our story

I wanted to get on here to share a bit about my husband(!!) and I’s wedding.

Ever since I was a child, I have been planning my wedding. I have books of magazine clippings, bible verses and even potential itineraries of the big day dating back all the way to when I was 12. I never imagined my wedding would happen the way it did, but I am so grateful that it did.

My husband Neilson is a professional cyclist and we met in November of 2019. For his job he is based out of Spain and our first few months of dating involved a lot of long distance between California where I was, and Australia, Spain or wherever he was racing at the time. It was challenging, but then Covid hit and the world shut down. Luckily, he was in the states as lockdowns began. We spent those next few months together as my job slowly evaporated and his continued. I struggled as I watched other industries return back to work as normal, but learned that our entire season for Sacramento Ballet through fall of 2021 had been cancelled.

Despite all these facts, with travel restrictions and all, as Neilson was racing the Tour de France we decided that when he went back in January 2021 I wanted to be able to go with him.

Our wedding was planned while Neilson raced in the Tour, so needless to say he played a more hands off role in the planning. We chose the date so that we would be able to have our wedding and honeymoon during his off-season…my fellow cyclist wives will understand.

Our wedding guest list was intimate-my parents, brother, sister, brother-in-law and nephew, and Neilson’s parents and sister. We made this decision because of the climate that the virus had set our country into. We decided early on in the planning process that we did not want to wait out Covid for a big wedding, seeing as that could take months, possibly years.

My dear family friend Jenny Kim made my dress after I tried on a few styles in stores and narrowed down what my dream dress was. Another family friend, Andrea who I was actually working for at the time helped me design my earrings-charms that I added onto huggies that I was given and have worn daily since I was 16. The veil is a family heirloom that my grandma and grandpa purchased in Belgium and passed down to their daughters and granddaughters. I ordered sneakers for a true Father of the Bride touch to the wedding dress. My mom, as any of you who know her would know, embroidered handkerchiefs with our initials and wedding date. I worked with a local graphic designer, Ester to create a small wedding invitation suite with menus and place cards for our guests. The flowers and cake were provided by local Carmel vendors who brought all of my ideas to life. Luckily, my best friend is one of the most talented photographers I know and we conferred with her schedule before picking our wedding date.

Lastly, the most important detail of the wedding was our cliff. Ever since moving to California I have dreamt of getting married on a cliff overlooking vast expanses of ocean. I could not be more grateful to live in a state where that is so accessible. Once Neilson was back in the states we did some cliff scouting along Highway 1 and found our spot.

Our pastors from Sacramento came to officiate the wedding and the soundtrack to the ceremony was waves crashing against bluffs.

We had our reception at Mission Ranch in Carmel, per a friend’s recommendation, and they allowed me to have input on every detail of the dinner from plates to chairs and napkins. They created a magical evening in the back garden of their “Honeymoon Cottage” that was just the right size for our group of 10. There were toasts and tears, and dining and dancing in our candlelit evening.

Our day was not how I ever would have imagined it as a child but it was so much more than I could’ve dreamt it. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. The closer we got to the big day, the more I realized how much it is actually about the person you’re committing to for the rest of your life. As a child I thought all the details would make it the perfect day, but looking back now I know it’s the person who makes it.

Here’s to a lifetime of more cliffside escapades…

xo Mrs Powless