The Wedding Story of...Kelsey & Grant Russo

Being a student-athlete can be challenging, but it can also have its perks. For Kelsey Pence and Grant Russo, an unexpected benefit of running cross-country and track at Denison University was finding each other. Grant was a year ahead of Kelsey when the two met in the fall of 2006, but they quickly found themselves becoming friends and spending time together throughout the season. “We officially started dating when we were in Disney World in January 2007 for a track training trip,” Kelsey said.

 

 

 

After six years of dating and talk of marriage, Kelsey began to suspect that a proposal might be coming soon. “I had just completed my semester in PT school and was excited to be home for Christmas break,” Kelsey said. On December 18, 2011, Kelsey was at her parents’ home with Grant when he asked her to come outside to see something her dog Linus had done. “When we got down to the lake my parents live on, he clicked on a switch that illuminated “Kelsey, will you marry me? …Grant” in Christmas lights. When I looked over at him, he was down on one knee. It was a beautiful surprise since Christmas time is my favorite time of the year.”

 

 

 

The process soon began to plan a wedding for the following December. “I felt that the winter time was a unique time to get married,” Kelsey said. “Everyone always wants to get married in the spring/summer time, and I liked the idea of being different.” So Kelsey and her mother, with input from Grant, got to work. Despite the fact that she was a full-time graduate student during the process and ran into moments of stress, Kelsey was excited and able to find a balance between these two major happenings in her life. “It was nice to have an escape – when I got sick of studying, I would look up things for my wedding. And I didn’t have to always focus on wedding details because I was busy with school.”

 

 

 

“It ended up being a perfect mixture of rustic with elegance,” Kelsey said of her wedding day décor. She loved the rustic theme with winter touches, and used burlap to incorporate it into her design plan. Using moss green as a base color, accents were added in gunmetal and deep plum to create a chic, winter theme that balanced the contrasting, natural rustic elements. The winter theme continued subtly through the floral designs. Kelsey carried a bouquet of white peonies, white ranunculus and dusty miller with touches of pine and cedar. Inspired by the beauty of the season, they placed Frazier Fir Christmas trees throughout the reception space, as well as mixed greens of pine and cedar. Two different centerpieces were used to provide height differences. “One was a lantern with a candle inside,” Kelsey said. “We surrounded them with pine/winter greens and deep plum Christmas ornaments. The tall one was a glass vase with a beautiful combination of winter greens, white hydrangeas, sparkling twigs and purple dendrobium orchids.”

 

 

 

“We tried to incorporate as much of ourselves into the wedding as possible,” Kelsey said. The couple chose details that perfectly represented who they were in order to make their wedding personal and unique. A paper lantern send-off was chosen by Grant, who loved the tradition. The two adore doughnuts and made them their late-night snack, topped off with milk and White Russians. But their favorite and most meaningful detail was their wall of family members. “I collected many black and white wedding photos of our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents to highlight our family history. It was a big hit with the guests and especially our  family members.”

 

 

 

The wedding day of Kelsey and Grant was full of special moments. Choosing a traditional ceremony reveal made for a “very emotional moment” when Kelsey and Grant finally saw each other on their big day. From declaring their vows to saying “I do” to celebrating their new journey with their family and friends, it was the ultimate day for Kelsey and Grant. “It is hard to pick a favorite memory, but I’d have to say one of my favorite moments was when all the guests did the lantern send-off at the end of the night,” Kelsey said. “To see more than one hundred lanterns floating up to the dark night sky was absolutely beautiful. It was a wonderful moment and a perfect ending to the day.”