Loren Leigh and Alexander Charles Finck

Farm, friendly and formal were the buzz words used in creating the April wedding of the former Loren Leigh Littrell and Alexander Charles Finck at the mid-Missouri farm home of Leawood residents Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Finck. 

The element of hospitality was evident from the minute the gold-embossed pineapple invitations were received. A private ceremony for 60 was staged before a barely budding forest on an overcast April day and followed by a jubilant cocktail dinner dance reception for 450 in a meadow. 

An indoor garden was created with planter boxes running the full length of four rows of European banquet tables. The planters were filled with spring bulb blooms of hyacinth, daffodils and tulips. The ceiling was illuminated by handmade “chandeliers” of cattle pen fencing, Edison bulbs and English ivy. 

In spite of two weeks of rain that necessitated loads of gravel and golf carts to create a parking lot, buckling subfloors, deliveries of wrong size tables and wrong quantities of chairs, the evening was flawless as guests were asked to step into the meadow and then surprised with a 25-minute
fireworks presentation!

Once back inside the hastily reset tented ballroom, the lacquered plywood dance floor stayed full all night thanks to the non-stop music. Guests enjoyed dessert in an outdoor café setting of wrought iron chairs and tables and the sweets were delivered by a “walking cake stand.” The menu featured a delicious farm-to-table entrée and was artfully presented on amethyst glass chargers under a ceiling draped with khaki broadcloth panels. 

After a honeymoon to Greece and Germany, the newlyweds are in Columbia, Missouri, where the groom is in family medicine residency at University of Missouri Health Center and the bride is a speech pathologist at Boone Hospital Center. ■

Written by: Michael Nolte

Bridal Gown
Nolte’s Bridal 

Florist
Secret Garden and Katina Blackburn 

Band
Atlantic Express

Caterer
bleu Events

Wedding Coordinator
Michael Nolte

DJ
Entertainment to Go

Stationery
Nolte’s Bridal

Tents and Lighting
Above and Beyond Tents

Fireworks
Frank Berry Fireworks