Josh + Kara by The Breiters - Together Journal

Over time, it became clear that she was someone I could trust and let my walls down with. To quote my wedding vows, which I stole from a James Arthur song, she met me in the dark, she lit me up.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We’re two kids living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA with the 2 best pugs in the world, Kingsley and Hooks. We’re lovers of music festivals and concerts, nights out with friends, family, good food and exploring all life has to offer together. Kara is a speech language pathologist who is passionate about helping others find their expression. Josh plays Toby from The Office for work (HR.. he’s in HR). Our lives are filled with love and we try to spread it back to the world.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
K: We met while I was in college waitressing at a local bar, Chic N Bones in Morgantown, WV. I don’t recall the night we met, the same as Josh. His version is much more romantic – I was just trying to get through my busy shift on trivia night when we were short-staffed. He and his friends were loud and needy. Initial feelings were not fond. Needless to say, he certainly grew on me as our paths crossed again and again as fate intervened.

J: To be fair, her version of the story isn’t wrong. We were drunk and loud and I wanted to cheer up the cute waitress who looked stressed. We’ll chalk that night up as a loss for me. Fortunately, I found out we had a mutual friend and I started to “run into them” out and about. Over time, my charm was undeniable lol.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
K: I don’t recall the specific date, but we were riding around town, windows down, music blasting, my hair blowing in the wind and a feeling of total comfort I hadn’t known in such a long time and I thought, “Wow, I think I’m in love with this guy.” I truly couldn’t have asked for more perfect timing for this person, who was so filled with joy, kindness, respect and love for others, to come into my life. In other words, I’m so glad I found you, Josh.

J: It was a slow burn for me. I had been through a really difficult break up and had seen a lot of relationships fail. I had a lot of walls built up. Over time, it became clear that she was someone I could trust and let my walls down with. To quote my wedding vows, which I stole from a James Arthur song, she met me in the dark, she lit me up.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
K: Another event where perspective is everything! Josh just wasn’t himself all day! He’s not typically a stressy-kinda guy and is usually a go-with-flow kinda guy. But today he was very stressed about being to our long overdue date night on a Thursday. We took a ride up to Mount Washington for the evening to visit the city’s best view after dinner. I should have known something was awry when Josh wanted shots on a week night! After a nice dinner and a couple drinks, we walk to the overlook, which has an amazing view of the city’s skyline. We decide we need a selfie to document the date and start to get situated after the crowd leaves. As I turn around, I spot our friend and Pittsburgh photographer, JJ Nicholas, taking pics! I shout, “Hey, JJ!” And Josh says “Look at me, Kara!” as he’s getting down on one knee. I say, “What’s happening?” and am laughing so much, nearly unable to process anything Josh is saying… then I hear, “Will you marry me?” Of course! Josh says he blacked out from the overload of emotion and can’t even remember what he said!

J: Hindsight is 20/20 because she had NO clue it was coming, don’t let her fool you. I had been planning it for weeks, scoping out the perfect spot, figuring out where Jay Jay would hide to get the perfect candid. I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I was really worried about all of the logistics working out. Looking back it didn’t all go to plan, but it was perfect all the same.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
K: The vision was to replicate the mood of a festival as much as possible while still delivering a timeless and classy wedding. I ultimately dubbed it “boho festival chic with Bridgerton vibes”. We kept classic elements of a traditional wedding and tried to spin them to represent who we are and what we love. We wanted every detail to radiate good vibes and “that’s so them”. I (over) thought about all of the details with such a critical eye for what it represented to us, and truly none of it would have happened without Josh’s knack for logistics! We picked a venue with tons of natural beauty, which allowed me to focus more on those small details within our budget – just add some extra flowers, geodes, butterflies, festival tattoos and jewels, pugs, pizza, a DJ and BOOM! Vision completed!

J: We weren’t afraid to toss some traditional elements to really make it feel authentic to us. We nixed the cake, served dinner buffet style from a wood fired pizza truck and had a coffee truck to keep people energized for the dance floor.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
K: I was absolutely convinced that I wasn’t the kind of girl that would cry when she “found the one”. My brain just overthinks too much for that business! I went to Chicago to try dresses by a designer who only sold in major cities in the US and loved one! My mom, on the other hand, didn’t love it as much as I did. I convinced her to go to Nashville with me to see the dress again in person. She still wasn’t sold. Annoyingly, she has a knack for these things and just in case, I had some other appointments booked at local places. Finally at the last place, I HAD THE MOMENT at Ila Bridal and got to bring my dream dress home with me THAT DAY! I fell in love with a dress I never would have seen in a traditional bridal boutique. My gown was customized with drop sleeves and had panels of mismatched lace all over. A little surprise every time she danced!

J: I knew I wanted to do something a bit non-traditional, a bit unique. I’ve always enjoyed expressing myself through fashion. I found the jacket first. It’s a light brown houndstooth unstructured Havana jacket from SuitSupply. I fell in love with it immediately and bought it without thinking about the rest of my outfit at all. Turns out it wasn’t the easiest jacket to match. 3 months, a few meltdowns, and countless fabrics, colors, and styles of pants later, I finally found a dark green stretch flannel fabric at Indochino and had my pants made to order. I added a dark brown textured loafer from Johnston & Murphy and a tan knit tie from Todd Snyder. I found some suspenders from a small shop on Etsy to round it out. *Chef’s kiss*