Wedding Wednesday:
Kelsea & Konrad — From a Tiny Sunfish to the Dance Floor

Some love stories begin over candlelight and a perfectly planned dinner. Kelsea and Konrad’s started with a fishing trip, a knot-tying lesson, and the smallest sunfish in the pond.

Konrad had known Kelsea for a few months through mutual friends when he was getting ready to go fishing with a friend. Remembering that Kelsea liked to fish, he invited her along.

It quickly became clear that she knew what she was doing. Kelsea tied Konrad’s hook, taught him a knot, and then caught what they still describe as “the smallest sunfish in the pond.”

It may not have been the most traditional first date, but it was certainly memorable — and it turned out to be the beginning of something much bigger.

From a Fishing Pond to Lake Como

Ten years later, Kelsea and Konrad celebrated their anniversary with an epic trip to Italy.

Konrad knew he wanted to propose during the trip, but he didn’t have a specific time or location planned. He simply trusted that he would recognize the right moment when it arrived.

That moment came during a day trip to Lake Como.

Wanting to escape the large crowds, the two wandered into nearby botanical gardens for a walk. Somewhere along the way, Konrad decided he had found the place.

When he proposed, Kelsea’s immediate reaction was, “No way!”

Then another: “No way!”

Eventually, she realized some clarification might be necessary.
“I mean yes! But, no way!”

Afterward, they continued their walk, found a small beach where Kelsea went for a swim in Lake Como, and celebrated with what they still call the best Negroni of their entire trip.

From a tiny sunfish to Lake Como in ten years, their story had already taken them on quite an adventure.

Creating Something Together

When wedding planning began, dance was always going to have a special place in it.

Kelsea grew up dancing, and Konrad knew how important it was to her. His family also loves to get out on the dance floor at weddings, so he wanted the two of them to create something fun and exciting together — something that would make them even more excited for their wedding day.

That brought them to Fred Astaire Dance Studios of Shelton.
Their favorite part of the experience was simple: the people.

“Everyone at FA Shelton was just as excited as we were, and we had such a great time learning and joking with everyone.”

With two busy schedules, they also appreciated having a studio that could be flexible without letting them fall behind.

“FA Shelton was so flexible with our schedules but also kept us to a schedule that they knew we could succeed with.”

They felt welcome every time they walked through the door, and said Amanda put her heart into choreographing their routine. More than anything, they felt that the entire studio was just as invested and excited about their dance as they were.

If Kelsea and Konrad had to sum up the experience in just three words, they chose:

Challenging. Rewarding. Unified.

The “challenging” part came in an unexpected way for Kelsea. Because she already had a dance background, one of the hardest things for her to learn was how to stop back-leading Konrad.

“I am still guilty of it!” she joked.
But that challenge was also part of what made the experience so rewarding. They were not simply memorizing choreography. They were learning how to move together, communicate, trust each other, and create something as a team.

For a couple with busy lives, the lessons also gave them something they didn’t always get during a normal week: uninterrupted time together.

“Both Kelsea and I have busy schedules and are guilty of too much screen time when we get home,” Konrad shared. “We had an uninterrupted chunk of time every week where we looked into each other’s eyes. We laughed, we were challenged, and we created something together.”

That became one of the biggest reasons they would recommend wedding dance lessons to other engaged couples.

The finished dance mattered, of course. But so did everything that happened while creating it.

Confident When It Counted

By the time their wedding day arrived, Kelsea and Konrad both used the same word to describe how they felt as their first dance began:

Confident.

They knew what they were doing. They knew how much work they had put into it. And instead of worrying about what step came next, they were excited to finally show everyone what they had created.

“All of our hard work paid off.”

Their guests agreed.

The dance was a hit, and one of the most memorable reactions came from Konrad’s dad, whom they describe as a very practical man.

He knew they had spent a lot of time preparing their dance, but he had not been entirely sure why.

As soon as it was over, he went straight up to them and told them how worth it the dance had been.

It was entertaining. It was impressive. And suddenly, all those hours of lessons made perfect sense.

For Kelsea and Konrad, dance lessons became much more than another item to check off during wedding planning. They became time to laugh, to be challenged, to put their phones away, to look at each other, and to make something together.

From a fishing trip and one very tiny sunfish to a proposal beside Lake Como and a wedding dance they stepped into with complete confidence, theirs is a story full of adventure, humor, and a willingness to keep trying new things side by side.

We’re so grateful Fred Astaire Dance Studios of Shelton got to be one small part of it.

Congratulations, Kelsea and Konrad!

Whether you’re dreaming of a first dance, father/daughter or mother/son dance, bridal party routine, or something completely your own, we love helping couples create a dance that feels like their story — and have a whole lot of fun together along the way.