A Mountain Wedding at a Private Residence in Verdi, Nevada
After a three-month engagement, Kassi (26 and a marriage and family therapist) and Mark (26 and an associate product manager at Lincoln Electric Cutting Systems) and wed in an elegant, intimate outdoor event at a private property beside the Truckee River in Verdi, Nevada. The couple exchanged vows at a wooden wedding arch that Mark had built, and the reception was held at Kassi’s childhood home. “I have grown up in the same house my whole life and thought that, before my parents moved, it would be the cherry on top of living in such an amazing place,” Kassi says. While Kassi’s bridesmaids and Mark’s groomsmen had crisp white floral boutonnieres and bouquets for the day, at the tented reception for 75 guests, Kassi chose to forgo flower centerpieces to save money, opting for more lighting instead. "I went for more lighting than flowers because I feel like it set a romantic mood and atmosphere," Kassi says. She decorated the mix of round and rectangular tables with votive candles and simple green garlands wrapped with fairy lights. Tables were then topped with black linens and a mix of Kassi’s grandparents’ wedding china. The couple opted for a doughnut cake from DoughBoys Donuts in Reno, Nevada. “We had three huge doughnuts stacked on one another, and for the guests we had regular-size glazed doughnuts, crumb doughnuts, maple doughnuts, chocolate-glazed doughnuts and Bavarian creme doughnuts,” Kassi says. “We did not have a cake topper, but we used my great-grandmother’s silver cake cutter.” Kassi and Mark exited in true romantic fashion—under the glow of sparklers held by family and friends. —Carolyn Meers