Woodland Wedding Inspiration: Blushing Beauties {Get To Know Kyndra}

Kyndra’s advice to brides is to go to as many wedding shows as you can. That is, after all, how she became a Cover Model! She applied after stopping by our booth at a wedding show, and after we met her, we knew we had to have her! Her personality shined throughout the day, making her easy and fun to work with. Read on to learn more about her day as a Cover Model, and her small town love story.

We promise we’ll share more photos from our cover model features soon, but for now, we want to share Get To Know Kyndra from the first of our two shoots: “Blushing Beauties” shot by Mariea Rummel Photography on location at The Maples with sets by Blossom Farm Vintage Rentals and Strelitzia Flower Company.

What made you want to model for this photo shoot?

I honestly didn’t think that I would win the contest, but decided it was worth a try after meeting with one of the magazine’s representatives at a bridal show. I literally turned in my application on the last day they were being accepted, after contemplating it for a couple weeks. I thought that it would be neat to show my daughter (and possibly future kids) that her mom made it into a magazine. It was a chance to show my love for my fiancé, Brian, to more people. It also made me feel more special to know that more people were interested in our story. I feel like, even though I have many unique qualities, I represent the average modern bride. It also just sounded like a lot of fun!

What was your favorite part of modeling? What was the most challenging part?

My favorite part was trying on so many different looks. I now have a much better idea for my look on the actual big day. I even told Brian that he couldn’t see any of the pictures until after the wedding in October. I was also amazed by how nice EVERYBODY working with us was; they made me feel so comfortable. The most challenging part was trying to keep up with the timeline. We were all trying to get a lot done in time.

What do you do for a living?

I stay at home with our daughter, Braidyn, which I am super grateful that I am able to do! I also go to school at Sierra College part time. I am an Engineering major, but don’t want to take too much time away from Braidyn. Brian has his Solar Contractors license, and works as a solar technician for a local company, Byers. Eventually we would like to have our own solar company.

What do you do for fun?

We both love to snowboard. Brian is much better than I, but we both love riding. Even after getting a ruptured kidney on the mountain last season, I still have a season pass. We also love going to the park, which luckily is walking distance from our house. We take our daughter to the playground and then usually head over to the disc golf part of the park. Again, Brian is much better than I, but we all love walking through the park on a nice day. During our free time in the summer, you can usually find us at the lake or river!

Tell us about your love story.

We both grew up in the same small town, where everyone seems to know everyone. I got off work and was talked into going out to a local pub by a close coworker. Meanwhile my fiancé had gotten out of school and was talked into going out to the same pub by his long time friends (one of them turned out to be my cousin). Not wanting to be there we both happened to find each other. After a short period of time we realized we knew the same people, but by some chance had never met. Our friends tried to gain our attention but as we talked we realized that we had both ended up in the same place at the same time for a reason. We started talking about our goals and realized we were headed on the same path. My friend tried to not let me leave with him (as she probably had a crush). We left together and stayed at my cousins, but did not jump into anything. After staying the night we decided we wanted to spend more time together. From that day we were basically inseparable. The only nights we have ever spent apart since was when Brian had to work out of town. He would come and stay with me through my graveyard shifts at the hotel I was working at because he was worried about me being alone on the weekends. I found out later from his friends he had told them (the night we met) that you do not meet good girls at the bar. There was a point where I heard him say to his buddies that he was wrong, but I had no idea what he was talking about. We took a trip to Yosemite where we figured out that it was the real thing. Not too much time had passed and we found out that we had made a child. We went to one of his best friends wedding and I caught the bouquet and he caught the garter. It was fate before we knew it. We decided to have a home birth and he received our child under water. This changed our lives like we could never imagine. During the pregnancy he proposed to me. It was not the traditional order of things, but it was perfect for us. We have the most beautiful girl we have ever met and want to try for a boy after the wedding. He did say the night we met that we would make beautiful babies…little did we know, that was an understatement. As it turns out our families had known each other all along, but we had never crossed paths. Time has its way of making the world turn in a beautiful, synergistic pattern.

Tell us about your own wedding.

Our wedding is going to be at a beautiful historical building in downtown Nevada City, The Stonehouse. I’m trying to keep it neutral with white, black and champagne colors. I already have my dress; it is a strapless ball gown. The groomsmen will be in white tuxedos and the bridesmaids in long black dresses. I haven’t picked my flowers yet, but I want to keep the flowers simple, since The Stonehouse is already so beautiful. We are getting a photo booth to provide extra entertainment, and then use the photos as a gift for our guests. We will have around 130 guests. An old friend of Brian’s will be our officiant. We are also having organic, farm-to-fork food for everyone. I am going to have my mother and father walk me down the aisle, considering how impossible it is to choose who has the “right” to give me away. My mother has to be a part of that. Our flower girl will be our daughter Braidyn; she will be a little over 2 by the wedding!

If you could offer any advice to future brides, what would it be?

Give yourself plenty of time to plan and find all of your vendors. I started planning a year and a half before the wedding date we chose and many of the venues I tried to call were already booked that far out. Don’t stress over every little detail, you need to have fun with the planning process. Lastly, go to every wedding show you can! You will meet all sorts of amazing vendors, learn about things you haven’t even thought of and you can win all kinds of cool stuff. That’s how I found out about this opportunity. I also won a stay in a king suite with 2 Swedish massages and a bottle of Champagne, a $50 gift card for a cake, a $50 gift card to a Mexican restaurant, and even a mini-trip to Hawaii! These sorts of things make the experience much more fun!

-Interviewed by Kelley Saia

Produced by Susie Baggett, Justin Buettner, Eudelys Blanco Estaba, Monica Hill, Kimberly Hunter, Tatiana Jitari, Nathalia Kallan, Alexandra Leininger, Tara Mendanha, Emily Peter, Amanda Rinehart, Wendy Sipple and Leah Sisto

THE DETAILS

VENUE The Maples | 530-379-3681 | themapleswoodland.com

PHOTOGRAPHER Mariea Rummel Photography | 530-391-2266 | mariearummel.com

HAIR AND MAKEUP FOR YADIRA:
Lea Buehler, Lea Buehler BGorgeous (Hair) | 916-705-5827 | lbgorgeous.com
Jenifer Haupt, Jenifer Haupt, I Make Beautiful (Makeup) | 916-532-9800 | imakebeautiful.com

HAIR AND MAKEUP FOR KYNDRA:
Christina Irene Alba, For The Love of Hairspray (Hair) | 949-422-1957 | fortheloveofhairspray.com
Mandie Fenrich, Makeup by Mandie (Makeup) | 916-230-5852 | makeupbymandie.com

GOWNS
Always Elegant Bridal & Tuxedo | 530-755-4282 | 530-487-7110 | alwayselegantbridal.net
The Bridal Box | 916-742-4638 | thebridalbox.net
The Clothes Mine Bridal and Formalwear | 209-267-0417 | theclothesmine.com
De La Rosa’s Bridal & Tuxedos | 916-983-3400 | delarosasbridal.com
Diamond Bridal Gallery | 916-521-9856 | diamondbridalgallery.com
House of Fashion | 916-554-7440 | hofbridal.com
Second Summer Bride | 916-330-4422 | secondsummerbridesac.com

FLOWERS
Amour Florist & Bridal | 916-392-8168 | amourmoments.com
Bella Bloom | 916-498-8588 | bellabloomflowers.com
Bloem Decor | 916-447-2001 | bloemdecor.com
Morningside Florist | 916-635-9891 | morningsideflorist.com
Placerville Flowers on Main | 530-622-1121 | placervilleflowersonmain.com
Rodarte Floral Design | 916-799-3625 | rodartefloraldesign.com
Strelitzia Flower Company | 530-758-5050 | strelitziaflowers.com
Visual Impact Design | 916-489-3746 | visualimpact-design.com

CATERER
Bocca Catering | 916-834-3554 | boccacatering.com

STYLED DECOR VIGNETTES
FURNITURE AND DECOR Blossom Farm Vintage Rentals | 530-681-8937 | blossomfarmrentals.com
DECOR FLOWERS Strelitzia Flower Company | 530-758-5050 | strelitziaflowers.com

CAKES Above & Beyond Cakes | 916-672-2259 | aboveandbeyondcakes.com

VIDEOGRAPHER Justin Buettner Wedding Photography | 916-220-0159 | jbweddingphoto.com

Special thanks to our real bride models, Yadira and Kyndra, and all of the professionals who contributed to this feature!