Southern Weddings

I know everyone’s supposed to say this, but Jessica + Jeff just look so happy to be getting married!  I mean seriously, how comfortable and in love do the newlyweds look in these sweet portraits from Josh McCullock?  The college sweethearts celebrated their wedding in the barn at Vive le Ranch in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  See how the bride’s orange and green bouquet from Mom and Me Events perfectly match the early autumn foliage?  And for a girl who weathered some serious dress drama that would make most brides pull their hair out, Jessica looked positively radiant in her flowy Casablanca gown.  1 point Jessica: 0 points Bridezilla.

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  Jeff and I met at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.  I was one of the Resident Assistants in the dorm where we both lived.   During the first week of school, we held a series of events to welcome the residents, and that’s when I saw Jeff for the very first time.  My first impression was that he was very friendly and outgoing.  I did have a bit of crush on him, but after that day it was never more than just a hello every time we passed each other.  I got busy with school and work and saw him less and less, so I eventually forgot about him.  A year later, we met again through mutual friends.  Little did I know, he also had a crush on me that first time we met. He took me out on a date and the rest is pretty much history.
Describe the proposal.  Jeff proposed at the restaurant where we had our first date.  This was two weeks before he was deployed to Kuwait.  It was bitter sweet: I was not looking forward to see him gone for 4 months, but at the same time I was very happy to be engaged and decided I could use the time he was away to plan our wedding and keep myself busy.
Three adjectives that describe the day are:  Fun, laid-back, sweet.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: My hairpiece that was custom-made by a seller on Etsy.  I adored it so much, I didn’t ever want to take it off!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  It did not take me very long to find “the dress.”  I knew I wanted  a dress with a vintage look and lace was a must.  I found and tried on a dress by Casablanca and fell in love with it instantly, so I made an order, paid in full, and was told that they would call when the dress arrived.  I called them back four months later to check on the dress, only to find out the dress was never ordered because they forgot about it.  The worst part was when they told me that I still had enough time to go to a different store to order the same dress since they decided not to carry Casablanca dresses anymore.  Jeff’s parents felt really bad so they decided to call every store in Oklahoma to see if they had the dress in the store so we could just buy it off the rack, and they finally found one that said they had it.  When we got there, it wasn’t the dress, but it was very similar and also by Casablanca.  Long story short, I decided to get the dress.  Though it was not my original pick, it was just as pretty!  The dress was not everything so it wasn’t worth stressing over it for too long.

Remember, you have until Monday, March 1st to enter the Brion Hopkins giveaway for a chance to win a wedding photography package!

Written with love by Lara Casey