Lis Simon Bride Nikki

In this unprecedented time, many of brides have had to postpone their weddings so we wanted to spread some joy! This week we are featuring Lis Simon Bride Nikki who chose to wear our Jude gown and had her wedding a few weeks ago over Zoom.

T h e L o v e S t o r y

Zach and Nikki met two and a half years ago in Connecticut, where they both lived at the time, at a local bars’ happy hour. While not the most exciting story, it’s down-to-earth nature matches the pair to a T! They have been inseparable ever since, as each quickly realized that they had never felt this way about another person before. They were very comfortable and happy being themselves around one another. In fact, they moved across the country together to their current home in St. Louis (after only 6 months of knowing each other!) When you know, you know.

T H E P R O P O S A L

07.27.2019

Like many couples, Zach and Nikki had talked about getting married, however, Zach told Nikki not to expect anything grand, since they are both low maintenance people.

For an entire year, they were planning some sort of trip for Nikki’s golden birthday. She was turning 28 on July 28, and they were looking for a great excuse to vacation! They decided to fly to Colorado and explore Boulder and Denver. Zach had previously lived there for a year, and Nikki wanted to see the mountains for herself! They made a long 4-day weekend out of it, with the main event on July 27 at the Boulder Taco Festival (they even had VIP tickets!) Zach and Nikki both share a love for tacos, and it was exactly how she wanted to celebrate her birthday.

Before the festival, Zach wanted to take Nikki up into the mountains to show her some of his favourite outlooks and views. They were with his friend Tim, who lives there and was coming to the festival with them. After getting lost for about 30 minutes, they made it to Zach’s favourite spot, which was a very short walk to the lookout. The view was breathtaking! The weather was perfect and the skies were crystal blue. After gawking at the amazing view, Nikki turned around and Zach was on one knee asking if she would spend the rest of her life with him! Nikki jumping on him immediately, indicating a ‘yes’. After they jumped and hugged and almost fell off the mountain, they headed to the taco festival and had a wonderful time!

T h e D r e s s

Growing up in Connecticut, most of Nikki’s friends and family were located there. Once the couple made the move to St. Louis, it was unrealistic to have her 8 bridesmaids there for her dress shopping experience on such short notice. Plus, she knew she would get to see them at her bachelorette party, potential wedding shower, and the actual wedding. Zach and Nikki wanted a shorter engagement and planned their wedding for April 2020. This meant, in wedding time, she needed to get a move on! Nikki was accompanied by a couple girlfriends she did have in St. Louis at a few of her appointments, but quickly learned she had no idea what she was looking for. She didn’t want to waste their time while she tried to figure it out.

Town & Country Bridal was the last shop she went to, and had actually gone by herself. Stacey helped her out and was amazing! Nikki explained her troubles to Stacey and was left to peruse the gowns while Stacey made suggestions. They only pulled two gowns to try on, and Nikki wasn’t feeling hopeful. After putting the first gown on (our Jude dress), she didn’t want to take it off! Stacey fitted it to her and she couldn’t stop taking photos and videos to send to her friends and family back in Connecticut. She remembers Stacey casually saying “You know, it’s usually the dress you don’t want to get out of that ends up being ‘the one’.” Nikki knew she was right, so she FaceTimed her sister, mom, and some friends to give them a preview! She never ended up trying on the second gown they had pulled.

U n e x p e c t e d C h a l l e n g e s & C h o i c e s

Zach and Nikki saw this pandemic coming slowly but surely for a long time. They were hoping it would hold out until maybe the summer, but no such luck. Once it came, it hit hard and fast.

The first obstacle to tackle was Nikki’s bachelorette party, which was supposed to be mid-March in Tampa, Florida. About a week before, she was on the phone with one of her bridesmaids and they decided they would reconvene the Wednesday before their flights. 3 hours after they hung up, the CDC announced no gatherings over 50 people. And bars, restaurants, and beaches would all start to close, which was why they wanted to go to Tampa in the first place.

It was such a shock, but with everyone’s safety at risk, Zach and Nikki had to make the decision to cancel not only the bachelorette weekend, but also the formal wedding. It was a difficult day, but the couple was dead-set on getting married. The day they called everything off was actually the day they got their marriage license before all the state buildings closed. Zach and Nikki ended up at an upscale bar afterwards (sitting far away from others of course). They started calling and texting all their family and friends to let them know that they would NOT be holding their wedding as originally planned. Everyone was sympathetic and trying to be positive for them, but Nikki had a pretty tough time coming to terms with it. As the pair were having these difficult conversations, the bartender and everyone around them started to celebrate them getting their license and ordered them rounds of drinks and appetizers to make them feel better. It was so kind—from all these perfect strangers.

The more they talked about their “plans,” they quickly realized it was impossible to safely plan another event in the near future, as nobody knew when this craziness would be over. They wanted a short engagement so they could start their lives together. A house and a puppy and kids—they were ready! Zach and Nikki decided that the plan that made the most sense for them was to act as if all the formal events were cancelled, and proceed with just a tiny, private, meaningful ceremony.

T H E W E D D I N G

04.04.2020

Once they decided to forego their formal wedding, it was like all the stress went away. They decided to roll with the punches and do whatever they could to make it as perfect as it could be. Then knew there would only be 8 people total and no longer had to worry about 150 guests. They decided to head to a park where no other people were and exchange vows. It worked out well, Zach’s dad got ordained and was to originally marry them, so they got to keep that part of the plan. They invited their parents and siblings to their house that morning. (Only immediate family members who had been self-quarantining were invited. It was made VERY clear that only those who felt comfortable should attend. They did not want to pressure anyone into being there if they felt nervous. They also did not encourage hugging, kissing, etc. and photos were only done with those who chose to be in them.) Nikki’s mom drove all the way from Colorado (as flying was too unsafe), and brought cameras and tripods. Those, plus their iPhones, made them feel ready enough to capture it all to share with those that couldn’t be there. They were making the most of it!

They planned to head to the park around 3pm. Nikki sent messages to her bridesmaids, family members, and friends, asking what they thought about a Zoom meeting. They all loved the idea and were so thrilled to be included!

As they got ready in their house, a couple friends in the area dropped off champagne and taco fixings at their doorstep to show their support. Nikki picked up some flowers from Schnucks the day before and assembled their own bouquets with some twine they had. Nikki’s mom actually brought her veil, and used some of that in her bouquet. Nikki also made boutonnieres for Zach and his dad.

Once everyone was ready to go, Zach waited in their back yard where they did their first look. Then off to the park! One area of Forest Park has a stone structure of columns that they thought would look cool. The day had gone from cold to colder, which fortunately meant nobody else was in the park. Zach and Nikki were free to wed at the location they wanted! Once they got there, they set up a tripod to record the ceremony and assigned individuals to certain camera duties. They used her iPhone to Zoom with friends and family. They texted the link out to everyone who wanted to attend and called in! They had about 40 people join the call, many quarantined in couples and small groups. They said hi to everyone and got started.

The ceremony was perfect—romantic, hilarious, and laid back. Some of Nikki’s bridesmaids even wore their dresses at home during the Zoom call! She walked in from the side, as there was no aisle while someone played I’m With You, by Vance Joy, on their phone. Zach’s dad did a beautiful job, and Nikki and Zach exchanged their personal vows. They were sweet and sentimental, but also poked a little fun. Without any formalities, the whole ceremony took about 11 minutes. They immediately took photos afterwards and headed back to the house for tacos!

P l a n s F o r T h e F u t u r e

Eventually, once all this is over, Zach and Nikki want to have some sort of celebration. Not a full wedding, as originally planned, but some kind of party. Maybe a vow renewal close to their 1 year anniversary! Whatever they do in the future will be a celebration that they made the best of the situation and got through it all together.

H o n e y m o o n

Zach and Nikki were planning on Cancun in Mexico, which is still the plan! They were actually supposed to be there last week. After all this craziness and stress, they will be spending 8 days there at an all-inclusive resort doing beach yoga and sipping fruity cocktails. As soon as it’s safe to travel!

W o r d s f r o m t h e b r i d e .

Do you have any tips for brides planning on getting married during this time?
1. Don’t freak out! I had to remind myself multiple times a day that we have our health, jobs that allow us to work from home, and friends & family that love and support us. There is a global pandemic going on and everyone’s safety is the most important!
2. Stay positive! While it totally feels like it, this isn’t the end of the world. There are SO many people struggling just to get by right now, and while our special day might have had a wrench thrown in it, there are many more people suffering far worse than we are. Most vendors will work with you! Don’t be afraid to ask them to hop on a phone call or video chat. They still need your business too, and would probably be happy to show you some floral arrangements or a virtual tour, etc. The ladies at T&C Bridal are doing virtual appointments! This is a time you will surely NEVER forget—might as well look back on it and smile whether you are in the planning stage or actually getting married.
3. You can still make it your own! Put your own twist on things to make it memorable. Your family and friends will want to help you! You can certainly postpone if that’s what is best for you, or make some changes to your original plan A with a new plan B (or C or D).
4. Remember you’re still GETTING MARRIED! That is the #1 most important thing. That’s the whole reason you’re doing this! You still have a partner for life, and you both will figure this out together.

We are just over here trying to make the best of our quarantine. We are trying to celebrate our marriage every day—even if it’s just doing little things for each other around the house. We are also getting a puppy and officially starting to grow our family!

Wedding Dream Team

Boutique // Town & Country Bridal
Venue // Forest Park in St. Louis, MO
Floral // Schnucks
Cake // Danielle Marhefka (Nikki’s sister is a professional pastry chef!!)