Wedding | Isis & Michael

The Anti-Bride
2 hours ago
6 min read

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We met online on New Year’s Eve during the pandemic while we were both living in California. Our first date we went roller skating on the beach; we got into a heated debate, Isis locked her keys in her car, and we defused with tacos. A few months later we agreed to leave California and travel to Europe together. We spent a beautiful year in San Pedro, California planning and getting rid of our belongings before moving to Croatia where we lived for a year. We eventually returned to Lawrence, Kansas (Michael’s home town) to gather our thoughts and decide on what we would do next. Isis, being from Los Angeles fell in love with the slow pace of life and the strong farming community in Lawrence- its really such an inclusive and progressive place with an abundance of small organic farms, community centres, and quirky shops. We spent every weekend at the farmers market. Isis even ended up working at a small organic farm.

During our time in Kansas we decided to return to Europe, as Isis was accepted into a masters program in Italy to study Sustainable Agriculture. We had such a hectic first few years together traveling that a wedding ceremony was not really in our plans, but Kansas and the open prairie has a way of slowing you down and seducing you.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

Over the years, we’ve come to believe that small, sustainable farms are essential for building strong communities and caring for the planet. Connecting with people who share that vision has given us so much hope. While in Kansas, a friend told us about a nearby farm — The Burning Barrel — that hosts intimate farm to table dinners . Our friends couldn’t say enough about the couple who ran it, their warmth, and, of course, the incredible food. We booked two seats at their next dinner… and fell in love.

Every dish is grown, raised, and prepared by hand on the farm, with anything not produced there thoughtfully sourced from nearby. We were greeted with a handcrafted drink and invited to wander the gardens, meet the animals, and breathe in the quiet beauty of the open fields. We have never had roast chicken so good. And have you ever had farm-made beet ice cream? Amazing.

One morning we were on The Burning Barrel’s website booking another dinner and noticed that they offered weddings, as soon as we saw that, it just clicked- of course! Lets get married here, near Michael's hometown before we leave for Italy!

How many guests did you have?

50 close friends and family.

What was your budget?

$20k. In the end we spent closer to $25k. Our sweet hosts at our wedding venue only charged us for the food and staff and we were free to use the grounds for our ceremony which saved us a lot. We never wanted to feel guilt or regret for spending a massive amount of money on a wedding.

Tell us about your outfits.

Isis: Our wedding was completely outdoors in June. We got lucky with perfect weather but Kansas is known for heat and humidity, so comfort was a top priority for me. I went to a high end dress shop in Kansas City and tried on some beautiful dresses. However, they all felt very heavy for a summer wedding, and to be honest the experience was quite stressful; the prices were quite high and the production times were months out, and I didn’t consider extra time needed for alterations. I was told I needed to make a decision that day if I wanted any of the dresses that I liked. Ultimately, \I couldn’t justify the price tag of a traditional wedding dress, especially if I was only going to wear it once.

I gave up on dress hunting for a while and turned my attention to finding a veil. From the moment I saw the black velvet veil on Kamperett’s website, I was obsessed. I knew it would flush perfectly with my dark hair and it was so unique I ordered it right away. Shortly after, I decided on wearing a simple silk dress and thankfully the team at Kamperett was able to rush and make me a custom simple long silk slip dress within a few weeks.

Though I spent most of the day barefoot, for my shoes I decided on funky heels from Camper; they were sturdy enough for walking on gravel and grass.

Michael: I wore a simple Italian suit from Brooks Brothers with Allen Edmonds dress shoes. Isis gifted me a silk pocket square made from Italian silk from Lake Como.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

As a couple, we really appreciate simplicity and can get easily overwhelmed, so the most important aspect for us was to keep things very simple. We had three priorities: feel present and relaxed during our wedding day, have amazing food, walk away with great photos, but not take too much time out of the day for them.

We exchanged vowels privately and did a hand tying ceremony with our guests instead.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

We wanted to invest in items that we could use even after our wedding day had passed.

One of the best decisions we made was to purchase our dinner napkins. I found lovely white seersucker dinner and cocktail napkins online from a small business, Dot & Army. We have about 200 of them. We’ve tucked a few away as keepsakes but the rest we use for dinner parties or picnics, and Isis keeps one tucked in her purse always.

Isis: I am so grateful that I ended up purchasing a dress that I could wear again and again; it has been really nice wearing my simple silk gown out to dinner on hot Italian nights, or under a jean jacket for cocktails.

For florals - again, we kept things simple and sustainable. Our flower vendor- Fern’s Farmette in Kansas- allowed us to avoid importing flowers, by providing beautiful, homegrown blooms for our day. I loved getting to gather the flowers myself and create my own bouquet — it made everything feel that much more personal.

While Michael was on his way to the wedding, I arranged a quick, boudoir photoshoot with our photographer, Ryanne from 3BPhotography. She later curated the images into a little black book that I surprised Michael with as a wedding gift.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Beyond your vision, keep checking in with yourself and your partner — how do you want to feel on your wedding day? What might get in the way of that feeling? Let go of anything that adds unnecessary stress, it your day.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

We are full to bursting with happiness and contentment reflecting on our wedding day and we owe that to our Hosts Kristin and Brian of The Burning Barrel; its very hard to put into words the softness and warmth that this couple radiates, and the steadfastness they have with caring for their farm and their community. I don’t think we would have had a wedding ceremony if we had not found them.

We want to give a special thanks to 3B Photography, Ryanne and Brian. From the start, we knew we wanted our day captured on film, but we were a little nervous about the cameras taking us out of the moment. We asked for something subtle and effortless — a way to remember the day without feeling posed or distracted — and they delivered beautifully.

We’d also love to thank Christy at Inkello Letterpress. When we first started planning, we were a little all over the place, and she helped ground us while bringing our invitations and place cards to life. Christy was endlessly patient, creative, and such a joy to work with — plus, she runs the coolest vintage letterpress in Lawrence.

The jazz band at our wedding — the Ben Ghram Trio — was incredible. They’re true musicians with that timeless, old-school vibe. They’ll probably never see this, but we love you guys.

Photographer & Videographer: 3B Photography @3bphotography | Flora: Fern’s Farmette @fernsfarmette | Ceremony & Reception Location: The Burning Barrel @theburningbarrel | Celebrant: Family Friend | Stationery: Inkello Letterpress @inkello | Cake: The Burning Barrel