032324_RV_Z01_c_Brides V3

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STORY BY ALEISA SCHAT | PHOTOS BY MEREDITH GRAVES PHOTOGRAPHY IN KANSAS CITY, MO TONY & ALEX ‘Unapologetically us’ 6 BRIDES & BOUQUETS | SPRING 2024
Orange City native Alex Vander Veen didn’t have a football team of her own growing up. “I grew up in a farming family. We never watched baseball and football — we maybe watched NA- SCAR,” the 29-year-old said. When Alex, a marketing and public relations major, met Tony Clinesmith during her sophomore year at Simpson College in Indianola, she quickly found out he was from a suburb of Kansas City, MO. Clinesmith was a college wrestler studying criminal justice; Alex was a record-holding swimmer studying public relations. Clinesmith made it clear right away: Kansas City and its sports franchises had his ultimate allegiance. “Tony grew up in Kansas City, and the story I always tell is — literally, I think it was our first date — he was like, ‘Well, I’m from Kansas City. So, if this works out, that’s where I’m going,’” Alex said. “And I was like, ‘That’s cute. I don’t know if you have a second date.’” Tony did get a second date, and the two kept dating — but theirs was a love story that unfolded in parallel. Alex fell in love with Tony, and in falling in love with Tony, she fell in love with Kansas City. Falling in love with Kansas City meant falling in love with the Chiefs of the NFL. “From the time I was born, my mom has had season tickets up until high school for me,” Tony said. “So, in my lifetime, I’ve only ever not had them for about eight years.” Alex is a graduate of MOC-Floyd Valley High School in Orange City, and she grew up on 12 acres at the edge of Orange City; her father helped her uncle farm family land nearby. Tony is a Kansas City native, but his childhood took place in Excelsior Springs, MO, a borderland between country and city. “I’ve always been someone who kind of likes to ride in the middle between country and city, and that’s kind of the sweet spot around here,” Tony said, referring to Kansas City, where the couple now lives. “We drive 15 minutes one way, we’re in the city. Drive 15 the other way, and you’re looking at cows and deer. I grew up on 15 acres, and I was always outside, playing sports or on a go-kart or a dirt bike.” Football fans Tony’s childhood was rural in some ways, but he spent a lot of time at Arrowhead Stadium, cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs at their home venue in the city. “Before the recent times, it was kind of a bonding in misery,” Tony said. “The Chiefs had a rough patch. The Royals were awful for a long time.” The Royals were World Series champions in 2015, but it was the first championship for the Major League Baseball team since 1985, before Tony was born. The Chiefs have won three of the last five Super Bowls, but during Tony’s childhood, the team was significantly less successful. When they first met, Alex had only been to Kansas City once. However, when she and SPRING 2024 | BRIDES & BOUQUETS 7
Page 2 and 3: It’s All in the Details photos co
Page 4 and 5: Honeymoon to Jamaica Jamaica •
Page 8 and 9: and Tony started dating, they start
Page 10 and 11: “I was kind of scared to use it
Page 12 and 13: TUX RENTALS Your Wedding S
Page 14 and 15: Darren Brummel of Hull noticed her
Page 16 and 17: Bookings still available FOR 2024!
Page 18 and 19: Good things come to those who wait,
Page 20 and 21: SHOULDN’T YOUR FOOD BE AS Elegant
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Page 24 and 25: In an old barn, two high school swe
Page 26 and 27: C A T E R I N G T H A T Captivates
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032324_RV_Z01_c_Brides V3

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