Like so many great love stories, the tale of Katelyn "KK" Kelley and Austin Harris's happily ever after stalled before it started. The two were introduced in 2007 by a mutual friend when Austin, a chief financial officer, stopped by the Richmond restaurant where KK, now a brand manager, was working at the time. "I felt right away that I wanted to know her," recalls Austin, who friended KK on Facebook the very next day, only to find out she had a boyfriend. A year later, after KK's in-real-life status went from "in a relationship" to "single," he asked her out. This time, she was on the same page. "I remember melting when I saw him again," she says, "and sensed it was the start of something special."
That intuition came full circle six years later when KK, in a dramatic fit-and-flare satin gown, walked down the aisle at St. James's Episcopal Church in Virginia to a folk song ("Peace Like a River") performed a capella by the parish's choir. The 170 loved ones who attended listened as the reverend read words that KK and Austin had written to each other. "It's a custom among couples marrying at St. James's that you write a letter to your beloved, a part of which is read by the priest during the ceremony," says KK.
Afterward, everyone made their way to the stately Commonwealth Club, built in 1892. "I love to surprise people by mixing traditional and modern styles together," says KK. To that end, old-school elements like the historic venue, the groomsmen's white dinner jackets, and the bridesmaids' long gloves were juxtaposed with unexpected touches, such as the foil-printed invitations and watercolor menus. Dinner was a five-course meal of favorite family dishes, including German schnitzel and hummingbird cake. Then came the dancing to an eclectic mix of electropop, R&B, and Top 40 tunes played by a Las Vegas DJ flown in for the day. As evening turned to late night, the couple put one last contemporary spin on a classic moment: Amid a joyful chia-seed toss (a nod to Austin's job at a natural-foods company), the newlyweds made their getaway in a pedicab playfully painted with the words Chia Later.
