Lauren Dicapo A Storybook Wedding

FRIENDS FOR MANY YEARS BECAME A COUPLE FOR LIFE WHEN 31-YEAR-OLD LUKE MARVINE AND

28-YEAR-OLD LAUREN DICAPO WERE MARRIED ON NOVEMBER 7, 2015, IN KANSAS CITY.

“My best friend is Luke’s cousin, so we’ve known each other since we were in college. During the years, we spent time around each other at college sporting events, Chiefs games, during summers in Kansas City and even on a few vacations,” revealed Lauren. “But it wasn’t until Easter weekend of 2012, while I was visiting from Arizona, where I was living at the time, that we realized we had feelings beyond just friendship.”

Special Beginnings

During the time she was in town from Arizona, Luke took Lauren on their first date to dinner at Grunauer Restaurant in the Crossroads Arts District. Then it was onto an adventure at Sea Life because, as Lauren puts it, “Luke’s a big aquarium person.” Eventually that first date grew into a relationship spanning nearly two years, with the couple engaged for more than 12 months before tying the knot. During that time, Lauren had moved back to Kansas City and secured a job in medical sales with a company out of St. Louis. Luke is on the management team of Midwest Distributors-MillerCoors.

Luke’s management skills were certainly called into play when it came to devising his elaborate strategy on popping the question to Lauren. The day started with a charitable diversion to keep her guessing about when the proposal might come. “Luke had asked me a few months prior to October 11 if I would be willing to spend that Saturday morning helping him set up a charity event at Zona Rosa,” remembered Lauren. “But after driving past Zona Rosa, I realized there was no charity event. We were headed to the airport where we would fly to Chicago. Although I was completely unprepared–I had about ten minutes to get ready that morning–I couldn’t help but think he was going to propose.”

The couple landed in Chicago, taking the train into the city, and spent the day shopping at Lauren’s favorite stores. “After an insane amount of shopping, we had lunch on the top of the John Hancock building, which is not something we would normally do,” she laughed. “I had to assume it was going to happen then, but it didn’t.”

Another Surprise to Follow

When lunch was over, Luke rushed her to a spa day, complete with mani/pedi, blow out and make up. “Once we were done there, Luke didn’t tell me what was planned next. I was even more confused when he walked us back to the train, heading to the airport to fly home,” she recalled. “At that point, although the day was beyond amazing, I had psyched myself out of thinking we were getting engaged.”

However, when they arrived home in Kansas City and changed to dine out, Luke took a detour to the World War I Liberty Memorial, which was restored with the help of Lauren’s grandfather. It was there that he finally got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. After accepting his proposal, Lauren began calling family members to share the news. “I called every single family member with no answer,” stated Lauren. “So I headed to dinner with my best friend, her husband and Luke. When we arrived at Anton’s Taproom Restaurant, I walked into a giant surprise party, planned by Luke, with all of my friends and family. Everyone in the family was at the dinner waiting for us. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better day.”

Preparing the Perfect Day

With the engagement in place, now it was Lauren’s turn to call upon her management skills and plan the wedding. She enlisted Christine Darden to help her through the huge planning task. “She’s amazing, and she kept me on task. She’s energetic, positive and a great person to have not only the day of the wedding but also through the entire process,” she noted. “Of course, my mom played huge role in the planning as well. Overall, not a detail missed.”

As for her gorgeous wedding gown, Lauren’s family assisted in the decision-making process. “My sister lives in Beverly Hills, and she wanted to be a part of the process of selecting my gown,” she remembered. “My matron of honor, sister, mom and I flew to Beverly Hills and went to every bridal store there. I wound up with this one, which was actually a dress that I had tried on in Kansas City, but in a different color. I topped it off with a gray and white mink capelet from Alaskan Fur.”

The wedding was held at the Jarvis Hunt room at Union Station on November 27, 2015, performed by Rabbi Stuart Davis. Eight bridesmaids and a junior bridesmaid made up the wedding party, along with Luke’s eight groomsmen. Luke’s niece filled the role of flower girl and the ring bearer was Luke’s nephew. “We also had Luke’s other nephews walk down with signs that said, ‘This is your last chance to run, Uncle Luke,’ and ‘Here Comes Your Bride,’” laughed Lauren.

A beautiful chuppa, a canopy under which a couple stands during their Jewish wedding ceremony, was covered in vines and flowers. More flowers in various shades of light pinks and white, with just a touch of green, lined the entire aisle. The bridal party walked down to “Somewhere Only We Know” by Lilly Allen, and the acoustic version of “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder heralded Lauren down the aisle.

Lush and Creative Wedding Reception

“Our reception was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. We rented the other side of The Guild, which is normally a photo studio, for our cocktail hour,” remarked Lauren. “We draped the entire space, and our florist Dan Meiners created a giant chandelier that immediately caught everyone’s attention when they walked in. Lounge areas and two bars accommodated our guests with walking appetizers being offered.”

On the other side of the reception was The Guild’s ballroom, which was closed until cocktail hour ended at 7:00 p.m. Guests were greeted with umbrellas of flowers on every table, hundreds of candles and very dim lighting. In one corner of the room, an amazing candy table with Italian cookies was showered in light pink and gold candles. It sported tree branches laced with cotton candy. Four food stations featuring Italian, American, Mexican or finger foods such as small sandwiches, meatballs, cheeses and more were offered to their guests. “Menus were on each place setting to give them an idea of what foods were at the different stations. It was buffet style, but with a twist,” noted Lauren. “The various food stations were the ideas of my family. We’re big foodies, so we decided to offer this setup to everyone.”

Later in the evening, snacks from Grinders, Luke’s favorite, plus snow cones and fresh cotton candy on sticks arrived for the guests. The idea originated with Lauren’s mother, based on themes of the circus and baseball. Besides, Lauren readily admits she’s the biggest candy person in the world.

While the couple’s first dance was to “Baby I’m Yours” by the Arctic Monkeys, the newlyweds followed Jewish tradition and later in the evening were hoisted onto chairs during the “Havah Nagilah.” Lauren’s uncle and her grandfather sang it to them. She recalls that she wasn’t scared being lifted into the air, although Luke did manage to slide off his chair, but with no injuries.

Remembering What’s Important

While her big day was absolutely glorious, she offers a bit of advice for those planning their own wedding and reception. “On your day, don’t stress the small stuff because it really doesn’t matter. Just appreciate every part of the day. Take in every moment; it goes by so fast,” she added. “I’m glad I was able to see the reception area before everyone else went in, and I was grateful to have that moment with my husband.”

The honeymoon has not yet occurred because the young couple has been so focused on house hunting. For the last two years, they’ve called a condo next to Union Station home, but now they’re looking for a house in the Kansas City area. “We’re at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to picking a honeymoon spot. I’m thinking Hawaii because I’m a beach person, but he’s thinking Iceland,” she laughed. “But the house is the biggest thing we want to accomplish right now. Down the line, we definitely want children, but the most important thing is that we want to enjoy being together.” HLM