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I’ve written about high school and college sweethearts, but I think we’ve only had a handful of childhood sweethearts–and, y’all, I can’t help but imagine how absolutely adorable these two were when they were little! Alexandria and Caleb have known each other since they were just five years old, and made their relationship “official” at the ripe age of 12. They even remember how hard it was to wait until after they graduated college to get married! With their wedding day such a long time coming, these two had dreamed of having an outdoor ceremony and a big, beautiful barn reception for quite some time, and when it actually came to tying the knot, they chose the lovely McGranahan Barn. Inspired by Miranda Lambert’s “Oklahoma Sky,” they and their planner brought a bold color palette to life with bursting blooms from Poppy Lane Designs and DIY details made by friends and family. I can tell by their smiling faces, it was worth the wait!

Big hugs to Holli B. Photography for sharing this lovely day with us!

I had the privilege of going to Kleinfeld Bridal, and it was such a cool experience. My wedding dress was a Lazaro ball gown. It was very Southern and fit my personality perfectly. I knew for sure that it was my dress when I was looking around on my computer at home and realized I had actually saved a picture of that exact dress in 2009!

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. My entire wedding theme was “Meet Me Underneath the Oklahoma Sky.” I walked down the aisle to the song with the same name by Miranda Lambert–I knew it would be the song I would walk down the aisle to the first time I heard it, almost two years before we actually got married!

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? I had always dreamed of having an outdoor ceremony, and the reception was in a big, beautiful barn. I knew as soon as I saw the McGranahan Barn that it was the perfect venue for Caleb and me.

Describe your wedding flowers. My flowers were bright, big, and beautiful! The arrangements were in shades of red and pink, with added pops of color. They really set the mood for the entire wedding.

The main cake was a naked vanilla cake with icing in between the layers and flowers wrapped around it. The second cake was a strawberry cake, and the third cake was a chocolate cake that was decorated to look like tree bark. We had our initials “carved” into the cake with a heart around them. Not only did the cakes look absolutely stunning, they are also tasted fabulous. We also had a s’mores food truck parked outside, where guest could pick up homemade s’mores on their way out!

Don’t miss Alexandria and Caleb’s wedding film by Leslee Leaming below!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Caleb and I met when we were just five years old. We basically grew up together, and our families became close friends when we were very young. At 12 years old, we “officially” started dating. We dated through most of middle school and into high school. We both remember thinking about how waiting until we graduated college to get married felt like torture! We got engaged our junior year of college on December 27, and finally tied the knot on May 30, 2015.
Tell us all about the proposal! Caleb and I knew we were going to get married out of college, and we had talked about when a good time to get engaged would be. I thought we had both decided on spring 2014, but Caleb had a different plan! December 27 was our anniversary, and for the past four years, we had gone to the same restaurant every year. That night, Caleb was late coming to pick me up and I was a little frustrated. When he finally arrived, he told me he forgot his wallet, and we had to go back by his house. Now, I was really frustrated! I begged him to let me pay for dinner so we could just go eat, but he was very persistent. As we were pulling into his long driveway, I noticed he started to slow down and asked what he was doing, but he never answered me. He stopped the truck, turned off the lights, and got out of the car. I still had no idea what was going on! He opened my door, and when I got out of the truck, huge Christmas lights came on that spelled out WILL YOU MARRY ME? As soon as I read it, I looked at Caleb, and he was down on one knee. The entire night felt like a dream and I was in complete shock!
When did y’all get married? May 30, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 300
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: My favorite detail of the wedding was probably all of the vintage furniture we used outside of the barn. My wedding planner/family friend also built me a fireplace that we used inside the barn to display my bridal portraits on.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? I think basically everything about our wedding was very Southern! Caleb and I are very Southern, and we wanted every detail to be a reflection of who we are.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $50,000-$75,000
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? I have some very crafty family members! My sister-in-law wrote all of the signs and chalkboards, and we made the four doors that I walked through.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? My advice would be to not stress out over the things you cannot control, because at the end of the day, you will be married to the love of your life, which is truly all that matters. I was super stressed out about the weather, and now realize there was no use in worrying about it. There was nothing I could do to fix the weather!
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? Caleb and I waited so long to be married, and I think we will just enjoy getting to do life together. We love spending time together and going on new adventures. We can’t wait to one day have our own little family.

Photographer: Holli B Photography / Videographer: Leslee Leaming / Planner: Kacey Burnett / Venue: The McGranahan Barn / Florist: Poppy Lane / Cake Baker: Amy Cakes / Caterer: Abbey Road Catering / Rentals: Ruby’s Vintage Rentals / DJ and Lighting: Chasen Shaw / Paper Products: Touies Design / Bride’s Gown: Lazaro / Hair Stylist: Bailey Unisucker / Makeup Artist: Chelsee Ann Artistry / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Style 496” by Bill Levkoff / Menswear: Jos. A. Bank

Poppy Lane is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

marissa Written with love by Marissa
4 Comments
  1. avatar Kirsti Cook reply

    YAY for Oklahoma Weddings!! I love seeing so many great vendors I have worked with on Southern Weddings for such a charming wedding!

  2. avatar Maura Coleman reply

    oh my goodness, I LOVED that film! Just to see the expression on that sweet groom change as he watched her appear at the back of the ceremony site and come down the isle to him was so very special. There is just something about seeing a wedding come alive like that in the video that is so amazing!

  3. avatar Emily reply

    What is the song playing at th beginning of this video?

  4. avatar Kelsey reply

    WOW. I wouldn’t have thought I would like that bold of wedding colors, but they pulled it off beautifully. Absolutely gorgeous. I also really love the vintage dresser they used for the cake. So unique.

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In the Sweet Tea Society, we believe that while details are nice, true love always, always wins. When the heritage and family that we value so much becomes part of a wedding day through the details, it’s incredible, and I think Amber and Patrick found that magic combination with their family wedding portrait display! I love how they not only honored their families, but also strong marriages, by sharing how long each couple had been married. I can only imagine the stories those couples could tell, and the sage advice they could give!

If you know me, you know I also can’t pass up giving Amber props for her AND her bridesmaids’ stoles–so chic!

Big hugs to The Nichols for sharing this sweet day!

Tell us all about the proposal! The night of the proposal, Patrick planned dinner for us at The Driskill, a beautiful, historic hotel in our hometown of Austin, Texas. I think Patrick knew I would say yes after he treated me to red wine and a juicy steak! After enjoying dinner, we walked around downtown until we came to a special bench near Patrick’s work building, Frost Bank Tower. The bench has special meaning because we sat there and prayed together the day before his job interview over a year ago. We prayed for a lot of things that day–obviously, that his job interview would go well the next day, but also for our future together and that God would use us and our relationship to glorify Him. We sat on the bench and started talking about how much we had grown in that year, and then Patrick got down on one knee and proposed! After the proposal, we walked to The Belmont, a really cute concert venue nearby. We saw one of our favorite local Texas country artists, Wade Bowen, and Patrick surprised me by having a bunch of our close friends at the concert waiting to celebrate with us! Later that night, we also made a stop by J.Blacks, the bar where Patrick and I first met! The next day, both of our parents came up for the University of Texas football game, and then we all went out to celebrate with some Mexican food!

Describe your wedding flowers. Our florist used large, lush, organic mixed greens and red and burgundy flowers, including dahlias and ranunculus, with a few pops of plum and fuchsia flowers for depth. The bouquets were accented with trailing burgundy velvet ribbon.

We knew we wanted our wedding to feel cozy, so we kept that in mind when we were looking at venues. It seemed right when we saw an indoor fireplace and an outdoor fire pit with rocking chairs around it at the venue we chose. It was out in the Hill Country of Austin, so there were beautiful views. Chandeliers hanging from the ceiling made the venue feel very elegant, while still maintaining the cozy feel we wanted.

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. We had a solo acoustic guitarist play the music during the ceremony. The most significant song during the ceremony was “Come Thou Fount,” which we had him play when we had communion. It meant a lot to both of us because our faith is the most important thing to us. Our first dance song was “Oh Tonight” by Josh Abbot Band. We both love Texas country music and have always loved singing this song together in the car, so it just seemed right that it was our first dance song. My father-daughter dance was to the Texas fight song, because my dad and I are both University of Texas alumni. Our whole family went to The University of Texas, so we are very big Longhorn fans, and it is a big part of our bond as a family.

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? I would advise wedding planning over wine, cheese, and especially chocolate! What helped take stress away from us was remembering that the wedding is only one night, but marriage is forever.

Our wedding cake was a four-tiered vanilla pound cake with vanilla frosting. The groom’s cake was a pecan pie from Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop. We also had chocolate cupcakes topped with salted caramel and vanilla cream cheese frosting, drizzled with salted caramel. Patrick’s favorite dessert is pecan pie, so his mom always makes one before we visit them. For Patrick’s “grooms cake,” we had a pecan pie, and his mom also made 150 mini pecan pies for the guests.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We met through mutual friends at a bar in downtown Austin, Texas. We saw each other again the next day at a church service and ended up going out the next week for our first date.
When did y’all get married? February 7, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 275
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? We prepared for marriage by doing pre-marital counseling through our church. We read books and material on specific subject matters like finances, in-laws, communication, etc.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I am a people pleaser and love for everyone to be happy, so when planning, telling someone I didn’t like something was very hard for me. My wedding planner, Ellen Westcott with Westcott Weddings, was very helpful with taking care of the challenges!
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $50,000-$75,000
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? We kept the alcoholic beverages to beer, wine, and champagne, rather than liquor. Instead of doing a bunch of different appetizers, we did one big appetizer, and we opted for a DJ instead of a band. All of these decisions saved us a lot of money and turned out great.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Patrick and I gave a speech together after the maid of honor and best man toasts. It meant so much to stand in front of our friends and family and thank them for their love and support on this journey.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? We are looking forward to learning how we can use our talents together to help serve others.

Photographer: The Nichols / Videographer: Moonlit Weddings / Planner: Ellen Westcott of Westcott Weddings / Venue: Ma Maison / Florist: Meredith of Brisol Lane Floral Design / Wedding Cake or Dessert Baker: Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop / Caterer: Whole Foods/ DJ: James Jumonville / Paper Products: Minted / Bride’s Gown: Lazaro / Bride’s Hairpiece, Earrings, and Sash: Sabina K W / Hair Stylist: Mandy Silver / Makeup Artist:Makenzi Laine / Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J. Crew / Groom’s Attire: Banana Republic / Groomsmen Attire: Jos. A Bank

marissa Written with love by Marissa
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