Fun fact: Maddy & Kevin were the very first couple to hire me after I relocated to the Pacific Northwest! I’d run a special offer with our friends at Offbeat Bride, which they saw. Immediately, they were like: “A queer wedding planner who is also a theatre stage manager? We need to hire her!” And when I met them and heard about the super extra winter wonderland wedding at the Four Seasons Seattle with a drag queen and an introvert room that they were planning… I was fucking stoked to plan with them!
I truly cannot overstate how very them – and consequently, how very joyful, fun, over-the-top, and queer – this wedding was! But, don’t listen to me, listen to what they had to say about it:
How did the two of you meet? What was your engagement like? Who proposed and how?
Kevin maintains to this day that he met Maddy at a party in 2009.
”Whose house was this at?” Maddy asked, completely astonished that she has no memory at all of this interaction.
“Mine,” Kevin replied simply. He’s a pithy fella.
Things really started heating up early 2017 when Kevin added Maddy on Snapchat and just started sending pictures of his face. No words, no jokes, not even memes. Just his face.
He’s got a pretty good face, Maddy thinks, and starts sending pictures of her face in response. Zero words were exchanged. Little did they know at this point how few words they would grow to need.
Maddy remembers remarking to Rachel, one of the maids of honor, “See? Just got another one from Kevin. Bet you five dollars that it’s just a picture of his face- and see! It is! It’s just his face! What does this mean?!” Rachel did not take this bet and left Maddy to ponder.
This went back and forth for weeks. Maddy would eventually ask Kevin when exactly he planned on asking her out. It was April when she did this. They had their first date, over coffee, in July. Maddy keeps busy.
First date was a coffee after work and the second date was a trip to the dog park, where he agreed to help Maddy move the next day. Eventually they were just stupid in love with each other. We don’t know how else to put it, they just were nuzzly and cozy and in love and disgusting about it. It’s not like everything was perfect from the start, or got perfect eventually, or any of that fairy-tale nonsense; they just knew that they were meant for each other. We understood each other, we still understand each other, and neither of us can get enough of the person they spend almost all of their free time with so. We’d be stupid not to take that seriously.
One night, Maddy and Kevin were a bit in their cups and she whispered loudly into Kevin’s ear, “You don’t need to know this yet, but when you do: Cushion cut, diamond band, six and a half.” Wouldn’t you fucking know it, that beautiful nerd remembers this jewelry jargon, understands it, and the next day he finds the perfect god damn ring.
AND BUYS IT.
WHO DOES THAT?!
Kevin does, Kevin did, and Maddy said yes. Over and over. Yes, yes, yes. And so one night at our favorite restaurant in Fremont, Kevin got on one knee at the very table where they’d had their first dinner date.
“You know you’re the love of my life, right?” He asked as the other diners began to notice what was happening in our corner of the restaurant, gasps erupting from every corner of the place.
“You’re the love of my life,” Maddy squeaked.
He pulled the ring box out of his pocket and whipped that bad boy out in front of EVERYBODY. Everyone who hadn’t gasped yet, or wasn’t in the middle of gasping, gasped. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes, of course, yes!” And the entire restaurant exploded in applause! Even a stranger popped his head in the window from the street to congratulate us. Seriously.
What was your favorite part of wedding planning?
Kevin: Our wedding was an opportunity for me to discover my style. Not just fashion sense, but also color palettes, design, textures, etc. Then figuring out my style, plus their style, and how our aesthetics merged together. And the dreaming of it all, just being able to imagine the day and get excited about our favorite people seeing this dreamworld we put together.
Maddy: I’ve been planning my wedding since I was 10, and I’ve been in theater my whole life, so I always knew my wedding was going to be a show. If I couldn’t see in my mind how something was going to be or look, I’d ask myself, “How do I want this to feel?” and by staying with the big picture feelings, I think we were able to really create a whole world in an evening.
What was the hardest/most stressful part of wedding planning?
Kevin: Our timeline was a big struggle. We were in a good spot, wedding-planning-wise, when COVID hit, which meant everything got pushed for a year or so, and then we picked back up later. So that felt wonky. And then the last few weeks were just “go go go,” which was a lot. Also communication with some vendors was tough during the height of COVID while still planning. Plus, there was the uncertainty of whether we would have to push our wedding date a second time.
Maddy: So. Many. Little. Moving. Parts! I’m a big picture person so once we were about a month out, I got super bogged down in the details. Pens. Chairs. Things to hold the little escort cards up. I didn’t even make any jewelry decisions until we were prepping for the first look!
What made you decide that you needed or wanted to hire a wedding planner? Why did you think Aisle Less Traveled was the right choice?
We knew that we needed someone to handle day-of logistics so that we could enjoy ourselves on our wedding day. Aisle Less Traveled was our only choice because a) we’re queer and b) the theatre background. We respond well to Stage Managers so we knew we could put our queer faith in Cindy. Plus, good vibes. We’re vibes people. The vibes were always good with Aisle Less Traveled.
How did you decide to have your wedding at the Four Seasons Seattle? What were you looking for when you started searching? Did you find it?
We decided to have our wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle mostly because there were no time restraints. Some adorable venues wanted us to be wrapped up by 11 pm and we wanted to be able to go all night. We were also looking for a venue that would be able to take care of catering, chairs, linens, etc. and have trusted vendors who are already familiar with the space. Plus, the food was great. We were quite pleased with the results!
What were some of your favorite moments of your wedding day?
Kevin: All of it! The first look was really fun and sweet, getting ready with the honor guard, our ceremony was just wonderful and it felt nice to be in that environment with my favorite people.
Maddy: Getting ready with my honor guard, having first looks with my Kevin and our dog, our first dance was unlike any other I’d ever seen, and watching our people come together for us meant everything to me.
What are some of your favorite wedding details?
Kevin: The ducks we made were my favorite. Very happy with how our orbs happened. The transformation of the space by our floral architect, Donaldo Radovich, was incredible. The ducks on the cake were an excellent touch. I loved how much my honor guard got into the energy we were bringing in the processional as well.
Maddy: I was gifted a taxidermied mouse, Jean-Pierre, on the wedding day, who ended up in our accessory photos. The bust of Sappho was a soft touch on our escort card table. The wishing jar I thought went over well. And then seeing all my favorite people and having them witness me and this great love we’re enjoying.
Tell us about the music you chose for the important moments of your day.
Our processional was wrestling themed, which means we wanted everyone to take their entrances and make them their own. Kevin came into Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria, which got everybody screaming. Our honor guards came into Tarzan Boy by Baltimora, a song that makes everyone smile, and then Simply the Best by Tina Turner which gets everyone sentimental. I came into Chris Cornell’s version of Ave Maria, which I’d had picked out for years.
Our first dance, however, was the Art Crime that got everyone to lose their minds. We mashed up three songs for our first dance: You and I by Ingrid Michaelson, which transitioned into Big Enough by Kirin J Callinan, which then transitioned into Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root. That was a smash hit.
What was the best or most valuable thing you spent money on for your wedding?
Creating the environment was production priority number one. We could not have been more thrilled with our floral architect and our lighting designers.
If you were planning your wedding and getting married all over again, is there anything you’d do differently?
Kevin: If we could avoid getting married in the middle of a global pandemic, that’d be grand.
Maddy: What Kevin said. Other than that, no regrets.
Tell us about your wedding budget. How did you plan for and prioritize your spending?
Donaldo (the florist) was a big splurge, which we balked at in the beginning because Maddy is not a flower person. Looking back, we can’t imagine the wedding without him and I’m glad we had him do his whole thing. Our lighting crew weren’t cheap but seemed like a steal – they were incredible to work with and their impact was massive. The officiant, makeup artists, hair artists, performers during the reception, and DJ were all friends who we paid well. It was a priority the entire time for us to employ our friends in the entertainment industry, but not to take advantage of those friendships by “getting a deal.” Our wedding was a job creation tool.
What makes your wedding an Aisle Less Traveled wedding?
We are queer, non-monogamous, non-religious, non-traditional, weirdos!
Well, I can’t believe Maddy & Kevin told you all of that but left out the glowing orbs carried by the wedding party, their dog, Apollo, bounding through the crowd as part of the processional, Maddy’s entrance through a bed of fog, or the drag queen performance during their wedding reception – so please allow me to add that all of those things happened and they were as awesome as they sound!
This was such a wonderful celebration to be present for and to re-live through this post. Maddy, Kevin – I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect ‘first client in Seattle’ and my team and I were just thrilled to be included in your incredible production of Maddy and Kevin Get Married. Sadly, if you missed it, you missed it as this show will not be going on tour, nor will it be revived anytime soon. (Guess you’ll just have to plan your own wedding extravaganza with us instead.)
Meet the Wedding Pros
Every great wedding is backed by a team of incredible wedding professionals. We can do our best work when we’re working with the best people. Here are the ones who helped me make this wedding happen:
Wedding Venue & Catering: The Four Seasons Hotel Seattle
Photography: Anastasia Page Photography
Florist: Delinger & Radovich
MC: Mike Robles
Drag Queen: Visage Legs LaRue
Sound & Lighting: Crimson Haze
Décor (Draping): Quest Events
Rentals: CORT Party Rentals
Hair: Kyle James Traver, Amfora Salon
Makeup: Thistle Thornbox
Stationery & Signage: Blake Design Studio
Photo Booth: Picture Me Perfect
Wedding Planner: Aisle Less Traveled, of course! (Learn how we can plan together here.)
