresses and the quality wasn’t there. The second I put on the Anna Campbell dress, it just physically felt different. Just…. It felt to me the way a dress that special should feel.
This isn’t even talking about the quality of the beadwork! The beading on the front and the straps was an absolute showstopper! The design was so eye-catching and unique from all other wedding dresses. And I believe that no one could have created this dress in such an elegant way other than Anna Campbell!
It might sound cheesy, but I felt like royalty wearing my dress! I had never in my life worn anything so fancy and I don’t know if I ever will again, which is a very strange though! So I wore that dress to the fullest! I was able to dance worry free since it fit me so well. I was able to sit and be comfortable in my dress. I was able to dib and spin and move, all while in such a beautiful wedding dress. What bride is actually completely comfortable and has a killer dress all at the same time? Anna Campbell brides, that’s who!
“My grandpa owns the red car we took pictures with and used as a getaway car at the wedding. He has had it for years and has put so much work into it and we were very honored to be able to use it in our wedding. It meant so much that the car is also something special for my family and my grandpa was our getaway driver! Plus, it really made the pictures pop at sunset!”
Words of Wisdom | BUY THE DRESS! You will be so thankful for the rest of your life that you did! If you need anything, the wonderful Anna Campbell team is there to help! And if you are lucky enough to find your dress at a sample shop, count your lucky stars!
Dress: Coco Dress | by Anna Campbell Bridal | Purchased at @thesampleshoppe Atlanta, GA
Photographer: Jill Caren Photo | @jillstuefer
Venue: The Magnolia Venue & Urban Garden | @magnoliavenuekc
I am from Kansas City and Kevin loves KC as well. We lived hundreds of miles away while planning our wedding and picked the Magnolia Venue by a quick facetime tour and website photos – we absolutely loved that it was in downtown Kansas City yet still had a beautiful outdoor feel!
Make Up Artist: Naturally You Make Up | @naturallyyoumakeupartistry
Celebrant: Michael Whitham
Event Planner & Florist: Whitebird Events