They did it their way by focusing on friends, family and good food for an outdoor celebration befitting a young, carefree couple.
Kyle and Amanda Kuchma are not the type to make a big production over anything. From a low-key proposal to an intimate ceremony with a guest list of 45, the casual-cool couple wanted to make their wedding more special than spectacle.
Kyle proposed to Amanda on the Canada Day long weekend in 2007, only after they had returned home from dinner and were away from the prying eyes of the public. He retrieved the ring tucked away in a cupboard and popped the question.
In what would be a recurring theme, Champagne was uncorked, and she said yes.
The couple had been dating for eight years — a few years in high school, followed by a brief break before reuniting in university. After university, they spent time trekking through Southeast Asia, moved from Edmonton to Calgary and hosted more than a few dinner-dance parties in their inner-city condo.
That their wedding would be a reflection of themselves was a given, but exactly how it would all take shape wasn’t immediately obvious.
“We did a lot of upfront thinking and actually making the arrangements came later,” says Kyle, joking that the pair, who equally participated in the wedding arrangements, were very poor planners. In the beginning, Amanda considered
wearing a shift dress and white boots. Kyle wanted an ice cream truck to cruise by after the ceremony and serve treats to guests. Neither idea made the final cut.
Amanda opted for a dress that seemed to her a little “too bridal” at first, but when she tried it on, she became teary and knew it was the right choice. The ice cream truck, well, that was just too messy for formal attire.
What remained steady were plans for an outdoor summer wedding. After a winter spent cruising around snow-covered parks looking for the best green space and a brief moment of panic when the City lost their permit a month before the handmade invitations were sent out, the wedding ceremony was set for Roxboro Park.
On August 16, 2008, Amanda waited around the corner in her parents’ white convertible, while friends and family gathered in the 29-degree summer heat. The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” played on acoustic guitar while she made her way through the group and toward Kyle and the altar set up under a canopy of trees. The ceremony was followed with Champagne toasts before the party moved over to Saint Germain at Hotel Arts.
The restaurant was a key element of the celebration, and a small guest list meant
the Kuchmas could max out on great food including gazpacho, pan-seared halibut
and beef tenderloin.
Their food-loving friends were not treated to the traditional cake. “We really didn’t want a picture of us cutting the cake and then smashing it into each other’s faces,” says Amanda. Instead, sweet options included homemade cookies and dark chocolate terrine.
Amanda and Kyle describe the affair as “formal attire in an informal atmosphere.”
While the couple opted out of a retrospective slideshow, their attempt at making it a speech-free wedding was happily foiled. Amanda’s father surprised them by standing up to say a few heartfelt words, followed by several more impromptu speeches.
The wedding among friends wouldn’t have been complete without the guys gathering around Amanda to sing an off-key, fumbling rendition of “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’” — a tradition among their friends that began several weddings ago.
“We said from the beginning we wanted it to be a good time for our friends,” Amanda says. That mission was accomplished, but it was the happy couple themselves who were the last to leave, with Amanda barefoot on the dance floor, Champagne bottle in hand, celebrating into the wee hours.
Putting it Together
Engagement and wedding rings Brinkhaus Jewellers
(823 6 Ave. S.W., 403-269-4800)
Wedding dress Pure Bridal
(10137 104 St., Edmonton, 780-428-8699)
Tuxedo Henry Singer
(Bankers Hall, 360, 315 8 Ave. S.W., 403-234-8585)
Flowers Occasional Bloom
(403-828-3182, occasionalbloom.com)
Reception Saint Germain
(115 12 Ave. S.W., 403-290-1322)
Photographer Wei Quek
(403-830-7460, photobolic.com)
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