Native St. Louisans Brittany Plufka and Ryan Atkinson were high school sweethearts after meeting through a mutual friend in 2008. The two had been together seven years when Ryan made it official. “We were living in Dallas at the time, and he took me to my favorite restaurant,” Brittany recalls. “When we got home, he had one of my favorite movies, Harry Potter, all cued up and he proposed; it was really cute.” Their dog approved, too. “I don’t remember this, but Ryan says right when I said yes, our dog started howling!”
Two days after they got engaged, the reception venue was booked, and Brittany says they chose Ascension for the ceremony because it’s where she went to grade school. “It was a little difficult planning from Dallas, but we divided up the tasks and got through it all,” she says.
Brittany kept with a classic black and white color scheme. “The bridesmaids dresses were fairly easy to find, but my gown was a much longer process,” she admits. “We went to multiple salons before finding ‘the one’ at Saks. It was by the same designer as my graduation dress, which was neat.”
The main flower used was hydrangea, and Brittany says the flowers were her favorite part of it all. “My bouquet was especially pretty,” she says. “The tables had beautiful arrangements in varying heights, and there was a stunning floral hedge for the head table.”
Brittany also looks back fondly on speeches given by her dad, the maid of honor and the best man. “They really captured everything about the two of us,” she says. “I was in tears from laughing so hard.” Even with a guest list of around 175 people, Brittany says the venue was very accommodating. We were able to walk around and chat with everyone,” she notes. “I don’t think we left until midnight!”
The couple resides in the Central West End. Ryan works for Pinnacle Technical Resources as a consultant support coordinator, and Brittany is a store manager at J.Crew.
resources
ceremony | Ascension Catholic Church
reception | Deer Creek Club
gown | Amsale
cake | Choquette
florist | Artistry
music | Slam
honeymoon | Charleston and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia
wedding party
maid of honor | Kristen Nichols
bridesmaids | Sarah McClure, Lexi Sesti, Chelsea Mitchell
best man | Alec Atkinson
groomsmen | Evan Atkinson, Conner Plufka, Kyle Unger
bride’s parents | David & Marie Plufka of Brentwood
groom’s parents | Gregory Atkinson of Chesterfield and Shawn Atkinson of Eureka
wedding date: Oct. 3, 2015
Photos: Ray Prop Photography
