hen I look back to when my husband and I got married, what I remember most is how happy everybody was.” Kathleen Johnson and her husband, Nick, were married just two years ago in a nautical-themed affair. Nick wore a sharp navy blue suit, and Kathy’s dream gown boasted such a full skirt that she had to hire a seamstress to properly fluff out the bustle.
In no small way, Kathy, of Shillington, planned the ceremony and sculpted the couple’s vision for that moment with her own hands. Those finishing touches justified all of her hard work, but it’s the joy of being with her family and friends that still resonates with her. At her wedding she remembers “just the feeling of being so happy because all of these people that I love are in the same place, and that’s such a rare thing.”
“Usually, for my birthday, we’ll just go to a bar or something. So it’s kind of low-key and whoever shows up, shows up,” says Kathy. But for her 30th bash she wanted to do something different. She wanted wine and desserts, the French theme Nick once vetoed for their wedding day, and a formal invitation that would bring all of her friends and family into one room again.
She describes her friends as young families and those soon to become young families. They’ve settled into careers, and some, like herself, have completed graduate school and traveled. “They are kind of in this transition period where it’s like, okay, let’s enjoy our lives, let’s save for the future, maybe start thinking about family, but at the same time let’s still have fun,” she says.
Dressing the Part
Inspired by her graduate studies in French history and Marie Antoinette, Kathy wanted to incorporate that time period into the celebration, but there simply wasn’t a skirt on the racks that matched her grandiose vision. On a whim, she reached out via email to Thara Ramirez of R Custom Bridal in Lititz.
She asked, “Could you make me a skirt? Is that something that you do?” Thara was the seamstress who brought Kathy’s wedding gown to life. Once employed by a designer in New York, Thara jumped at the proposal. She said not only could she make Kathy a skirt, but she could make her a top too.
“All of the sudden this woman is making me a dress for my 30th birthday,” Kathy says, still in disbelief. She combed the Internet, excited by vintage Rococo style and Christian Dior. She fell in love with large fluffed skirts with waved ripples along the hem and a high-low shape. Her favorite fabric was discontinued, so she bought every last yard she could find. Thara created a two-piece dress with a corset top, intricately laced up with pink ribbon in the back.
Securing the Venue & More
Best of all, her friends and family fully embraced the idea. “I know it’s a celebration of ‘over-the-topness,’ but for me it’s my 30th birthday and I want to go for it,” she says.
She chose Ridgewood Winery in Birdsboro as the venue after speaking with Tracy Smith. “Tracy was fantastic,” Kathy says. She matched every vision Kathy had and was fully accommodating to the idea. The night included free wine tasting for every guest.
Andrew Moyer has known Kathy since high school; he describes her as one of his closest friends. They’re part of a group of six who have remained tightly knit since graduation. For the party he rented a full 18th century traditional French costume, complete with powdered gray hair, bright red justaucorps coat, necktie, waistcoat and breeches.
“It’s going to be a fun night,” he says, before joking with Kathy about their heeled shoes.
“I don’t know if my heels are going to make it through the night,” she says, glancing down at her pink ribbon shoes that wind up and around her ankles.
Andrew, in calf-high suede and black wedges, tells Kathy she’s more than welcome to swap with him.
Sweet Details
“The dessert is almost part of the décor. They’re so pristine and detailed,” says Kathy of the macarons she’s ordered in almond, pistachio and raspberry flavors. The sweet spread also includes meringue drops, éclairs, pyramid cookies, and her favorite lemon madeleines from Aux Petits Delices in Wayne. For her birthday cake, the shop made two small raspberry and cream fraisier cakes with pink ombré icing.
As a nod to Marie Antoinette she asked that “let them eat cake” be written in pink glittery frosting. The second cake mimics the queen of France’s famous initials, laid over one another in fancy script, but this time with a “K” and a “J” for Kathleen Johnson.
Kathy’s hair and nails were perfected at Hair On The Avenue in Sinking Spring. Sondi Rodgers painted her nails in pink and gold with a fun glitter splash, and Pete Santiesteban sculpted her up-do. She brought in pictures of Kirsten Dunst’s hair from the Marie Antoinette film for reference. Pete “was really on board with it. I think he’s just as excited as I am,” she says.
An avid Pinterest user and self-proclaimed hobbyist in event planning, Kathy says she finds great satisfaction in seeing all the little details come together.
“She’s always enjoyed stuff like this,” says her father, David Bernardini. “She’s a dancer; perhaps it’s about the performance behind it.” Her mother, Noreen, agrees. They’re both very proud of their daughter.
“She’s loved themed parties since she was 4 years old. I’m just relieved not to be the one to plan them anymore,” says Noreen.
Kathy is an eighth and ninth grade history teacher at Reading Intermediate High School. She works with the gifted support program, which she started and developed during her eight years at the school. At home, she lives with her husband and their cat, Caesar. A civil engineer and volunteer firefighter, Nick often joins Kathy at Down Dog Yoga in West Reading. When she isn’t busy within a classroom or event planning, Kathy is usually spotted practicing jazz and ballet at Monarch Dance Studio in West Reading.
“It’s an important thing to celebrate your own life. I think a lot of times people frown upon that for some reason. But if you’re not going to live and enjoy it, then what’s the point?” says Kathy.
By Nova Sienkiewicz | Photos by Maria Stamy, Maria Stamy Photograpy
