When NFL player Nick Martin and Kathleen Patterson exchanged vows at Our Lady of Lourdes in Indianapolis, the same church where Patterson’s parents had gotten married some 28 years ago, they created a blend of traditions, both old and new.
The couple’s ceremony and reception relied on some of their families’ time-tested traditions (Martin’s gold wedding band, for instance, mimicked his father’s ring) while also showing off the couple’s taste as individuals (the pair danced to Michael Buble’s “Everything,” which matched their fun-loving personalities).
“We couldn’t be more excited to finally call each other husband and wife,” Patterson, 26, tells The Knot. “We, mainly me, were so nervous during the ceremony that we accidentally kissed twice before we were even ‘technically’ married at the altar. It made for a good laugh.”
(Credit: Gem Photography)
Even their love story is riddled with tradition (and the lack of it): The pair met back in 2015 when Patterson was working the Pro Bowl in Arizona. Martin’s brother Zack was playing in the Pro Bowl that year and brought his two brothers —including Nick—along. The would-be lovers met for all of 10 minutes, after which Patterson hugged Martin goodbye, using he and his buddies’ (including Patterson’s cousin Chris Tarpey) inside joke of saying, “Got you last.”
A few months later, the pair had two weeks off before Martin’s football season at Notre Dame, so they began what they call their “speed dating” week, going on a date every day for two weeks in order to get to know each other better in a short amount of time. And the rest, as they say, is history.
On June 30, together with their 300 guests, Patterson and Martin, 25, rang in their new life chapter in style, with a healthy dose of humor, ready to tackle any and every little snafu. Or, as Martin puts it, “Game time, baby.”
THE VENUE
It was never really a question of where the pair would get married so much as when: Patterson’s parents, Mary Ann and Bruce Patterson, had gotten married at Our Lady of Lourdes church 28 years prior, her mother and her family went to grade school there and her aunt, Monica Warne, got married there 34 years ago. “It’s been a very iconic place for my family,” Patterson says. The reception was held nearby, at the Biltwell Event Center, which the couple loved for its high ceilings and brick walls. “We loved how rustic the venue looked,” she adds.
(Credit: Gem Photography)
THE DRESS
Finding her perfect wedding gown turned out to be a blast, and a surprise, for Patterson. Her mother, Mary Ann, has been a flight attendant for United for over 38 years, which means that she can often provide her family with surprise, last-minute stand-by flights to different locations.
After Patterson got engaged, Mary Ann flew her daughter out to New York City to shop for her wedding gown at Kleinfeld Bridal, Lovely Bride and other boutiques. The design that she ended up with—a form-fitting, bright white gown by Chosen One Day—was a reminder to Patterson and her mother of how little her taste has changed over the years.
(Credit: Gem Photography)
(Credit: Gem Photography)
(Credit: Gem Photography)
According to Patterson, for her second grade communion, she “refused to wear a white dress with lace and beading.” Turns out she opted for the same “simple and clean” look for her wedding day. (Her bridesmaids dresses were by Azazie.)
THE ACCESSORIES
To balance out the simpler dress, Patterson opted for a more elaborate veil, which she was gifted by her mother-in-law, Pam Martin. In terms of jewelry, Patterson’s Aunt Helen gifted her with a Tiffany’s pearl bracelet that she wore that day; she also wore a beautiful diamond bracelet that Martin gifted her on their wedding day. She kept her neck bare, but wore chandelier drop earrings and Badgley Mischka wedges.
The only slight hiccup came when Patterson couldn’t locate her garter; she later found out that her mother had it but forgot. Patterson thankfully didn’t lose her cool and improvised by replacing the garter with a black ribbon instead.
THE GROOM’S LOOK
Martin donned a dark blue tuxedo with navy suspenders and matching lapels from Men’s Wearhouse. “We really wanted Nick to look like a groom and not a groomsman,” Patterson says. “Which is why we wanted him to be in a tux and the groomsmen in suits.”
The best man and the groomsmen, meanwhile, all wore suits by Joseph Abboud Custom tailored to their respective figures. The process came with some personalization: the couple picked the fabric swatch and gave each groomsman the option of selecting certain details like the color of the lining and the monogram label inside the jacket.
(Credit: Gem Photography)
(Credit: Gem Photography)
The groom, meanwhile, further personalized his look with a black bow tie and cufflinks provided by his father, Keith Martin. As an added accessory, he sported a matching Fossil watch that had “June 30th 2018 Forever My Always” engraved on the back.
(One hilarious highlight of the night was when Martin, excitedly executing a dance move, accidentally split his pants.)
THE THEME
Patterson explains that she really wanted to go for the “rustic chic” look for their wedding, which she accomplished via a mix of decor, floral details and stationery accents. “Bringing the outdoors atmosphere inside was my goal,” she says. “Lots of greenery created the ‘woodsy’ vibe whereas the red brick and high wooden beams brought out the rustic look.” The couple went with a color palette of light blue, navy, green and white.
(Credit: Gem Photography)
(Credit: Gem Photography)
THE FLORALS
“I absolutely loved my flowers!” Patterson says, giving a huge nod to florists The Empty Vase. The majority of the blooms used were a mix of wildflowers and greenery that included roses, china mums, larkspur, hydrangea, eucalyptus and other seasonal blooms and greens for the entry table, greenery and eucalyptus garland with sporadic roses throughout for the bridal table, and an “elegant slight cascade garden bouquet of white open roses, blue thistle, scabiosa pod, spray roses, succulents, light blue delphinium, a variety of eucalyptus’s and other seasonal blooms and greens” for the bridal bouquet.
(Credit: Gem Photography)
THE RIDE
From the salon to the church, the couple and their 20-person bridal party hopped in a 22-passenger white limo. But from the church to the reception, they opted for something a bit more quaint and traditional: a trolley.
THE FOOD
Three words: Mashed sweet potatoes. “The mashed sweet potatoes and squash really made the dish very tasteful with the pork and shrimp,” Patterson says.
THE CAKE
Because Patterson is allergic to dairy, the couple opted for a wedding cake that was a two-tier vegan cake.
“The bottom tear was chocolate and the top tier was lemon,” she says. “The cake was simple and white with eucalyptus and white flowers added. [And] instead of passing out slices of cake, we had a cupcake table with 500 mini cupcakes” in flavors such as wedding cake, red velvet, lemon, carrot and salted chocolate caramel.
(Credit: Gem Photography)
(Credit: Gem Photography)
THE GIFTS
The registry was rather sentimental for the couple, who requested white rocking chairs for their home. “We received all of the chairs we requested and have placed them all on our front porch,” the bride says. One of our favorite things to do is sit on our rocking chairs at night or in the early morning and sip coffee.”
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