Navy & Gold Fall Wedding at The Madrid Theatre

Just imagine, friends. You’re sitting in a theatre, waiting for a wedding ceremony to start. All of a sudden the music starts. Family members begin to walk down the aisle, and then the music pauses. The house lights drop, and the room is nearly dark. And then, the curtain goes up, and the grooms walk out on to stage, hand in hand. To music that they’ve been thinking about for months. 

This, friends, is how RJ and Ollie’s navy & gold fall wedding ceremony at The Madrid Theatre went down. 

Absolutely chock-full of drama. Which is the exact opposite of how the entire rest of their wedding day went – dramaless. Like all weddings do, it started on wedding morning. Only instead of spending their wedding morning separated and avoiding each other, RJ and Ollie spent it together. Ordering room service, watching Bravo, drinking mimosas, and chilling like the villains they are. What an absolutely wonderful wedding morning. 

Once these two lovebirds decided to get dressed, things started to move pretty quick. RJ was busy ironing his shirt as Ollie finished up his hair. They both donned their matching navy tuxedo jackets, took one last look in the mirror, and off they went. 

One thing that was so important to RJ and Ollie on their wedding day was that they got to spend a few minutes and see their sweet dogs, Hank and Stella. 

So after they got dressed at The Raphael Hotel? Ollie and RJ took a leisurely stroll down a few blocks to Theis Park, where they met Ollie’s dad, nieces, nephew, and the dogs. If you’re a dog owner you 100% know that as much as you love your fur babies, they can add a little bit of extra stress to certain situations. This, of course, happened with Hank and Stella but Ollie and RJ brushed it off like champs, spent a few minutes loving on their doggos, and then hopped on a party bus with their wedding party to go take more pictures. 

When we met for their timeline meeting a few months ago, RJ knew exactly where he wanted to go to take wedding party pictures. For months he had been dreaming of their wedding party dressed all in black, beside himself and Ollie in their navy tuxedos, standing underneath the giant arches of the 12th Street Viaduct in the West Bottoms. 

Needless to say, that’s exactly where we wound up for wedding party photos. 

Instead of having his and his attendants, Ollie and RJ actually chose a group of mutual friends to stand up beside them. The gentlemen were in classic black and white tuxedos, and the ladies were in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” poofy black dresses that Ollie and RJ had custom made for them. Believe us when we say, this group of friends know how to have a good time. There was so, so much laughter involved in their wedding party shenanigans, and they didn’t bat an eye at anything that Ollie and RJ asked them to do. 

After finishing up wedding party photos, we all hopped back on the party bus and traveled in around downtown Kansas City to catch that infamous Kansas City skyline photo that was so important to RJ and Ollie. Once these lovebirds got to dance in the street a little bit and hang out into some, admittedly strange wedding day locations, it was time to head to The Madrid Theatre for their wedding ceremony. 

Now, you better believe that RJ and Ollie had something different in mind for their wedding ceremony as well too. 

Upon arrival, RJ and Ollie’s guests were greeted with cocktail hour. That’s right, before the ceremony even started. All of their guests had a drink in hand, ready to celebrate from the very moment they walked in the door. And then RJ and Ollie’s ceremony happened. Their good friend Liz officiated it. If you’re thinking about having a close friend officiate your wedding, friends, our vote is always going to be a solid “yes.” Liz made RJ and Ollie’s ceremony so incredibly special, full of personal touches, inside jokes, and so much sweetness and well wishes for these two. 

Before their wedding ceremony? They privately exchanged vows they had written for each other. This was so important to them, and they wanted to keep this moment so private that they wouldn’t even let Kyle come in to photograph it. During their ceremony they exchanged more traditional vows, and of course rings. RJ’s ring was his grandfather’s, and Ollie chose a wedding band that complemented the family heirloom so incredibly well. 

After sharing their first kiss, Ollie and RJ grabbed hands, threw their arms up in celebration, and walked down the steps from the stage. 

Right onto the dancefloor, where they immediately shared their first dance. It was so important to these two lovebirds that their ceremony was for them, but they emphasized again and again that their reception? It was for their guests. Which meant that they wanted to get all of the formalities out of the way as soon as possible so their guests could have the time of their lives all night long. 

After these sweet lovebirds had dinner, were toasted by their wedding party, and did a full family dance instead of the traditional mother-son dances, that’s exactly what happened. 

What a day, gentlemen, what a day. 

Navy & Gold Fall Wedding at The Madrid Theatre

Ollie and RJ – words can’t even express how honored we are that you asked us to document your wedding day. We’ve had so much fun getting to know you both, and absolutely can’t wait to get together for dinner and drinks again soon. We know life has big things in store for you two, and are so, so excited to see what comes next for you. 

Feel like you’re missing something? Check out Ollie and RJ’s sneak peek here. 

Or their gorgeous fall engagement session here. 

Wedding Vendor Dream Team 

Kansas City Wedding Ceremony & Reception Venue | The Madrid Theatre

Tuxes | Men’s Wearhouse

DJ | Kevin from Icon Event Group

Catering | Cupinis

Wedding Cake | Cupinis

Invitations | Minted

Hotel | Hotel Raphael 

Kansas City Wedding Photographer | Rivas Photography