Ever had the opportunity to meet someone famous? 

Oh my goodness, I was not old enough to understand the serious awesomeness that came with that.  

You know prologues are my jam, so let’s prep the proverbial canvas…  

My eight year old self was obsessed with musicals.  OBSESSED.Long ago, I actually had a dream that I would be on Broadway.… standing in front of my mirror, singing into my hairbrush or singing in the shower (talk about sweet acoustics) gave me quite the self-esteem boost. 

Sing in front of people though? Never. 

I walked into my living room after ballet, still in my tights and with no possible idea of what lay ahead of me. I saw this girl with blonde hair who wore a beautiful sky blue suit and the biggest smile I’d ever seen. 

I sadly had no idea who she was at the time, all my mom said was, “She’s on Broadway!” and she had me hook, line, and sinker. 

Sitting on the couch across from Kristin Chenoweth (in my freaking LIVING ROOM PEOPLE) feels like a dream.  She had just played Sally in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and went on to play Galinda (with a Ga) in Wicked, my all time favorite musical.   

I’ll pause here because you may be wondering, Is it your favorite because of the music or because of Kristin? Kind of a chicken or the egg question here because I truly couldn’t tell you my answer. It’s both. 

Anyway, I sat across from this kind and beautiful Broadway STAR, I learned a few things (and I honestly don’t remember the order because I was STAR STRUCK).  

I know I have a photo of this moment somewhere at my childhood home, but for right now, you’ll have to take my word for it. 

She was from Oklahoma. WHAT?! 

She was from this mysterious town called Broken Arrow. Hmm… (Crazy I now know it’s not a mysterious town but I live about 5 minutes from it and took my kindergarten students to the same PAC she performed in as a student.) 

I wish I remembered more of the details — and I’m sure as I keep thinking on it I’ll remember more and more — but I was so starstruck it all seems like a blur. 

Long ago, I actually had a dream that I would be on Broadway.

… standing in front of my mirror, singing into my hairbrush or singing in the shower (talk about sweet acoustics) gave me quite the self-esteem boost.

Sing in front of people though? Never.

So, when we got the opportunity to meet Kristin Chenoweth (even though I sadly had no idea who she was at the time), all my mom said was, “She’s on Broadway!” and she had me hook, line, and sinker.

Sitting on the couch across from Kristin (in my freaking LIVING ROOM PEOPLE) feels like a dream.  She had just played Sally in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and went on to play Galinda (with a Ga) in Wicked, my all time favorite musical. 

Kristin Chenoweth went after her dreams – and by the grace of God and a WHOLE LOT OF TALENT on her part, she achieved them (and let’s be clear – she’s still achieving them).

So, why talk all about meeting Kristin Chenoweth? Because in that EXACT MOMENT, I knew I had to chase my dreams, whatever they were. 

And as a washed up ballerina obsessed with The Nutcracker, one of the places I dreamed of painting was the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall.

In this blog I’m sharing all the deets on this beautiful Nutcracker Inspired Wedding Shoot at Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City – with ballerinas from the Oklahoma City Ballet – and how you can use it to inspire the wedding of your dreams.

This was a dream come true almost as lovely as meeting Kristin Chenoweth. So, let’s stick with the subject of *dreams* because this whole shoot was the one that dreams are made of.

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No. 1 The Dream Wedding Venue – Civic Center Music Hall

If you grew up loving the Nutcracker ballet and attending it every year at the Civic Center, then you know the intense love and excitement I felt about painting this beautiful venue.

Civic Center Music Hall offers couples two gorgeous rooms as backdrops for their wedding, and there are endless possibilities for arranging tables.  

I’ve seen garden style (where guests sit at tables where they will later eat during the ceremony), a full reset where guests sit in rows for a traditional wedding ceremony, but during the cocktail hour the team resets the room so it’s ready for dinner.

The possibilities here are ENDLESS.  

Civic Center Music Hall also boasts one of the most outstanding on-site event coordinators Suzanne Klimek, who works seamlessly with your wedding planner and other vendors to ensure your wedding day goes as smoothly and perfectly as possible.

Courtney is the perfect combination of professionalism, kindness, creativity and entertainment.

She arrives on time, comes with her own setup and will be as interactive or tucked away as you would like. She creates amazing, detailed pieces that can be hung in your home for many years to come. At the last wedding we had with Courtney, she had little girls lining up to watch her paint and ask her questions!

— SUZANNE KLIMEK
PRIVATE EVENTS MANAGER AT CIVIC CENTER MUSIC HALL

If you know me, you know I’m a sucker for all things fine art.  Civic Center Music Hall is the PERFECT location for your fine art wedding.  The history, the art deco architecture, and the scenery are just a few things that make this location fine art wedding-ready.  

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No. 2 Creating the Dream Wedding – with Harper Mae Events

Harper Holloman of Harper Mae Events put together a supreme list of vendors – from the lovely and elegant florals from Robyn’s Flower Garden, the gorgeous cake from Mishelle Handy Cakes, not one but TWO breathtaking dresses from Prescott Bridal, an invitation suite from Paper N’ More and a pink engagement ring from BC Clark Jewelers that would make Frank Eggelhoffer jealous, suiting the groom in style with Weddings by Everyman, equally beautiful and tasty cookies from Royal Cookie Co, quirky and unique cotton candy from Floof Cotton Candy Co.

Harper chose details to create the perfect imagery and inspiration for this fine art wedding.

A DREAMY fine art inspired wedding.  How better to inspire a fine art wedding than by Tchaikovsky’s ballet adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ The Nutcracker?

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No. 3  Capturing the Dream – Meg Rose Photography, Brit Vid, and Live Wedding Painter Courtney Kibby 

Capturing the dream were Meg Rose Photography, a light and airy fine art wedding photographer based in Oklahoma City, Brit Vid, a fine art heirloom wedding videographer, and Live Wedding Painter Courtney Kibby *hey that’s me!*. 

Harper selected these wedding pros for a different reason to tell a different story about the SAME MOMENT. 

And if you look at the difference in the photos, the video, and the final painting, you can see that each brings their own *je ne sais quoi* to the party.

Let’s take a quick look at this team:

The Photography

Meg Rose Photography captures the details of the wedding.  She is an amazing photographer who brings delightful light and romance to your day.  Meg is not only a flat lay genius. She ensures she gets the *perfect shot* so that you can relive the *perfect memories* over and over again.

Courtney is absolutely so sweet and her work is incredible! Watching in real time is such a unique experience! 

Definitely recommend working with Courtney! Such a talented vendor who creates timeless keepsakes with her exquisite art skills. She is also so kind and generous! 

— MEG ROSE PHOTOGRAPHY

The Videography

Brit Vid creates gorgeous heirloom films of your wedding that tell the story of your day unfolding.  She has a magical quality of *blending in* where she can capture the most unique and special moments for you to relive – and you don’t even remember her capturing them.

The Live Painting

Why a live wedding painter for this shoot? Because a live wedding painter captures something entirely different than a photographer and videographer.  In fact, they all work in tandem to create the perfect memory of your wedding day.  A live wedding painter captures the feeling of your wedding day.  

In this painting, I captured the fine art feel – the ballerinas are in a signature ballet pose – arabesque. Because the whole shoot felt dream-like, the entire painting evokes a dreamy and ethereal feeling.  The ballerinas sit in front of the gorgeous backdrop by Civic Center Music Hall and Robyn’s Flower Garden.

On the fence about hiring a wedding painter? Do your future self a favor–book me before all the spots are gone.

In this blog we talked about three unique ways to create your fine art wedding as inspired by The Nutcracker wedding shoot with ballerinas from the Oklahoma City Ballet. See the full gallery here.

PS – this is a trend that’s HAPPENING right now.

If you liked this post, please let me know by liking it below, subscribe, and share it with your engaged friends and comment below with “helpful” if this post helped you!

Now you know these three easy steps to creating the fine art wedding of your dreams, but what about some more info on live wedding painting? I’ve got Live Wedding Painting 101 teed up for you to read next to help you with that.