Stephanie & Kicker
The hallway of a college dormitory isn’t exactly where a girl would go to find Mr. Right but that’s where Stephanie Christine Hankins found hers, Jeno Joseph “Kicker” Kalozdi, at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Kicker was the hall liaison two floors below Stephanie, where she was an RA, and on his way to a friend’s room one day he saw that her door was open and decided to introduce himself. That turned into hours of conversation, a first date and eventually an everlasting relationship.
The couple dated a little over two years before Kicker asked Stephanie to be his wife while they were on a hike to Enchanted Rock just outside San Antonio. They climbed one of their favorite hills and Kicker leaned down to get his camera, but came up holding a gorgeous single square-cut ring surrounded by pavé diamonds and asked Stephanie to marry him.
The couple wanted the ceremony and reception to be held somewhere that meant something to them, somewhere that felt natural. Therefore they chose to be married at Kicker’s parent’s home on St. Charles Avenue. The bride thought it would be especially meaningful, saying, “Every time we go back and have breakfast outside, we can say, ‘that’s the spot where we got married.’”
The ceremony was held on June 7, 2008 outdoors at the Kalozdi family home. The ceremony was traditional and included several aspects of Kicker’s Jewish heritage. The bride walked down the aisle in an elegant Melissa Sweet ivory strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline, rouched top and mermaid-cut, layered skirt from Priscilla of Boston. Her bridesmaids wore simple turquoise strapless tea-length gowns with a brown silk ribbon tied at the empire waist.
After the couple exchanged vows, the wedding party gathered in the house and sipped champagne while the outside area was set up for the band and the reception. Guests wandered through the buffet stations, both up and downstairs. The menu was an eclectic sampling of Louisiana-style dishes mixed with very international tastes including boiled shrimp, seared tuna and hummus, just to name a few.
The wedding cake was also something spectacular. Zoë’s created an elegant ivory 5-tiered cake with texturing for Stephanie. Each layer was slightly uneven, revealing flowers on each layer’s underside and pipe beading around each layer.
The newlyweds danced the night away to music from Jimmy Maxwell with their family and friends on the outdoor dance floor as photographer Charlotte Latham snapped photos. When it was time to leave their guests, the bride and groom retreated to a suite at the Ritz Carlton on Canal Street and honeymooned in Costa Rica for 10 days.
“It was a wedding that was beyond my dreams,” the bride says. “Everything couldn’t have gone more perfectly.”
The couple plans to reside in Manchester, New Hampshire for the next two years while they each earn their masters degrees from Southern New Hampshire University, but as soon as they graduate, they plan on returning to the city they love … New Orleans. •
Michael Hankins, Kari Hankins, Kathy Hankins, Jeno Joseph “Kicker” Kalozdi, Stephanie Christine Hankins Kalozdi, Bill Hankins, Stephanie Rhodes Hankins, Anna Katherine Hankins and John David Hankins.
The bride and groom with Jeno Kalozdi, Monica Kalozdi, Hannah Kalozdi and David Kalozdi.
The couple with: back row: Michael Hankins, Fletcher Rhoades, Jason Ballengee, David Kalozdi, Patrick Smith and John David Hankins; and front row: Lindsey Walker, Hannah Kalozdi, Kicker Kalozdi, Stephanie Hankins Kalozdi, Elizabeth Cobb and Laurie Smith.
