I had never said the letters EVP on a client consultation call until Cory and Noah. Somewhere in that first conversation we figured out we all love ghost hunting, and it was an immediate click for me. So when two ghost hunters booked an old Midtown mansion for their wedding, I’ll admit I kept one ear open all day. What I actually heard was a lot of laughing, one glass breaking, and two pianos. This was Cory and Noah’s Loose Mansion wedding in Kansas City, and I’m going to be talking about it for a while.
A Loose Mansion Wedding in Midtown Kansas City
Loose Mansion sits on the corner of Walnut Street in Midtown, red brick and white stone with a columned porch out front. Inside, it rewards anyone who notices architecture: dark carved wood, leaded glass windows, a marble and gilded entry vestibule, and a grand staircase that does half my job for me. If a venue has good bones, I’m going to use them, and these bones are excellent.
Cory and Noah had the ceremony and reception under one roof, and Loose Mansion handles catering, coordination and rentals in house, so the day moves from room to room without anyone loading a shuttle. The ceremony room is cream and gold with a long mirrored mantel. The reception room has crystal chandeliers and ornate plaster along the ceiling. Cocktail hour happens downstairs at the Speakeasy bar, and there’s a terrace strung with lights for sunset. I’ve photographed here before, too, if you want to see Sarah and Dillon’s Loose Mansion wedding.
A Perfectly Weighed Scale
Cory is the sweetest man, and Noah would clearly do anything for him. Watching them move together all day was like watching a perfectly weighed scale. They complement each other so completely that my main job during portraits was finding good light and getting out of the way.
Before the ceremony, Cory straightened Noah’s tie in front of a leaded glass window. Later, between poses on a narrow back staircase, Cory leaned down and kissed the top of Noah’s head, and Noah closed his eyes and grinned. Nobody asked for either of those. They just kept happening.
A Ketubah, a Glass, and an Officiant Who Knew First
Their wedding party gave me one very serious group portrait before piling onto the two of them the second I said we were done. Then their closest people gathered around a table for the ketubah signing. The ketubah then spent the ceremony on an easel up front. Cory walked in with his mom on one arm and his dad on the other, and all three of them were grinning.
Their officiant, a dear family friend who has known them both for years, came prepared with a box of tissues. There were plenty of kind hearted jests about how everyone could tell Cory was right for Noah before Noah was ready to admit it. There was also a lot of sweet recognition of how Noah finally said it: quietly, calmly, like it had always been that way. From everything I heard in that room, it had. Then came the vows, the rings, a lot of laughter, and the glass, which they stomped together.
While everyone headed downstairs to the Speakeasy, I slipped into the reception room before the guests did. Sage linens, gold chairs, chandeliers, and tall white centerpieces from Kasey Schonwetter. A room like that is worth photographing while it’s still empty and perfect, because an hour later it won’t be.
Dueling Pianos and a Cake for the Record Books
Cory and Noah hired Hammers Dueling Pianos for their music, which was a first for me, and I really hope not the last. Two black baby grands and a drum kit waited under the gold drapes, and once they got going, guests sent up requests for their favorites and got full live versions back. It was so much fun to watch. The two of them were right up front, singing along.
They danced their way down the grand staircase for their entrance with fists in the air, and the whole crowd packed in at the bottom to watch. Right beside that crowd stood the cake. Sugar Beats Bakery made what may go down as one of my all time favorites, a towering, sleek and romantic vision in front of a gold framed mirror.
We snuck up to the terrace for a few minutes of sunset under the string lights, then came back in for toasts. Noah cried the quiet kind of tears and then belly laughed so hard he leaned all the way back in his chair. Both parent dances happened at once, so nobody had to choose. Then came the hora. Both of them went up in chairs at the same time, and since nobody was safe, so did Noah’s mom.
Planning a Loose Mansion Wedding?
A few things I’d tell any couple getting married here:
Use the grand staircase. It’s the best portrait spot in the house, and it makes a great reception entrance. Cory and Noah used it for both.
Go up to the terrace at golden hour. The light comes through the trees behind the string lights, and a few minutes up there is plenty.
Leave a few minutes for the rooms before guests come in. The ceremony and reception rooms are full of gilt, plaster and chandeliers, and they look their best set and empty.
Cory and Noah, thank you for the EVP talk, for the staircase, and for my very first dueling pianos wedding. I’m still thinking about that cake.
Planning your own Loose Mansion wedding? I’d love to hear about it. Take a look at Kansas City wedding photography pricing, build your own quote in a couple of minutes, or get in touch.
The Team
- Venue, Catering, Coordination + Rentals: Loose Mansion
- Personal Florals, Ceremony Pedestals + Sweetheart Table: Tlalli Florals (Windy Klaasen)
- Centerpieces: Kasey Schonwetter
- Music: Hammers Dueling Pianos
- Photo Booth: Click Fun Events
- Makeup: Madee Stewart
- Cake + Desserts: Sugar Beats Bakery
- Suits: Michaels Fine Men’s Clothing
- Rings: Tom Tivol Jewels
- Photography: Humbly Hewn Photography
