Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day?
Every detail was simply things my husband and I liked and things that meant something special to us. Blue is my favorite color so I knew I wanted that to be a big part of my color palette!
In my family there is a trend where the couples who have stayed married all had First Corinthians Chapter 13 Verses 4-7 read at their wedding. So, we had it read in ours!
Let’s talk wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception?
A major component in my decorations were my flowers. As you walked into the ceremony site, you were greeted by two whiskey barrels with large floral arrangements filled with beautiful blooms of pink and blue. The ceremony arch was decorated with simple white drapery accented by two arbors of flowers, and the reception barn was decorated similarly with white drapery accompanied with twinkle lights. The center pieces were simple wooden chargers holding 3 jars with a tea light in each jar surrounded by little pink flowers and greenery.
We had a sweetheart table for Jordan and I, draped in a white table cloth decorated with one of the big floral arbors from the ceremony arch. Accompanying it was a cute light up sign at our feet that said “love” with more flowers next to that sign.
Was any part of the decor DIY?
We had a few DIY projects at this wedding! The seating chart was the product of a last-minute Hobby Lobby run the day before the wedding. We made it out of a cork board, mini blue clothes pins, pens, and paper.
Another DIY project that was a little closer to our hearts was a dedication to our grandparents who have passed away. Jordan and I have lost 3 of our 4 grandparents. To honor them, we got 2 decorative four-paned windows from Hobby Lobby. On 4 of the window panes we had pictures of our grandparents and the other 4 had the quote, “We know you would be here today if heaven weren’t so far away”.
In the corner by the bar I had 2 photo-ops set up. One I knew about – which was a wooden arch with a neon “The Melville’s” sign. The other was one my parents surprised me with! It was a life-size pop-up canvas of an engagement photo of Jordan and I for guests to “take a photo with the groom and bride”.
What were the florals like in your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding?
Our florist Kelly did the impossible and took my very vague description of what I thought I wanted my flowers to be like (I didn’t know what I wanted) and found a way to exceed my expectations. She combined my two favorite colors of blues and pinks and brought my fairytale wedding to life.
There was only one specific thing that I knew I wanted. I wanted my bridal bouquet to be my favorite flower: all light-pink peonies. My bridal bouquet was hands down one of my most favorite things of my wedding.
I am named after both of my grandmas, both of whom have passed away, and I really wanted to have them with me as I walked down the aisle. My mom had given me a piece of her mother’s veil from her wedding and my grandma on my dad’s side gave me a silver heart locket with first Corinthian’s 13 written in the inside (her favorite bible verse) right before she passed away. I wanted to have both of those objects on my bouquet. I entrusted my florist with my grandmothers’ objects to add to the bouquet. When I finally got to see it, I was brought to tears. My maternal grandmothers veil was wrapped around the stems of my flowers holding them all together with a beautiful white bow that held my paternal grandmothers heart locket. Both of my parents were also in tears when they saw it. It was absolutely perfect.
Did you personalize the day in any way? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?
Almost all of our guests had to travel to Texas for the wedding! Having them all in one room to celebrate the day with us was the most wonderful part of the wedding.
Another favorite part of the night was the garter toss. My husband is really into cars and we had seen a reel on Instagram of a groom using a creeper to go under his bride’s dress to get the garter. After we saw that video, we knew we had to do that too! Keeping this a secret from everyone, we planned a whole skit for the garter toss with the best man and groomsmen. My husband brought his creeper, a headlamp, and some tools. When the song came on to start the garter toss, he walked out and waved to his best man and groomsmen, who came rushing in with all of the props. He put on the headlamp, grabbed a power drill, and went under my dress on his creeper. He had all the guests at the edge of their seat with laughter. It was epic!
How did you choose your wedding day looks?
The saying “you buy the first dress you try on” was definitely not the case for me! I had very specific criteria for my dress that I wanted; lace, a fancy back, a satin flowy bottom, and buttons down the whole back of the dress.After a long day of trying on more than 50 dresses at 7 different stores and feeling defeated, I went to one more store. It was a smaller bridal/quinceañera shop, but it said on their website they carried my dress designer. The owners of this shop were so nice, they told us the price of the dress and said they could order it. I bought my dress sight unseen, and I am so happy I did!
Jordan’s outfit only cost us $24. We only had to buy the bow tie and pocket square for him! We rented all the suits through Men’s Warehouse – and because we had over 10 people in our rental order, the groom’s tux was free! It helped us save at least $300.
How did you meet?
Jordan and I met when we were young teenagers. The first time I ever saw Jordan, I was in photography class and watched him walk his girlfriend at the time to class. He was holding her hand and opened the door for her. I had said to my friends that day; “I want a guy just like that – one who will hold my hand and open doors for me”. I had a huge crush on him ever since that day and would watch him from afar.
After we stated dating, Jordan had told me that he had he biggest crush on me ever since high school! I was a cheerleader and he told me he used to go to games and school rallies because he knew I would be there.
We got reintroduced though a mutual friend my junior year of college, and 2 months later we were officially dating. We’ve been together ever since!
Tell us about the proposal.
I graduated with my master’s degree from Baylor in May of 2021, and that afternoon after graduation, both of our entire families went to Magnolia Silos after a celebratory lunch. Jordan and I were posing for photos in front of the church, and then he dropped down on one knee and proposed. Afterwards, the staff told us we were the first couple to get engaged in front of that church!
What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?
Finally saying, “I Do!”
Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?
Plan your wedding with your partner. Do not let other family members/friends convince you of things you “need” to have or do at your wedding. It is you and your partner’s wedding! Only do what makes the both of you happy.
Assemble a team of people who you trust to help you execute your big day. You will be very busy the day of your wedding! Having a person who understands your vision for decorations and can put out the little fires as they happen day of is very helpful!
Trust that you planned a wonderful wedding and expect a few things to go wrong. Do not stress about the things that don’t go to plan. Help find a solution if you have time or trust someone else to handle the issue for you. It will be something to laugh at later after.
Life is all in the little things. Remember to thank your partner for the little things they do for you and do some little things for them in return.
