How I Argaux: Wedding Season with Kelcy Christy, Senior Editor Inside Weddings

Kelcy Kordiak (née Christy) joined the Inside Weddings team in 2013. Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Communications from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University in May 2012 and soon moved to Los Angeles to escape the heat and pursue her dream of working in editorial at a national magazine. After years of writing real weddings, wedding-planning advice pieces, and honeymoon and travel articles for Inside Weddings and InsideWeddings.com, she became the bride herself, getting married to her longtime love in June 2022. Living on the westside of Los Angeles, Kelcy enjoys hiking and going to the beach with Nick and their dog Cooper, as well as cooking, trying new restaurants, spending time outdoors, reading & watching tv/movies, hosting backyard gatherings and wine nights with friends, traveling, and cherishing every moment of life as much as possible. 

Tell us about yourself, Kelcy! Please introduce yourself to the Argaux community.

Hi! I’m Kelcy, Senior Editor of Inside Weddings, a bridal magazine and website showcasing luxury real weddings, expert advice articles from top wedding planners and professionals, honeymoon inspiration, and more. I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where I met my now-husband, but I moved to Los Angeles, California, after college and we have called it home for the past 10 years. I love how the California lifestyle puts such an emphasis on healthy choices and wellness, and you really just can’t beat the weather here and the vibe of living near the ocean. We try our best to get outside, try new recipes, travel often, and enjoy all of life’s special moments as much as possible since life is short and it’s incredibly important to make the most of it any way you can.

Have you always had an interest in weddings and events? 

I was never really the girl who started planning my wedding at a young age, but in high school and even early on in college, I always thought I wanted to be a wedding and event planner. Once I realized that would mean giving up nearly every weekend for the rest of my foreseeable future, my next goal was to be an editor at a magazine. I got an internship at a regional Arizona-based bridal magazine (Hi, Arizona Weddings!) and became their first intern to have a piece published in the magazine. From there, I realized it was possible for me to make writing a career – not just for fun creatively, as my twin sister Brooke and I have always had a blog together since college (The Inspired Abode). Although many publications are based in New York City, I found out that Inside Weddings was based in LA, sent a cold email, and hounded the team until they let me come in for an interview… and here we are nine+ years later!

Ok, let’s pour ourselves a glass of wine. Spill the details. How did he propose?

Nick and I had been together for 10 years before he proposed (we met in college and didn’t want to rush into marriage while we were in our 20s), so I had a general idea that the proposal was coming, but he still surprised me! We went to Los Cabos in November 2020 and on our first evening, he surprised me with a private dinner on the beach. I had an inkling that he might propose when he pulled me from the table to get a better view of the sunset, but apparently he just wanted to see the sunset together, so I gave up anticipating the big moment. It wasn’t until the final course when he lifted the cloche over the dessert plate and I saw “Will You Marry Me?” written next to our dessert. He got down on one knee with the ring (which had casually been roaming free in his pocket – thank goodness it didn’t fall into the sand) and proposed. I of course said yes, and we celebrated with lots of margaritas and Mexican food – my favorite – the rest of the trip!

Do you have a favorite wedding gift that you received? Do you have a go-to wedding gift you love to give others?

My favorite wedding gift that we received is a tie between our espresso machine and smart-oven air fryer – we use them both daily! The best gift that I’ve ever given was the Ooni outdoor pizza oven, which we gave to my twin sister and her husband; however, for most weddings, I love the idea of finding a gift on the couple’s registry that I personally love or use (like wine glasses, cast-iron pans, or home décor). I was at my friend’s bridal shower last year when she received Argaux’s Year of Firsts collection, and I thought it was such a cute gift idea with great packaging and tasty wines – I definitely added it to my “top gift list” for upcoming engagements and weddings since the gift set has celebration tag options for both occasions!

Where did you get married? Does the location hold a special place for you and your fiancé?

We got married in Big Sky, Montana! We had never been before, but we knew we wanted to have an outdoor destination wedding. While we (and our families) always thought that it would be somewhere by the beach, we chose a location that 1) our guests could either fly or drive to (since we were planning during Covid and the future of travel was uncertain at the time), 2) was a “middle ground” between our home states of Arizona & Minnesota – and where we live in California, and 3) be a unique destination that we and many of our guests had never visited before. We booked the venue sight unseen, but we were so happy with our choice once we visited for our site visit!

Where did you find most of the inspiration for your wedding? 

I found most of the inspiration for my wedding from YEARS of looking at real wedding photos working at Inside Weddings. While our spending limit wasn’t quite what Inside Weddings couples have for the stunning celebrations featured in our magazine, I had a great base knowledge of the look and feel I wanted for our wedding before even getting engaged. From there, it was all fine-tuning by following Montana vendors on Instagram to get an idea of what was available in the region, perusing Pinterest, and working with our planner to stay within our budget while having the romantic, elegant wedding we wanted – with a bit of Montana-modern style that wasn’t too rustic.

What was a non-negotiable for you and your fiancé? I remember my husband and I didn’t want any noise ordinances. We wanted that party to go into the wee hours of the night!

Our non-negotiable was an alfresco ceremony & reception (which we ended up having under a tent, as our venue puts up a tent for wedding receptions every summer!).  We also wanted a venue with accommodations available for all of our guests so we could enjoy a full weekend together, and the cabins at our venue were perfect for that.

It poured all afternoon on our wedding day and we almost had to move the ceremony inside, but thankfully the rain stopped just in time so we could have our dream outdoor wedding!

Who were the vendors for your wedding? 

The first vendor we hired was our awesome wedding planner, Lauren Schoenborn of Beautifully Born Events (based in Montana but available everywhere). We found her on Instagram and saw her work on various Montana-focused wedding websites – she was the best decision we made! From there, we booked Troy Meikle as our photographer (she also came to California to take our engagement photos), 320 Guest Ranch as our wedding venue, and Hannah at Rowan & Larch for floral design. Our other fantastic wedding vendors included The White Dress in Corona Del Mar, California for my wedding dress (they also just opened a location in Bozeman, Montana), Lindsey at Running Bare Aesthetics for hair and makeup, Beth at Big Sky Wedding Ceremonies as our officiant, Sweet & Tarte for our wedding cake and desserts, Minted for our save the date and invitation suite, as well as Montana Party Rentals, BBJ La Tavola, and Joe’s DJ Service.

Any suggestions for a registry? I feel like some brides have it dialed in and others aren’t sure where to start, or what they might need for newlywed life. 

So many people say they dread putting together their wedding registry, but I had so much fun with it! We’ve lived together for quite awhile, so we had a lot of items that we’d accumulated over time, but we’d never thoughtfully selected pieces that we want to keep for the rest of our lives (or however long they last). Our registry offered that opportunity!

We tried to follow this registry checklist from Gearys – a high-end retailer in Beverly Hills who many Inside Weddings couples use for their wish list. While we didn’t add every single item on their list to our registry, it gave us a great base for the types of pieces we may want for casual, everyday items as well as more formal pieces for dinner parties and holidays. As far as which specific brands and products to choose, I had a general knowledge of the items selected by Inside Weddings couples and also looked to my favorite food bloggers for their kitchenware and bakeware suggestions!

What advice do you have for couples going through the wedding planning process?

My suggestion would be to get as much as you can done as early as you can – and then stick to your decisions and don’t overthink anything. It’s so easy to be inundated with wedding content when you get engaged, but staying true to who you are as a couple and the style of wedding you want to have is so important. While Nick was so supportive and wanted me to plan the day how I envisioned it, I also knew it was important to make decisions as a team and have him actively involved on Zoom chats and phone calls with our wedding planner and vendors when he was available. Those conversations helped him feel more actively involved, so when I asked him to make a final decision on anything I was questioning during the planning process, it was seamless.

We were also gifted Argaux’s Year of Firsts (engagement edition), so we had a lot of fun having an at-home date night by ordering delivery from our favorite restaurant or cooking a fancy meal and toasting to major milestones like booking our venue, saying yes to the dress, the one-month countdown, and so on! Planning is stressful, so it’s important to celebrate all of the accomplishments along the way – big or small – and also connect outside of wedding planning!

Where did you go on your honeymoon? 

We went to Fiji right after the wedding – it was beautiful! Unfortunately, after 24 hours of traveling (10-hour flight + time at the airport, waiting for our boat transfer, and the catamaran to Tokoriki Island Resort, I tested positive for Covid on the hotel’s arrival test. Despite being quarantined for our entire seven-night stay, I thankfully had as minimal symptoms as possible and we loved spending quality time together in our “bure” – which thankfully had a private patio/yard area and plunge pool. We’ll just have to go back someday very soon for a honeymoon re-do!

I believe you’re based in LA – Favorite restaurant in Los Angeles right now for a date night?

There are SO many great restaurants in LA and many I still need to try… I’m going to give two answers – one for a date night at home & one for a date night out.

Date Night at Home: Jame Enoteca in El Segundo from Chef Jackson Kalb, who was on a recent season of Top Chef. We love removing everything from the to-go containers, using nice dinnerware (we were gifted a beautiful Juliska set for our wedding!), putting a relaxing playlist on the Sonos, lighting our “Montana Forest” candle that we gave our wedding guests as welcome gifts, and pouring a delightful glass of wine to connect and enjoy a great meal.

Date Night Out: One of our go-to date spots is Scopa in Venice from Chef Antonia Lofaso, who you may recognize from Top Chef or Food Network competition shows. The ricotta crostini & brussels sprout salad are musts for starters, all the pastas & mains we’ve tried are delicious, and the zeppole is our favorite dessert (they’re like little Italian beignets)!

Lightning Round:

• Champagne or cake? 100% Champagne! I’d take bubbly over sweets every time!
• Beach or mountains? Beach… but if both is an option, I’d say a beach with a nice mountain/canyon/cliff view like our favorite spot in Malibu. 
• Pizza or Pasta? An impossible choice, but I’d have to go with pizza since I don’t discriminate – I love everything from cheap delivery pizza to high-end pizza with fresh, seasonal ingredients to our very own handmade pizza.
• Red or white (wine)? Red! But I love a good white, bubbly, or rosé when the mood is right!

Kelcy’s Argaux Favorites:

Reds:
– 2020 Wonderland Project No. 9 Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon (I loved it before I read that it was on the wine list at French Laundry!)
– Enjoyed the 2019 Gouchas Luján de Cuyo Malbec – it was so refreshing for a full-bodied red.
– Definitely want to try one of Argaux’s Pinot Noir varieties – maybe the 2020 Bodega Chacra ‘Sin Azufre’ Rio Negro Pinot Noir – since that’s typically my red of choice!

Whites:
– 2018 Domaine Rougeot Bourgogne Aligote ‘Les Plumes’ Sans Sulfite (the wax seal is very elegant & it was incredibly refreshing, which I didn’t expect from the color!)
– Loved the 2020 Chateau des Antonins AOC Bordeaux Blanc. I’d never heard of a bordeaux blanc, but Argaux said Sauvignon Blanc lovers would be fans & they were right.
– Definitely want to try the 2021 Cherrier Freres Les Renarderies Sancerre! I love most Sancerre wines I’ve tried, so I’m sure this one will top the list 🙂