An Elegant Fort Wayne, Indiana Celebration with Plenty of Greenery: The Real Wedding of Shailyn and Ian Kissell

Though Shailyn and Ian originally met during their freshman year of college, they lost touch when Ian transferred schools. In January of 2020, the two attended the same conference and struck up a conversation on social media. They found out Shailyn was moving to the same neighborhood that Ian lived in, and she agreed to join his volleyball team. When October 2021 came around, Ian was adamant that Shailyn and himself should join his parents on a vacation to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Under the guise of a date night on their first vacation together, Ian took Shailyn on a walk on the beach where a photographer was planted to catch the moment he proposed.

 

"Going into dress shopping, the only thing I knew was that I wanted something simple," Shailyn shares. "I went with my mom and sisters—they had me try on several ball gown style dresses covered in sparkles and lace! While they loved all of them for me, I knew that I wanted whatever the opposite of those dresses was." She ended up settling on an ivory, satin A-line dress with an open back and plunging neckline. We think she looks absolutely stunning and that her dress perfectly fits their theme! Chantel Miller Storytelling beautifully captured the day, and the happy couple's joy radiates from each image!
 

The happy couple actually took and interesting route when deciding on the reception venue. Shailyn explains. "We held it in a business office that was renovated from an old stable. The ceiling was covered in skylights and the inside of the building was filled with greenery. It was an open concept area, so once we moved the tables and desks out of the room, it was perfect for our guest list size and fit the elegant/green palette I was hoping for!" As for the ceremony venue, they chose a church that they'd been attending since they got together in 2020.
 

Going into planning, Shailyn knew that she wanted a simple yet elegant look that included green, navy and blue. "My mother-in-law actually picked me up a copy of WeddingDay Magazine shortly after we returned from vacation, and I was able to narrow down my style and use other couples’ stories to craft my own!" Shailyn raves. As for the colors, Shailyn thinks green is fresh and elegant, and Ian loves navy, so she wanted to include them both in their big day.
 

 

What We Love

Shailyn and Ian reflected themselves in their day. "Ian and I are definitely more sporty, casual people. I’m pretty sure I own more sneakers than dresses!" Shailyn admits. "Our unique touch was wearing sneakers to our wedding reception. Ian found a pair of navy Air Jordan 11s he had always wanted and I customized a pair of Nike Air Force 1s to match our wedding colors and included my new initials on the back tabs." We think they're the perfect touch to show their personalities in their special day.
 

 

Advice from the Couple

"Our biggest advice to other couples is to make your wedding day about ‘you’ and who you are as a couple as much as possible. It’s so easy to look at what other people have done and think that there is a ‘right’ way to do things. Not true!" Shailyn and Ian advise. "Another piece of advice for couples going on a honeymoon after wedding—don’t leave straight from your wedding. It was suggested to us from several friends, and we are so thankful that we took a couple days at home to just breathe, sleep and talk about the wedding day! There can be so much stress coming off a long day and you don’t want to take that with you on the honeymoon!"
 

 

 

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