There are some couples we work with that will forever be permanently in my heart. There’s an instant connection, and you feel like long lost friends. I remember sitting down with Jessie for the consultation and looking up a few hours later to realize we had been talking like we had known each other for years. Once I met Krystian at the engagement session, and he made me take a shot of home-brewed moonshine, I knew we were friends for life.

Krystian and Jessie have such a zest for life that cannot be ignored. As you will see from the photos, we had a fantastic time, and the wedding was so unique and authentic to who they are, I cannot wait to share them with you. This was our first Polish wedding, but I hope it’s not the last! There were lots and lots of shots from homemade moonshine Krystian brewed specially for the occasion. These folks know how to party! Did I mention there were shots?

“We were dating only for about three months when I had a job opportunity in Mississippi.  Krystian didn’t blink an eye before moving with me! Then we unexpectedly moved to Chicago about eight months before the wedding.  After a lot of discussion, we decided to keep the wedding in Tupelo even though none of our friends or family lived in Mississippi.  We fell in love with our church, St. James, and our venue, The Antler, and knew that it was where we were meant to be married.  I’m sure everyone was curious why were making them travel all the way to Tupelo, but I know they understood when they got there!  We were so blessed to have friends and family travel from Chicago, Florida, New Jersey, Poland and Canada to celebrate our marriage with us!” -Jessie

“Everyone gives you advice as the bride-to-be, and all of it is really helpful in planning and preparing for the big day.  I think the best advice I received was from my Matron of Honor, Jesse, and my bridesmaid, Kristin, at different times.  They basically said that nothing else matters except that I am marrying Krystian.  They were one hundred percent right!” -Jessie

“I know this isn’t super typical, but I wasn’t one of those girls who dreamed of their wedding at all.  As I grew up, I thought the idea of getting married on a cliff in Italy or Greece would be perfect.  I don’t have a lot of family, so I always pictured a small and intimate ceremony.  But then I met Krystian, who is the youngest of seven siblings, and everything started to change. I absolutely fell in love with his large family and knew that we had to have a wedding everyone would be able to attend!” -Jessie

“Krystian and I met when we were both living in Tampa.  I had been there for 12 years or so, and Krystian decided – spur of the moment – to move down and work remotely.  He took me out to a French place in Tampa because he knew I liked escargot.” -Jessie

“Because of our moving schedule, Jessie knew it was going to be happening pretty soon.  But I still wanted the element of surprise.  So I figured I would catch her off guard and propose to her at the airport.  When she landed in Memphis after being on a trip, I was waiting at the airport, at the bottom of the escalator, with the engagement ring and a bouquet of roses with a hidden GoPro inside it.  I was nervous about having the bouquet wired-up at the airport, and at the last minute got nervous people would think it was a bomb.  I was messing with the GoPro when Jessie came down the escalator.  Good thing we had the GoPro because I don’t really remember what I said at all!” -Krystian on the proposal

“The emphasis on combining cultures and the relaxed atmosphere really set our wedding apart from others I have been to.  It was really important to both of us to pay homage to traditions in our families and cultures.  So we incorporated bagpipes both before and during the church ceremony as a nod to some of my Scottish roots.  Our food and drinks were heavily influenced by Krystian’s Polish roots- we had barscz, krokiety, kopytka among our family style offerings and all of the drinks on the table were homemade Polish liqueurs.  My bridesmaids even surprised Krystian and me and had the DJ and all the guests lift us up on chairs for the Horah since my dad is Jewish!” -Jessie

“Krystian and I are a couple of city kids who were living in a more rural area while in Mississippi so we wanted the wedding to reflect a melding of rustic and urban aesthetics.  It was very important to us that the wedding be timeless and not cliched, but have enough unique elements to make our wedding memorable for ourselves and our guests.” -Jessie 

“Things go wrong! On the wedding day, just go with the flow and drink some champagne and walk down the aisle to the man of your dreams!  Also, listen to your own instincts when picking vendors then trust them to do what they do best!  I did, and it resulted in the best wedding we could have ever dreamed of!” -Jessie’s wedding advice

“I almost forgot my wedding dress! I was rushing around so much the day before the wedding getting ready for the rehearsal and dinner that when I looked at the clock and it said 4:45 I had a mini-panic attack – the bridal boutique closed at 5:00, and the wedding was the next day! Luckily the ladies at Kay’s Kreations were amazing and stayed open a little late so my dad could make a last minute run to get my dress!  I don’t feel that bad about it because Krystian forgot his tie in Chicago, and so we were frantically searching for a replacement for that the whole time!  Also, my car had some issues after driving from Chicago to Mississippi so after the wedding we stayed a little longer in Tupelo to get it fixed, then had a mini-moon in Nashville.” -Jessie

“This may sound almost unbelievable, but every single vendor was an absolute dream to work with.  The two standout vendors (besides Ann-Marie and Sophie, of course!) were Ana and Brian Gonzalez from Elite Catering by Ana and Tracy Proctor of Designs by Tracy Proctor.

Ana and Brian have both been around the culinary world a long time and their experience really shone at our wedding.  They understood that food was one of the most important elements of our reception and they delivered one hundred percent!  Ana had spent some time near Poland and was really excited about our request for a family-style meal that was half American and half Polish cuisine.  By the time she combined our ideas with her own Latin heritage we had a menu full of amazing, unique and delicious food! Seriously –  everyone was raving about it, even all our relatives from Poland!!

I don’t know how to even begin to express how much we love Tracy Proctor!  Not only is the man a creative genius, but he is also the most thoughtful, caring human!  I am a rather Type-A person, but I let Tracy have almost complete control of the reception aesthetics and I couldn’t have made a better decision!  His beautiful soul is poured into each floral arrangement and each carefully curated decor item.  My bridal bouquet was romantic and lush, the arrangements at the church and reception were unique and breathtakingly gorgeous, and he even placed flowers on my wedding cake and decorated Krystian’s groom’s cake. That’s not even to mention all of the careful and tasteful arrangement of the decorative items he incorporated throughout the venue.  Tracy created a stunning welcome-arch that everyone was taking pictures at.  He truly transformed the space into another world, and into the wedding of our dreams!” -Jessie

Jessie and Krystian, THANK YOU so much for choosing us to participate in such an amazing wedding. Sophie and I are still talking about how much fun we had. We learned so much about the Polish culture and enjoyed talking with your family and friends! I am so glad we have made a lasting friendship with the both of you. I cannot wait to come to Chicago for a shoot, or even Poland maybe? – Anna Marysa (my new Polish name!)

Dress: Kay’s Kreations, Tupelo, MS | Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal | Tux: Men’s Warehouse
Cakes: Creative Cakes, Tupelo, MS | Venue: The Antler, Tupelo, MS | Flowers & Decor: Designs by Tracy Proctor, Tupelo, MS | Invitations: Shutterfly | Rentals: Event Rentals
Ceremony Music: Erin Bristow | DJ: Andrew Johnson, Tupelo, MS | Caterer: Elite Catering by Ana | Hair: Laura Jones & Sunny from The Hair Tailors, Tupelo, MS | Makeup: Lauren Moore