About

Our Planning Dream Team

Our Story

It was love at first sight – planning events that is. The way all the hard work and minute details turn into a joyous expression of family love. A day filled with happiness and laughter. A day that is the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. A day that is planned, coordinated and obsessed over for months, or years, in advance is what we love to do.

KC Weddings & Events is here to take your breath away. Founded in 2013, we have spent every moment in business making our clients celebrations their realities through hard work, masterful organization, and detail oriented thinking. With over a hundred weddings and dozens of special events, making our clients happy is why we do what we do.

We live for all the little things that make a good event a great event and we see that ‘love really is all around.’ We live for love and celebrating life’s milestones with our clients. We create hassle-free events that express everything that is important to our clients and their loved ones. Being a guest at your own event is no longer an impossible task. We make it your reality.

‘Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.’ – Vicki Corona

Kara "Kara Poppins" Cardinal, CWP, CCO (Chief Creative Officer)

Kara has been planning weddings and events for almost a decade. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Wedding Planning Certification from The Bridal Society. Kara regularly participates in ongoing education and networking opportunities to stay current with industry trends. Her uncanny ability to think on her feet (which she credits to being a teacher and nanny), along with her ever flowing creativity, allows her clients to dream up some of the biggest, unique, and over-the-top ideas! She is a visionary at making many moving parts flow together with ease and always delivers a vision and a plan to match.

Fun Facts about Kara:

Hometown: Malvern, PA
Sign: Scorpio
Style: Chic, Sophisticated, and timeless with a pops of color – Kate Spade meets Lily Pulitzer meets Calvin Klein
Fave Color: Blue, Mint, Sparkles (that’s a color, right?!)
Fave Drink: Moscow Mule
Fave Quote: “Life is not measured by the breaths we take but by the moments that take your breath away.” – Vicki Corona

Ashley "Awesome Ashley" Brusca,

Ashley grew up in Southwest Florida with her mom and two brothers. When she’s not spending time at home with her family you can find her in the House of Mouse – she is obsessed with all things Disney!! Some of her other loves include Halloween, elephants, babies, photography, and of course…event planning.

She combined her love of Disney and photography in a new way and worked at Disney World as a photographer. During her time there’s she fell in love with event planning, specifically weddings. Ashley joined the KC Weddings team in March of 2019 and immersed herself in all things weddings assisting Kara with the fine details. Ashley will graduate with a degree in Resort and Hospitality Management from Florida Gulf Coast University in Fall 2020.

Fun Facts about Ashley:

Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Sign: Cancer
Style: A mix of casual chic, sexy, & glam with a hint of boho
Fave Color: Teal, Rose Gold, & Purple
Fave Drink: Milk
Fave Quote: “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible” – Walt Disney

Brian "BTS" Cardinal, CWP

Brian is Kara’s husband of nine years and right hand man. He helped to start KC Weddings & Events as the CFO (dealing with all the “icky” stuff that Kara didn’t want to do) and Kara’s personal wedding day assistant. With the passage of time and experience, Brian realized his passion for the business and has been coordinating his own weddings for several years.

His formal education in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship, as well as his many years spent working in the world of finance in an engaged, client-facing role as an investment consultant, helped successfully launch KC Weddings & Events.

In his spare time, (which isn’t much), Brian loves to spend time with the family on Peanut Island, where his pups can play, Kara can relax in the Florida sun, and he can fish for redfish, snook, or whatever wants to bite!

Fun Facts about Brian:

Hometown: Pottstown, PA
Sign: Leo
Style: Traditional and Modern
Fave Color: Blue
Fave Drink: Mountain Dew
Fave Quote: “I feel the need, the need for speed.” Maverick, Top Gun

Our creative team has been designing and planning all types of weddings and events since early 2013. From hotels and country clubs to estates and private homes, we’ve planned them all! Each event brings it’s own unique challenges and planning at a private estate is completely different from planning at an all-inclusive hotel. There is absolutely no substitute for expertise and experience! Design and logicstics are our jam! We love walking into an empty space and imagining what the wedding or event will look like. No two of our weddings or designs are alike; they are unique just like our fabulous clients! We love creating something new and different that will bring happiness to all that experience it!!