Parkey Wedding: Traditional Meets Elegance

Kaitlyn, thank you for allowing us to share some details from your special day on our blog! For starters, how would you describe your wedding decor and theme?

My wedding was in January, and I would definitely say my colors went along with most winter weddings: black, burgundy, green, and blush. My decor style was a classy boho? I’ve never been able to define it; I just liked what I liked! A few highlights were my gold floral hoops, lots of greenery, an array of candles, and gold mirror signs that were just my favorite.

What are some of your favorite memories or details from your special day?

I would have to say that I have two favorite memories from my day. First would be our first look. I know many brides go back and forth on whether or not to include this in their day, but I’m so thankful Zakery and I did. Your wedding day is one of the biggest days of your life, and to me, it was important to have a few moments where it was just Zak and I. We wrote each other letters and read them face to face. It’s something I’ll never forget. We both still cried when I walked down the aisle, so I don’t think the first look took any of the emotions or suspense away. 

My second favorite memory was when my wedding party and all my family came together and prayed over Zak and I at the altar after we took communion. Everyone in the room could feel the love that surrounded us and the sincerity of every prayer that was prayed.

During the planning process of your actual wedding day, were there any funny moments or times things didn’t go as planned?

So believe it or not, everything went exactly as intended. I can truly say that my wedding was everything I wanted and more! My photographer even said that this was the easiest, smoothest wedding that she had ever been a part of. And for that, I am SO thankful.

How did you find the perfect wedding dress?

Like most girls, I first went and tried on dresses at a few bridal boutiques, but everything I tried on just wasn’t me or needed a ridiculous amount of alterations. I found one dress in-store that made me say, “Okay this might be it,” but my consultant told me that with the specific designer you could not make any alterations to the dress. I wasn’t devastated, but I was aggravated. Before getting engaged I had already started looking online trying to get some ideas, so I just went back to my online searching!

I found a boutique in Utah, LatterDayBride, that had a wide range of modest unique wedding dresses that required little to no alterations that were affordably priced. It was a dream! I found my dress on their website, and since Utah was just too far of a drive from North Carolina, I ordered it without seeing it. Crazy, I know. By the way, this company was so reassuring answering all my questions and making sure I got exactly what I wanted for my wedding day. When my dress came in it fit like a glove! I only had to have it hemmed slightly.

Is there any advice you would like to share with future brides out there?

My advice would be to trust your gut. You don’t have to have everyone else’s opinions to decide what color of this or what shape of that. You’ve thought about this day since you were a little girl; you know exactly what you want! 

Another thing would be to shop around. I was able to have a beautiful wedding and spent so much less than most brides do these days. 

Lastly, consider fake flowers. It will save you so much money, time, and stress! From the greenery on the tables to my bouquet, it was all fake, and it was still gorgeous. P.S. If you have a great photographer, fake flowers look just as good photographed as real ones do.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your wedding or love story?

One of the things that made our wedding day so special was being surrounded by all people that we love. Zak and I are both family-oriented, and we were so thankful to have the support of our family near and far. Not only family, but so many of our friends made the sacrifice and traveled a long way to be a part of our day, and it made all the difference. I think it’s important to have a strong network of people that you know you can count on no matter what, and I’m blessed to say that we definitely have that.

Thank you so much for your time, Kaitlyn! Before we go, we’d love to know who your photographer was.

My photographer was Mehgan Fairbanks from Fairfilm Photo + Video. She and her husband went above and beyond on our wedding! They are so kind, and the quality of everything that they produce is just superb! You have to check out their content.