Kelly and Ray Engstrom

Tied the Knot: October 22, 2016

Kelly (Olson) Engstrom, 32, was born in South Korea and grew up in a small town in Nebraska. She attended Kansas State University and moved to Washington, D.C., after graduation in 2007. Although she loved East Coast life, she decided to return to her Midwestern roots in 2012 and moved to Kansas City. Kelly works at Hallmark Cards.

Ray Engstrom, 35, was born in Arkansas and grew up in Minnesota. After high school, Ray joined the United States Army and was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Fort Riley, Kansas, Iraq, Germany and finally Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was a Military Police Officer and attended college on post. After being medically retired in October 2015, he began school full time at Rockhurst University, majoring in business management.

Since they were both relatively new to the KC metro, Kelly and Ray decided to give online dating a try. After they had been corresponding for a while, Kelly told Ray she was going out with friends one weekend and invited Ray on a whim, thinking he’d decline. He accepted. They had a great time and went on a real date the following week.

A couple of years later, Ray took Kelly out to dinner with the engagement ring in his pocket. He had devised a plan for how to propose. Little did he know that the next table over would be a bit crazy, and he never got the chance. He ended up proposing later that evening at home in Lenexa, with their dog, Betsy. For Kelly, it was the perfect, private moment just between the two of them, plus the four-legged, tail-wagging spectator.

The blissful couple tied the knot on October 22, 2016, at Feasts of Fancy in the West Bottoms area of Kansas City, Missouri. Kelly’s sister, Jana Bloebaum, was Matron of Honor, and the Maid of Honor was Ariel Smith. Bridesmaids were Courtney Siefkes, Kayla Works and Maria Nosal. Ray’s Best Man was Josh James, and groomsmen were Taylor Barr, Herb Richardson and Brooks Nelson. The wedding was officiated by Kelly’s cousin, Pastor Mark Loest, and ceremony string music was performed by Trio Fontana.

The evening wedding ceremony was held outdoors in the courtyard. Afterward, guests enjoyed cocktail hour and then moved indoors for dinner and dancing. Since both Kelly and Ray are from out of state, many guests traveled substantial distances to join the big day. In true Kansas City fashion, the wedding and reception had a classic yet vintage urban feel, with barbecue and homestyle mac and cheese for dinner. The escort cards were attached to bottles of Cowtown Bar-B-Q Sauce, but the tables were adorned in gold sequins and flowers. Dessert was an assortment of five luscious flavors of cake topped with floral embellishments. Guests danced the night away in grand style as they celebrated the couple.

Kelly and Ray enjoyed a relaxing honeymoon in beautiful St. Lucia. ■