nikki + bill // Marcy Casino Wedding
Filed in weddings shot by Ayres Photography on atNot every relationship is love at first sight. Sometimes it takes a little while for the admiration to build, for the friendship to blossom, and the love to reveal itself. Sometimes it takes a little patience and persistence, and sometimes, it all pays off. Lucky for Bill, he happens to be an incredibly patient man – or should we say, lucky for Nikki! Well, lucky for us also, because once these two finally got together it was nothing but smiles and fireworks (after some first date jitters at least), and we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to document it all. :)
Nikki and Bill had a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the always gorgeous Delaware Park Rose Garden, which happened to be especially stunning for N+B. So many colorful flowers in full bloom, and in OCTOBER! Who would have thought?? As our Ayres couples often do, Nikki and Bill made their ceremony not just about them, but about their families as well. They chose to have Bill’s children stand right up there at the altar with them, and kept those who could not attend there with them in spirit throughout the entire day. It was honestly so beautiful to witness the coming together of their family as one official unit in such a special way, and the fact that we were there to capture it all just means the world to us. Oh, and there was a very cute dog with a very beautiful flower collar, so … winning on all accounts. A true Ayres couple, through and through. We hope you enjoy this very sentimental and patiently awaited wedding day as much as we did.
Nikki: “Bill and I worked together at his office in 2011. He is an orthopaedic surgeon, and I was working for one of his partners. He would try to flirt with me and plan Happy Hours to get me out, but I never obliged. I never wanted to date a doctor. We remained friendly but never really talked much. He would try to email me here and there but I never answered, or I kept it very short and professional. I moved away to Mississippi in 2013, and later he operated on my best friend’s dad. I messaged him on LinkedIn – just something along the lines of ‘You better have done him well!’ After that we kind of became pen pals over the next year. We visited each other every 4-6 weeks, and then I ended up moving back to buffalo October 2014 and the rest is history!“
Nikki: “Our first date was for coffee at Spot on Elmwood Ave in Buffalo. I was so nervous! We still joke about it to this day – how I couldn’t even look at him in the eyes and how I was fidgeting the entire time. I actually made him an origami cat out of a straw wrapper while we were sitting there drinking our coffee – anything to not look at him I guess. He still has it to this day!!“
Nikki: “Bill and I both lost our fathers. On our wedding day, I gifted pins to my mother and mother-in-law that had pictures of their husbands. They wore the pins through out the day and night.“
Nikki: “Bill proposed on October 25, 2017 at the place where we had our first date! He was cute. He actually had his kids in on it! He texted me earlier in the day saying we had a college night meeting for his oldest daughter at Nardin Academy (right down the street from Spot) and the meeting was at 7. As we were about half way downtown, Cassidy texted us saying the meeting was at 7:30, not 7, so I suggested we just stop at Spot for a coffee before the meeting. I didn’t notice anything weird about Bill, which I normally would pick up on, but after we sat down he seemed like he was in a super rush to get to Nardin even though we had a half an hour before we had to be there. Finally I just said ‘Ok, fine! Let’s go!’. As we walked outside he stopped me, and I immediately knew what was coming. I was so nervous and caught off guard I couldn’t stop laughing. The poor guy was crying, stumbling over his words about how much he loved me and how I’ve turned our house into a home. I couldn’t understand anything he said. We joke now about how the only thing I remember him saying was that I was ‘stylish?’ He got down on one knee and proposed! I still was laughing. I couldn’t believe it! I couldn’t believe this beautiful ring was mine and we were engaged – it was all so crazy! Then to top it off, I really thought we had a meeting at Nardin! So I tried rushing him down the street – turns out there was no meeting! It was all a hoax to get us to Spot! After we got engaged the kids were blowing up Bill’s phone asking how it went. They were so excited and couldn’t wait for us to get home. On our drive back we stopped to get some cupcakes to celebrate with the kids. We got home, had a huge family hug, ate cupcakes and called EVERYONE. The best part? We had a 5:30 am flight the next day to Vegas, and neither of us were packed! Needless to say we got NO sleep that night!“
Nikki: “I was set on a dress at Victoria’s Bridal. I thought it was so beautiful, but it didn’t scream ‘bridal’ to me. I also felt I had found it rather soon, so I decided to make one more appointment at MA Carr. The woman I was working with showed me about 6 dresses. My dress was the last one. I put it on, and it fit me like a glove. It was the first time in my life when I actually looked in the mirror and thought ‘Wow, I look beautiful’, and that’s how I knew it was it!“
Nikki: “Bill and I are polar opposites and it just works out to be a really healthy balance. I am more high strung, while Bill is super relaxed. He doesn’t let anything bother him. I bring him up while Bill calms me down. I am very black and white, while Bill always knows there’s a grey area.“
Nikki: “Bill has 3 kids from a previous marriage so we rarely ever have free time alone together! If we do have an evening together, it’s usually out for sushi or something quick and then back home for jammies and a movie. We are usually pretty casual. We don’t do a lot but when we do, we always do it with the kids. We try to give them any and every opportunity to try and do new things so we have a lot of ‘FFF’ or ‘forced family fun’, as we call it.“
Nikki: “I think we both really value our families and just relationships in general. Mutual respect is another thing we both find important.“
Bill: “And Nikki is obsessed with her dog – there’s nothing in life she loves more than Kona!“
Nikki: “Bill is the most patient person on the planet. He puts up with and tolerates so much from me. I couldn’t imagine anyone else loving me the way he does. He loves all of my flaws and never asks me to be something I’m not. He’s my best friend and I couldn’t imagine life without him. He is the biggest family man and all he wants in life is to be a good dad, husband and man and just provide for his family while giving them an awesome life. He’s the hardest working guy I know and I appreciate all the sacrifices he has made for us.“
Nikki: “A perfect night in would be Bill grilling some steaks and chicken on the grill and eating dinner outside on our awesome patio. We’d take our dogs for a walk and then watch a movie, pups on our lap, and would NOT set an alarm for the next day! When we do have some time alone, we usually try to plan a trip somewhere for a long weekend, or head up to to Pillar and Post at Niagara on the Lake for an overnight. We will get massages, lay by the pool and just have a nice dinner. We usually head into town to an old Irish bar for a few drinks (Bill loves that we are Irish). “
Nikki: “Our first dance song was ‘Summer Wind’ by Frank Sinatra. My husband chose it – he loves our last name- ‘Wind’.“
Nikki: “My best friend gifted me a charm that read ‘Love Dad’ in his handwriting that I tied around my bouquet with a picture of him. I clipped it on my wrist at the end of the ceremony and wore it as a bracelet for the whole night. I danced with my mom to ‘I Hope You Dance’. She used to sing that to me growing up, so it was special to us.“
Wedding Vendors Include:
Venue: Delaware Park Rose Garden and Marcy Casino
Invitations: Minted
Hair: Salon-A-Go-Go
Make-Up: Kassie Depke of Groom Service Beauty & Dry Bar
Dress Shop: MA Carr
Bridal Gown Designer: Mikaella Bridal
Groom’s Look: Jos. A. Bank
Florist: Fern Croft
Cake: Baby Cakes Cupcakery
Popcorn Bar: That Popcorn Shack
DJ: Artistic Audio
