Janci Fowkes & Christian Jensen
July 20, 2019 / Rogers
The Nest at Prairie Creek
Janci Fowkes and Christian Jensen are long-time high school sweethearts. The two had always talked about getting married after Janci finished graduate school, but Christian still managed to make the proposal a surprise. One semester before graduation, Janci asked her best friend to take some Christmas pictures of the couple.
So Christian, Janci and her friend Morgan went to Gulley Park, which is Christian and Janci’s favorite place to walk their dogs. As they were taking pictures in a beautiful field of pine trees, Morgan told Janci to turn around and hug Christian while he faced the camera. After taking the picture, Morgan told her to come look at the photos on her camera.
“The picture showed Christian saying ‘shh’ while holding a ring box,” she says. “When I looked up from the camera, he was on one knee with a beautiful ring making all my dreams come true by asking me to spend forever with him. After a few happy crying pictures, we arrived at our home where Christian had planned a huge surprise engagement party with all of our closest friends and family. It was one of the best nights of my life!”
THE INSPIRATION
Janci drew her wedding inspiration from a trip she, Christian and her mom had taken to Kauai two summers before. Instead of bringing their families to a destination wedding, they decided to bring the destination wedding to their families. The tropical theme included fun island details and a colorful explosion of florals.
• • •
When it came to choosing her venue, Janci was in a panic after learning her original venue had been torn down. Her wedding planner emailed Janci a list of five places that fit her criteria — the space must have island vibes for her wedding theme to work. The Nest at Prairie Creek not only met that criteria of luscious vegetation, but it exceeded Janci’s expectations. “This venue was made even more special by the fact that Christina’s mother was the Maid of Honor to her best friend 11 years prior at this very venue.”
HOW THEY CUSTOMIZED
Janci and Christian customized their big day from top to bottom with tropical elements. For the ceremony, they had pineapples and palm leaves line the aisle leading toward a wooden arbor accented with palm leaves and Heliconia Rostrata with large glass vases full of Heliconia Rostrata on either side.
Other fun elements included their drink menu based around their fur children’s names. “The Nell” was a cold brew drink, “Mi Amora” was fruit juice and Malibu, “The Finnegan” was Busch Light and “My Shadow” (named after their cat) was iced water. The couple also gifted guests with take-home treats for their animals.
For the wedding cake, Janci went with a four-tiered, pink ombré cake made of vanilla and strawberry cake with strawberry filling. The top layer was covered in tiny fondant starfish and topped with a bride and a groom flamingo.
Janci made her grand ceremony entrance on a chariot draped with white fabrics and tropical flowers. “My favorite wedding moment was when I stepped out of my chariot, looked up to where he was standing, and saw that the love of my life was finally going to be my husband,” Janci says.
WEDDING VENDOR WE LOVE
WEDDING DRESS
Low’s Bridal & Formal
Brinkley
MORE VENDORS
| Venue | The Nest at Prairie Creek, Rogers |
| Photography | Simple Bliss Photography, Bentonville |
| Planning and rentals | Elizabeth Dowell from Haute & Bold Events, Springdale |
| Florist | Fifty Flowers |
| Cake and groom's cake | Bizzy B's Bakery, Bentonville |
| Caterer | His Table Ministry |
| Cold brew | The Nest at Prairie Creek, Rogers |
| DJ | DJ Connection |
| Invitations and details card | Shutterfly |
| Save-the-date | Zazzle |
| Bridesmaid dresses | David's Bridal |
| Groom/groomsmen attire | Men's Wearhouse |
| Jeweler | EVM Jewelers, Fayetteville |
| Hair | Jetta Wilkerson and Cindy Morgan with Good Looks Salon in Neosho, Missouri |
| Makeup | Madison Hopkins |
| Rehearsal dinner venue | The Nest at Prairie Creek, Rogers |
| Alterations | Anita's Fine Tailoring, Fayetteville |
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