Lauren and Jake

10/19/2019

Round Top, TX, United States

I picked out my dream wedding date during middle school, ten years before I met Jake. April 27, 2019--I wanted a whimsical spring wedding. Fast forward to law school, and I was dating the dreamiest, kindest guy. Then I got sick. Jake took care of me and stood by my side through a cancer diagnosis and surgery to remove a tumor and my left ovary. A year later, Jake proposed and my mom and I went the next week to the bridal salon to try on that one Hayley Paige gown I had loved for years.... and it was EVERYTHING I dreamed it would be. It was whimsical, beautiful, and unique. We couldn't find a venue perfect enough for our whimsical, ethereal wedding and perfect dress. So, my over-the-top momma built a barn at our family ranch! Jake and I were so excited to get married.

Four months before our wedding, I took Jake to the ER, fearing he was having a stroke. He was diagnosed with severe myasthenia gravis, which causes severe muscle weakness, caused by thymoma, a tumor in his chest. We spent weeks in the hospital and the ICU with Jake struggling to breathe, but finally he had surgery and we both became tumor free! We postponed our wedding in the hopes he could gain the strength to talk through our vows and walk down the aisle. Even with everything he struggled with, Jake ensured that all of my dreams came true--he worked with our wedding planner, the bridal gown store, and Hayley Paige's team to surprise me with the New York Bridal Fashion week Hayley Paige show! It was incredible, and an honor to meet Hayley Paige whose wonderful wedding dress and bridesmaid dress designs brought so much joy and inspiration to our wedding planning! I'll forever be grateful to Jake, Hayley, and everyone involved for making me feel like a princess during the hardest year of my life.

Finally, after a long wait and a lot of help from Jake's doctors, we got married on October 19, 2019. Miraculously, Jake was able to say vows without slurring, walk down the aisle, and even dance at the reception! My gown brought me just as much joy as I thought it would several years before when I first saw it. I couldn't stop beaming with joy the entire day, and Jake couldn't stop crying watching me walk down the aisle! Later, he said he wouldn't have been surprised if the dress had been made for me because it was absolutely ME embodied in a dress. Our incredible wedding vendors were by our side through all of our hardship, and they helped us celebrate our marriage with a wonderful "spring" wedding in October! It was everything we had wanted, and the most beautiful expression of our love, everything we have gone through, and the future that lies ahead.