Milan and David

04/14/2018

Fort Worth, TX, United States

David and I met on Tinder believe it or not! Our first date was filled with a lot of nerves and margaritas. I was born and raised in Dallas and David grew up in San Antonio. He moved to Dallas right after college and we met about a year after him living there. After about a year of us dating we moved to Houston to start our careers in the oil & gas industry in 2014. In April of 2017 David proposed at the restaurant we had our first date at in Dallas…it was the perfect night. When we began planning our wedding we both agreed we wanted to have a traditional Catholic wedding and then an outdoor reception. I always knew I wanted to get married near my hometown of Dallas so we chose Fort Worth! The moment we laid eyes on St. Patrick Cathedral in downtown, it was instantly decided that this was the spot that we wanted to be married. Because we chose to have a traditional Catholic ceremony, we decided to read our personal vows to one another at our first look. It was so intimate and special to have that time alone before all of the festivities. Our reception was an even easier decision. Right in the heart of downtown Fort Worth is Reata Restaurant. Their menu screams southern fare and they have this gorgeous two level rooftop with a glass domed dining room that is pure magic at nighttime. We spent the evening dancing under the Texas stars with all of our closest family and friends. Our theme for the wedding was definitely “Southern Hospitality.” David and I wanted our guests to feel our love and appreciation from the moment they arrived to the moment they left. When we began planning the wedding we both agreed we wanted to incorporate our dogs, Penny and Finn, into our weekend. They were unable to physically be there so our calligrapher, Sarah Ann Designs, added small illustrations of the dogs to our wedding crest which was featured on all of our paper goods for the wedding. Our caterers even had our two signature cocktails named after Penny and Finn. We used the Reata’s cookbook as our guestbook which is so nice to have it displayed in our kitchen at home and see all of the personal notes throughout the recipes. It even has some of the items we served that day within it. One of our favorite details was our menu items. We served Reata’s famous tenderloin tamales as a nod to David's hometown, and corn dogs as a late night snack! Our second date was to the Texas State Fair, where they are famous for their Fletcher's Corny Dogs. Our guests were so surprised and still talk about them to this day. In place of a traditional wedding cake, we chose warm Texas pecan pie with banana pudding topped with a star shaped churro as our dessert. We chose a soft French blue as our accent color mixed in with whites and natural greens. As far as my dress goes, I knew two things when I went looking: I wanted it to be Nordstrom and I wanted it to have sleeves. I had three appointments with LeAnne Cluck at Nordstrom before I chose the Hayley gown by Hayley Paige. The moment I saw the dress in the mirror I knew right away that it was the dress I wanted to walk down the aisle to David in. It was truly the moment everyone talks about. This dress was my dream dress. I actually tried it on in the blush color and ended up ordering it in ivory without even seeing it on! On the day of my wedding, my mom pulled me aside and asked me to lift up the front hem of my dress. Down at the bottom, there were two hearts sewn into the dress: one with the fabric from David's grandmother's wedding dress, and one from my mother's. It was such a special moment for both of us. If I had any advice for brides it would be to enjoy the process and trust your vendors. It can be so stressful especially when you have different families offering their opinion. Remember this day is about you and your partner and it’s impossible to make everyone happy. We had a wonderful planner, Whitney of Engaged Events of Dallas, who made the entire process so enjoyable. Also, during your actually wedding weekend try really hard to stop and take in what is happening. You’re marrying your best friend! This will most likely be the only time all of your friends and family from both sides will be in one location! I wish I had slowed down and really felt how magical the weekend was. It flew by! If you are on the fence about hiring a videographer…do it! It’s hard to remember all of the details of the day and this is a great way to relive your wedding with your partner and children years after. It is an investment but so worth it. We used Splendor Films from Dallas and Jeff and his team were wonderful! They worked hand in hand with our photographer Stephanie Brazzle to give us these photography and videography heirlooms we will cherish forever. Our plan was to honeymoon in our favorite place, St. Thomas, but unfortunately the recent hurricanes did not let that happen. St. Thomas was so special to us that we actually had our wedding bands made there and shipped to us in Texas. It was really important to us that we gave back to their economy even if we were unable to physically go there. We ended up honeymooning in Rosemary Beach and it was wonderful! We spent seven days eating fresh seafood, drinking champagne and reminiscing on the best weekend of our lives. Thank you Hayley Paige for being such a special part of our wedding!