The Lovettes: Introducing you to Kasia and Nick

Oh I’m so excited to be sharing our very first post from our new team of blogging brides, aka ‘The Lovettes‘!  Kasia is one of 21 readers due to marry within the next 18 months (this June actually), who was chosen last month to share their wedding planning experiences through Love My Dress.  We tried really hard to select a diverse and interesting group of brides to be, each of whom are at various stages in their wedding planning and have various views and perspectives of the experience so far.  I don’t want to steal any more of her time so will hand you over to Kasia now – but to say, you will find more information about Kasia and Nick at the end of this feature.

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The first time I saw Nick, he was an hour late for a class he wasn’t actually in, was wearing the filthiest sweatshirt I’d ever seen, and was trying to make a skyline-shaped ring light up wirelessly.

I liked him right away.

We spent a month skirting around the edge of flirtation in our art-school jewellery class, and I used that time to try to learn more about him. He was described to me by mutual acquaintances as either an eccentric genius or a lady’s man- the latter was dubious, but you never know. I discovered he liked Arrested Development (the show, not the group) and hiking. And there were the things that are immediately apparent to every person who meets Nick- his absolute brilliance, unstoppable self-assurance, and intellectual curiosity are impossible to hide.

When we went on our first date, those were the only things I knew. I actually didn’t know if we were even on a date, as Nick had prefaced the outing with, “I could be convinced to do something fun with you.” Not exactly a grand declaration of love- but it got the ball rolling nonetheless. The conversation and commonalities came easily, and by the end of the evening, I added another thing to the facts I knew: this was the guy for me.

But it’s the long list of things I didn’t know- the things that were slowly revealed to me over the past six years – that ultimately transformed that first date in the East Village into the only love story I ever want to know. Nick is the most romantic, goofiest weirdo I could ever have hoped to spend my life with. His sense of adventure inspires me to climb mountains (both literal and figurative) I never would have dreamed to on my own. He impresses me constantly with his curiosity, his vision, and his passion- and not a day goes by where he doesn’t inspire me to be better, think harder, dream bigger, and do more.

Our engagement was pure Nick ingenuity- a 10-day trip across China became a 10-day-long proposal, all without my knowledge. As we stood on the peaks of mountains and balanced on the edges of fishing boats, Nick was holding a ‘Marry Me’ sign right behind my head. I never noticed (and therefore should probably get my peripheral vision checked, but no matter), so it wasn’t until a couple weeks later, when those 50-odd photos were presented to me at the Brooklyn Bridge in a beautiful book, that he revealed his scheme. He asked again, this time in person, and the answer was a no-brainer.

It’s surreal to think that we got engaged over a year ago; we now have only a little over 100 days until the wedding. I’m excited, stressed, anxious, and elated. I am, admittedly, a girl who loved weddings since childhood- so much so, that grew up to become a designer. A designer with a specialty in wedding dresses.

People tend to raise their brows when I say I am making my own dress, but that bemusement turns to abject pity when I tell them I am making the bridesmaid dresses as well. And making hundreds and hundreds of paper flowers to hang from the rafters. And DIYing the laser cut, pop-up invitations. And, basically, just making things hard for myself. But the truth is, it’s the only way I can imagine this wedding going; even if I had unlimited funds (ha!), I feel like I’d still want to do it on my own. The fun, pretty parts, at least

Of course, it’s a lot, and there is much to be done in a very short time. Sometimes, in a low moment, as I lay awake at night and run through lists in my head, the anxiety rolls over me and I suddenly understand why people elope. But then I look over at the sleeping mass next to me, and all the things I’ve been concerning myself with – centerpieces, playlists, the damn envelopes- fall away and I remember that the one thing that TRULY matters for our wedding is also the one thing I’ve never doubted or questioned.

It’s all going to be ok.

Kasia x

A little background on Kasia and Nick

As this is Kasia’s first post for Love My Dress,  we thought it would be nice to share some of Kasia’s original Lovettes application with you all – to help you get to know her a little better.  We’ll be doing the same for all our new Lovettes when it comes to sharing their first posts.

Kasia Wisniewski, age 27
Wedding Date: 27th June 2015
Wedding Location: New York
Find Kasia at: veiled-threat.com, Instagram, Pinterest

How they met:  Nick and I met, prophetically, in a building called ‘Chemistry’ six years ago. We were in a jewellery class, albeit in a section for which Nick was not actually enrolled, and one that I was planning to drop. Despite those factors, and mostly because of each other, we both kept showing up and, by the light of our acetylene torches, fell for each other in that metalworking studio. We shared a common love for sandwiches, Arrested Development, and adventure, and have been by each other’s side ever since.

When we were home in Brooklyn after our trip to China (reference above), we went out for a pizza date near the Brooklyn Bridge. We ventured to the pier to get ice cream, and were disappointed to find the shop closed. When we turned to take in the skyline, Nick handed me a package he had been carrying all night. It was a gorgeous book full of all the pictures from our trip. He had been proposing to me for weeks, and I never even knew. He asked me one last time, out loud, to marry him, and gave me a beautiful ring that he designed and made himself.  By no accident, we were standing in almost the exact spot we were nearly 5 years earlier when Nick told me he loved me for the first time. It was a no-brainer.

About their wedding:  On a Saturday in June, an old paper factory in New York will hold our full-on DIY, glamorous pizza-party wedding!

We are both designers- I’m a dress and product designer, and Nick is an industrial designer and engineer- so our wedding is nearly 100% DIY and created by us. The dresses, the event design, the paper goods, the massive number of paper flowers, the rings- in my darker moments, it all seems a little overwhelming- but truly, I can’t imagine it any other way. This wedding is a real labor of love for us and our families and friends, who will be coming from all over the US (and from a handful of places in Europe and Asia!) to join us.

We are getting married in an old textile mill in upstate New York, about an hour outside of New York City. We are focused on doing the stuff that’s authentically us, rather than holding onto traditional wedding tropes. Nick’s dad will marry us in a non-religious ceremony and then we’ll serve pizza and ice cream to suit-and-tie clad guests. Our wedding is about trying to share a bit of the joy we bring to each other with our family and friends- and we see no better way to do that than to celebrate with our favourite things.
We chose a June date because we want our guests to experience New York in all its glory- warm days spent at the outdoor markets, lazy Sundays spent picnicking on Governor’s Island, concerts in the park. New York can be a hard place to live (I type this during a snowstorm), but in June, the city blooms and shines in a way that makes it hard not to fall in love for a lifetime.

Their wedding photographer:  Spencer Lum at 5 West Studios

What does marriage mean?  Marriage to me is fully about family. Nick and I joined our lives fully years ago- from day one, there has never been a question about whether this would be the man with whom I would spend the rest of my life. We already live together, work together, and experience life together. On our wedding day, though, we will be joining our families and truly starting our own- the gravitas of that commitment is not lost on me. Our marriage will mark the the beginning of something- but it will also serve to commemorate and honour everything and everyone that’s come before.

Favourite Hollywood Icon?  I’d like to imagine it as Katherine Hepburn (although the irony of a wedding having the personality of Katherine Hepburn is not lost on me) – a bit untraditional, a pinch wild, more than a little glamorous, and with a healthy sense of humour about it all.

Favourite Love My Dress wedding:  It has to be this one.  It’s everything a wedding should be- magical, stunning, personal, and intimate. It’s a celebration stripped down to the most important elements, and made better for it.