The wedding party beside Lake Panorama.
One couple’s story on the journey toward marriage.
By Rich Wicks | Guthrie Center Times
Kayla LaFreniere had been working at The Port in Panora since 2015. In 2019, Vlad Valentine started working there as well, and the two soon started dating. By 2022, Vlad said he knew he wanted to ask Kayla to be his wife, and he needed to pick a special spot for that to happen.
“I knew I wanted to propose really early in the relationship. I knew she was the one very fast,” Vlad said. “Her mom and I worked together and chose Honeymoon Island in Florida. It is a beautiful beach with a memorable name.”
Kayla recalled that day, March 1, 2022.
Vlad Valentine proposes to Kayla LaFreniere.
“At some point prior, Vlad had gone to my mom’s house and asked permission from my mom and dad to ask me to marry him. Then he went shopping with my mom to get a ring, and they hid it from me for a couple of months until the four of us went to Florida together,” Kayla said. “Then he and my dad went off together and drew a big heart in the sand. Then they kind of distracted me and dragged me over there, and he proposed. It was gorgeous. I was totally surprised. It was an absolute shock.”
Kayla’s only (minor) regret from that day is that she wasn’t dressed for such a landmark photographic moment in her life.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t prepared for it, so I was wearing a large sweater,” she said.
The planning
As soon as the couple was engaged, they started planning for their wedding.
“We immediately knew we wanted to get married at The Port, because I’d been working there for so long, and I just thought it was a beautiful venue,” Kayla said. “We love the lake. He’s from California, so it’s nice to be able to incorporate the water.”
The couple set a wedding date of Oct. 14, 2023, which gave them roughly 18 months to make all of the arrangements for their big day.
“We planned it with the general manager at The Port, and he took good care of us. He and his family helped us, and my family helped us. We had a lot of help getting everything together,” Kayla said. “My mom and I went dress shopping. It was a lot of fun.”
The newlyweds kiss at their reception.
Kayla and Vlad chose to involve their families and friends as much as possible in the planning and various parts of their wedding. Because of this, the ceremony included six bridesmaids and six groomsmen.
“Vlad has six siblings, and three were able to come to the wedding,” Kayla said. “My maid of honor was my sister, and my sister-in-law was a bridesmaid, along with a few of my friends.”
Kayla shared the thought behind some of the wedding planning.
“For my dress, I went to David’s Bridal. When I walked in, one of my friends from high school was working there, so she helped me find a dress. That was unplanned and interesting,” Kayla said. “Our bridesmaid dresses we found on Amazon, and they turned out fabulous.”
The couple’s wedding cake was a beautiful and unique design.
“I got the cake done by a friend of mine who has an at-home bakery. We put some rose petals on there, and the cake was delicious. It was an apple spice cake,” Kayla said.
The rest of the food was provided by The Port, and that’s where the reception and dance were also held.
The hands of Kayla and Vlad.
For photography, the couple found another local connection.
“Shelby Wiggins out of Jefferson was our photographer,” Kayla said. “I chose her because my sister-in-law is good friends with her.”
The wedding photos included in this story are from Shelby Wiggins Photography.
“One of my bridesmaids is a cosmetologist, so she did the hair for a lot of us,” Kayla added.
Another part of the wedding planning reflected the couple’s strong belief in family, friends and togetherness. For a bachelor party and bachelorette party, the couple decided “the more, the merrier.”
“We had a joint party and went to Adventureland and had a fun waterpark day,” Kayla said.
The wedding day
Finally, the big weekend arrived, with more fun and fellowship.
“We did the rehearsal the night before in the banquet room,” Kayla said. “We ended up getting pizza and just hanging out in our pajamas.”
Because the couple planned an outdoor wedding, weather was a concern, but things worked out.
“The weather did turn out OK. It was a little cold, if you ask the guys from California, but I thought it was OK,” Kayla said. “Our backup plan would have been to just move out a few of the tables from the banquet room and have everything right in there.”
Kayla and Vlad cut the cake.
Because of the degree of planning involved, a wedding can sometimes feel like an astronomical event. Kayla and Vlad learned that theirs wasn’t the only event of that type that day.
“After the fact, I found out that there was actually an eclipse that day,” Kayla said.
Often, no matter how much planning occurs in aiming for perfection in a wedding day, things will happen that are not expected. But, in many cases, those little mishaps are what make the day even more memorable. That was the case for Kayla and Vlad.
“Our vows were pretty regular, other than the part where Vlad called me his ‘awfully wedded wife’ instead of ‘lawfully wedded wife.’ He was terrified that would happen, and then he actually did it,” Kayla said. “The whole ceremony stopped, and everybody laughed. It really took the stress off of everybody. And then I got flustered and forgot to carry my own flowers back down the aisle.”
Vlad also described that moment.
“I was so nervous and messed it up. But I fixed it and said the right thing after everyone laughed,” he said. “It was an ice breaker.”
Another mishap occurred but was quickly resolved.
“We lost our officiant last minute and had a very good friend of ours who offered to step up and marry us,” Vlad said. “It was awesome and made it so special.”
Kayla agreed.
“Actually, the gentleman who married us is actually a close personal friend of ours, and he’s a chef at The Port. That was very sweet of him; he’s like family to us,” she said.
Following the ceremony, it was time for the reception and dance with a variety of delicious food and drink, and then everyone enjoyed music and dancing. Instead of a professional DJ, Kayla asked a relative to help.
“My nephew played a playlist on his phone, actually,” she said. “He had a good time.”
All in all, the couple’s big day turned out well. Vlad summarized his feelings.
“Just seeing my new wife happy was enough for me. I was relieved to be married and to have fun the rest of the night,” he said. “It was great spending time with the people we love, and it was great celebrating our marriage together.”
The married life
Following the wedding, the newlyweds decided on a honeymoon. And although it sounds like a cliché, Kayla explained that, in their case, the honeymoon really isn’t over yet.
“We did end up going on a drive from Orlando to Key West and then back up the other side. We did a full Florida tour with my parents. We flew down to Orlando, and then we spent about 10 days going through Florida,” Kayla said. “And then we have a ‘part two’ of the honeymoon coming next August. We’re going on a cruise to Jamaica.”
The couple continues to work together at The Port where Vlad serves as front desk clerk and assistant ‘day of’ coordinator for events. Kayla works as general manager and helps coordinate special events. The couple recently moved to Scranton.
Kayla and Vlad do not have children but enjoy time at home together.
“We’re kind of just video gamers. We come home and play games and hang out with our two dogs,” Kayla said. “We are kid-free; our dogs are our kids.”
When asked about any advice for other couples planning a wedding, Kayla said she believes in the concept of teamwork.
“Just recruit as many people as you can. It is not a one-person process. I could not have done everything without my mom,” Kayla said. “And my bridesmaids and my family and people at work cared about us enough to put their personal time in and help us.”
