Casually Elegant - Kassie & Kilie

Foodies, sports fans and dog lovers Kassie Nurton and Kilie McKenzie wove all their favorite things into their perfect elegantly, casual poolside wedding.

The couple met on the corner near Kassie’s favorite restaurant – a place that holds an even more special place in her heart now, because that’s where Kilie proposed in July 2015.

“The proposal was a complete surprise to me. We always said I would be the one to propose,”

Kassie said.

Kassie planned to have dinner with a friend from out of town, who was in on the surprise. They were walking to SoHo to meet Kilie when a friend approached Kassie and handed her a card. Then, Kassie’s aunt and uncle walked up and handed her another. Several close friends approached her and did the same thing. Each card noted a milestone in Kassie and Kilie's relationship.

“I’m pretty easy to fool,” Kassie said. “I didn’t know what was going on. I thought I missed an anniversary. Kilie handed me the last card and it said, ‘Will you marry me?’”

They married a year later, on August 27, 2017, a date sandwiched between a friend’s wedding and a crucial event – the beginning of college football season.

“We’re big college football fans so we knew the wedding had to be before college football season. We picked the week before college football started,” Kassie said, laughing, adding that a wedding during football season would be a “deal breaker for her family.”

The couple married in Sioux City at Kilie’s parents’ house. “We knew from the beginning the house is where we wanted to get married, pending good weather,” shared Kassie. “It felt really personal.”

Light rain delayed the set-up on the big day, but skies cleared and Kassie said “it ended up being perfect weather.”

Kilie’s parents recently built their home and finished the backyard just in time for the wedding. The couple hosted their rehearsal dinner at the house and had plenty of space inside for themselves and their wedding party to get ready on the big day. Meanwhile, a bridemaid’s husband was assigned the task of wrangling the brides’ two dogs. “Our dogs are our children,” Kassie said.

On the day of the wedding, Ashley Zellmer of Ashley Zellmer Photography ran back and forth between brides to document each preparing for the ceremony. Although the brides each purchased their dresses from David’s Bridal, they didn’t see one another’s dresses until the day of the wedding. Friends and family ran interference to ensure the brides didn’t see each other until the ceremony.

The brides chose complementary colors for their wedding party. Kilie’s bridesmaids wore blue, her favorite color. Kassie selected coral, a color she enjoys in summer that paired well with blue, for her bridesmaids. Male friends, and one female friend, served as ushers.

“Our nieces came down from Canada so we had four flower girls, plus one ring bearer. They had a blast,” Kassie said.

The brides also coordinated their bouquets while overcoming a challenge – Kilie is allergic to most flowers, except roses and lilies. Barbara’s Florals and Gifts in Sioux City created two bouquets that looked similar while incorporating roses in one and lilies in the other. Kilie and her bridesmaids made silk bouquets for all the bridesmaids.

.

Eighty guests gathered poolside for the ceremony, which was performed by a friend of Kilie’s mother. In addition to standard vows, each bride told five things she loved about the other. “We didn’t know each other’s five things until we said them at the ceremony,” Kassie explained.

After walking down the aisle with her dad and uncle, Kassie waited at the altar for Kilie, who was escorted down the aisle by her dad.

Watching Kilie walk down the aisle was Kassie’s favorite moment of the ceremony, she said, while reading the five things was especially memorable to Kilie.

Two hundred guests joined the couple for the wedding reception at the Sioux City Country Club. Along with Kassie’s family from Omaha, guests came from Canada, Florida and Louisiana. “Our families all got to meet each other. It was the first time our whole families had been together,”

Kassie said.

The couple and guests celebrated with fun, games and comfort food.

“We’re foodies. We really like different types of food so we didn’t want a standard dinner. We did a mac and cheese bar with different meats and toppings, and a fajita bar. Everybody liked it,”

Kassie shared.

The couple had a wedding cake with layers of chocolate Bavarian cream and strawberry cream. The most in-demand dessert, however, was the selection of dessert shooters – pudding and six different flavorings including pumpkin spice and s’more. “Those were gone in the first hour,” Kassie said.

The brides’ love of good food and the local farmers’ market was reflected in some of the decor, as well. A farmers’ market vendor decorated a pallet with the brides’ home states – Iowa and Nebraska – along with the lyrics to the couple’s first dance song, “How Long Will I Love You.” Family and friends signed the pallet in lieu of a guest book. Guests also left good wishes – and predictions for the coming college football season – in a wish jar for the brides.

Many of the couple’s guests aren’t dancers, so the brides came up with alternative entertainment – board games and cards. The duo also put Mad Libs at each person’s place with questions like, ‘How’s the wedding?’ ‘What’s your favorite part of the wedding?’ and ‘Draw where you’re from.’ “We got some interesting ones. They were fun to read the next day,” said Kassie.

This fun-loving couple was thrilled to have a picture-perfect day filled with some of their favorite things. “We felt so lucky that day to be able to see and feel all the love and support that our family and friends have for us. We had to keep reminding ourselves to take a step back and try to remember even the smallest moments of the day because we knew time was flying by,” the brides shared.

WEDDING DATE: August 27

LOCATION: Sioux City, IA

WEDDING DRESS: David’s Bridal

TUXES: Men’s Wearhouse

BRIDESMAID DRESSES: David’s Bridal

RINGS: The Diamond Room & Gunderson’s Jewelers

DJ: DJ Jess

CEREMONY: Kilie’s parents’ house

RECEPTION: Sioux City Country Club

PHOTOGRAPHY: Ashley Zellmer Photography

CAKE: Sugar Shack Bakery

OTHER: Desserts Sugar Shack Bakery & Jolly Time Popcorn