The Story of Us...part two

Happy 4th Anniversary to my love, my best friend, my fella!  Love you babe.

Yesterday I shared the story of us.  How we met, how we fell in love, etc.  Today I wanted to share our wedding story. 

He proposed to me during finals of our last semester of our second year of law school.  He had an early final.  I was still asleep and he called and woke me up saying that there was an emergency with the dogs and to find them quickly.  I was very disoriented.  I hung up and called out to the dogs.  They both jumped up in the bed with me and I saw that they both had cards tied around their necks.  I opened the cards and then began a scavenger hunt.  At 9am!!!!  The hunt led me to the steps of our law school where he stood, waiting. 

He began to say all the things that every girl wants to hear from the person they love.  I then figured out what was happening and started to cry.  And so did he.  Then I noticed two of our friends hiding in the bushes taking photos and video taping the proposal. 

I said yes. That night we celebrated in Kansas City at a phenomenal and famous restaurant and hotel. The next morning I flew out with my two besties to Paris. My mother, aunts and Nana were already there. We celebrated as we should in Paris...with food and wine.

The ring

A few months later we had our engagement pictures taken. We had them taken by Tony Valdez all over Downtown Ft. Worth. They turned out beautifully but I learned just how hard it is to pose for professional pictures, especially with people watching. Embarrassing.

 

My in-laws threw us a great engagement party in Colorado and I had a bridesmaid's get-a-way in New Orleans on Halloween. As I talked about in more detail here.

I also had a bachelorette party in Dallas the week before the wedding.  I can't show you too many of those pics, lol.  Both experiences are two of my most cherished memories. The Fella had is bachelor party at "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party."  I have heard zero stories and have seen zero pictures.  Must have been a good time.

I had two fantastic bridal showers.  One of which had a "Wine and Brie" theme and we had wine tasting with cheese pairing.  It was so fun!  The other shower, thrown by Slash and Mama Slash, had a "Breakfast at Tiffany's" theme.  Everyone wore LBDs and their best Audrey accessories.  It was oh so divine!

 

My family being mostly in Texas, his immediate family in Colorado and with us living in Topeka, KS at the time, it was hard to pick a spot to have the wedding. We considered a destination wedding in Seaside, FL where my family had a vacation home at the time or in New Orleans where my dad's family is from. But we decided on Ft. Worth so that it would be easy for my parents to help out with my long distance planning because they only lived 20 minutes from here.

The rehearsal dinner was at Blue Mesa in Ft. Worth.  It was so much fun! 

We had a few of their famous Blue Margaritas and shenanigans followed in the hotel room.

I had the flu on the day of my wedding. I could hardly get out of bed. I was terribly sick starting at 5am. But I was determined to make it down the aisle.  Here I am in bed just a few hours before the wedding with my MOH.  She was crying because she was so sad I was missing out on all the pre-wedding fun.

The ceremony was at Robert Carr Chapel on the TCU campus. It is a simple, beautiful chapel. It was the perfect choice for us. The bridal party walked down to a harpist playing "Ava Maria" in honor of my Grammy.  I walked down to the isle the Pachelbel Canon in D and the two of us and our bridal party exited the church while boogying down the aisle to "When the Saints Go Marching In", a nod to my family's Nola roots.  Little details like that meant so much to us.

I had 11 bridesmaids and the Fella had 8 groomsmen and 2 groomswomen. The little lady you see to the left of my husband in his wedding party picture is our dear friend that introduced us.

The theme of the reception, held at the McDavid Studio at Bass Hall, was Old Hollywood, Winter Glam. Lots of white, silver and feathers.

We had a blast. Our band was insane! The Walton Stout Band. I highly recommended them. I can't say enough about them.  By the time the reception rolled around and I got some food in my stomach, I was feeling much better. It was a 12 hour bug down to the minute. 5am to 5pm. Lots of guests had to cancel coming to the wedding due to having the same bug. But I didn't let it get me down. I was on the dance floor the ENTIRE time. I even joined the band on stage for the rap interval on "This is How We Do It". My shy, reserved husband even crowd surfed!

The best thing about the wedding, to me, were the little details that nobody but us would notice. The featured cocktail was my favorite at the time, the grooms cake being 250 mini homemade pecan pies because that is his favorite, me surprising him with a Denver Broncos garter under my dress, my dad and I dancing to both of our songs "Amarillo by Morning" and "Can't Touch This", me having the band rap "I Like Big Butts" for my beast friend, etc....the little things that made it "us".

Our goal for the reception was for it to be like a party where everyone danced for hours. And it was exactly that.  We left following the horn section of the band out the door playing "When the Saints Go Marching In" once again, while guests threw beads to us, a perfect ending to a perfect night.

Our honeymoon was in Playa Del Carmen/Cancun, Mexico. We stayed at Secrets Silversands. It was perfect for a honeymoon. Best week of my life.

I wouldn't trade a minute of these special months.  Just like I wouldn't trade a minute of the past four years.

Note: I used Bride Associates to help plan our wedding and let me tell you, my girl Chelsey, was the bomb.  Worth every penny.  I could not have done it without them. 

Here's to many more,

tbg