They say everything is bigger in Texas, and with a guest list of 350+ and a bridal party of 20, Elle and Kegan’s wedding might just be the perfect example of that saying. Of course, when a real-life cowboy marries a wedding coordinator, the potential for a a perfectly Southern soirée abounds. Filled with monograms, yummy Southern delicacies, and an abundance of cowboy hats, Elle and Kegan’s wedding at Olde Dobbin Station sure did not disappoint. There is so much to love about their sweet day, but I’m most smitten with their focus on family and the future. As Elle said, “We knew that although we wanted a beautiful wedding, we will always want a beautiful marriage.”
Big Texas-sized hugs to Kelli Durham for sharing their romantic day with us!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress. I went to seven different bridal salons in Houston! Finally, after searching and searching for something special, I stumbled across a Monique Lhuillier trunk show. I tried on my gown and just knew!
Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! Yes! I borrowed a diamond bangle from my mom, my garter had blue stitching for my new monogram, my earrings were new, and I wore a rose gold ring that Kegan previously gave me for my something old.
The church where we had our ceremony is the most beautiful Catholic church near us. After I saw it, I knew I wanted to be married there. Our reception venue wasn’t too far away, and had the perfect Southern charm feel we were looking for…plus, it had the space we needed for 360 guests!
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? There were monograms everywhere! We also had dinner stations for our meal that included fried chicken and biscuits, beef tenderloin, macaroni and cheese, and a mashed potato bar. We also served Popsicles late at night since it is so warm in Texas. Also, my husband is a cowboy and wore a hat the whole night!
Describe your wedding flowers. We did bright pink, coral, and blush flowers. Peonies are my favorite and I wanted them to be the star. Our florist, Maria, is a genius and she made our venue look like a garden!
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? Rather than hire a popular cake baker, we hired a local lady who makes delicious cakes! She saved us a fortune!
We knew that although we wanted a beautiful wedding, we will always want a beautiful marriage. We tried to make decisions together, while also including our parents. Both of our parents celebrated their thirtieth anniversaries this year!
How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Kegan and I met at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. I was living in Houston with my girlfriends and he was living out in the country where he was raised. My friends and I were meeting up with some friends at Luke Bryan’s concert the night we met. I can still remember exactly what I was wearing, exactly where we were standing, and exactly what he said. From that point forward, we were inseparable.
Tell us all about the proposal! Kegan had plans to go skiing in Lake Tahoe for a bachelor party over spring break, and I must say, I was jealous. We decided that I would fly out towards the end of the week to meet him, and we would stay for a few extra days. The last night of our trip, we had dinner reservations at the Ritz-Carlton at Northstar Ski Resort. After dinner (which Kegan didn’t eat any of), he took me outside in the snow, in the middle of the mountains, and proposed. There was champagne and strawberries, the whole nine yards. It was amazing!
When did y’all get married? June 25, 2016
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 360
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I would say budget and guest count. We invited about 510 guests, which can be pretty pricey! We tried not to forfeit things we loved due to the high number of guests, and ended up working with our vendors to create a beautiful wedding that also suited the high guest count.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? More than $100,000
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Seeing Kegan for the first time in the church.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Do it together! You may expect your future husband to be uninterested, but mine really appreciated being involved.
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? We hope to continue to build our home with our chocolate lab, Bella, and eventually start a family.
Photographer: Kelli Durham | Videographer: Brittan Pittman | Day-Of Coordinator: Savanna Gray of En Vogue Events | Ceremony Venue: St. Mary’s Catholic Church | Reception Venue: Olde Dobbin Station | Florist: Maxit Floral Design | Wedding Cake: Cakes by Blondie | Ice Cream: Steel City Pops | Caterer: Design II | Rentals: Aztec Events and Tents and A Memorable Event | DJ: LG Entertainment | Paper Products: Pink Champagne Paper | Bride’s Gown: “Saffron” by Monique Lhuillier | Bride’s Veil: Monique Lhuillier | Bride’s Jewelry: Michele Jewelry | Hair Stylist: Chelsea Binford of The Factory Salon | Makeup Artist: Holly Shrieve and Pop of Pink Cosmetics | Bride’s Shoes: Sofia Webster | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Various by Amsale | Menswear: Vera Wang by Men’s Wearhouse
Our first dance song was actually “I Don’t Dance” by Lee Brice. It fit our personalities so well and every time I hear it on the radio I start to tear up when thinking about how much meaning that one song has to me.
We danced to “At Last” :)
Our first dance was to Foggy London Town by Michael Bible. We fell in love when studying abroad in London! ☺️
Our first dance song was Heaven!
Our first dance song was “Heaven’s Knife” by Josh Garrels!
So excited for my wedding this coming May! Our first dance song will be to “When You Say Nothing At All” by Allison Kraus and Union Station.
Our first dance song was The Fray, Look After You. We ended up being so happy with the choice and would love to have a painting of that moment!
Oh my goodness, would love to win! Some of my favorite wedding photos are from our first dance…we danced to “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show
Our first dance was “You Are the Best Thing” by Ray Lamontagne. This would be such a beautiful way to remember such a special day!
Our first dance song will be Dream a Little Dream! The Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong version.
We will be dancing to Josh Abbott Band’s “Oh Tonight”. We can’t wait for our April 22 wedding! I have followed Deann for a while now, her work is beautiful!
We planned a surprise dance to “I’ve had the time of my life” :)
These paintings are gorgeous!
Our first dance song was “My Best Friend” by Tim McGraw!
Days Like This by Van Morrison!
Our wedding song was, “I Love Your Love The Most” by Eric Church… We fell in love with it during college when we first started dating, and it seemed perfect for us!
Our song was Forever Like That by Ben Rector… the song still brings back all the memories from the smiling faces on our wedding day! I would love to get a painting from our wedding day!
We plan on dancing to “Die a Happy Man” by Thomas Rhett on May 20, 2017!
I would love our first dance song to be Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton! I am soo-o excited about this give-a-way! I recently just purchased one of Deann’s angel series paintings! She is a dream :)
You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban. We’re really looking forward to dance to it this September.
We are still deciding on our first dance song for our July 1 wedding, but we are between Forever Like That by Ben Rector or From The Ground Up. Both are so special to us!
Our first dance (in October) was “Die a Happy Man” by Thomas Rhett!
We danced to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers Island in the Stream :)
It just comes natural – George Strait!
Our first dance song will be “The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra! We are so excited to dance the night away on April 8 at our Raleigh wedding!
I LOVE Deann’s work and have wanted a piece for so long!! Our first dance was “You Look Beautiful Tonight”.
I’m getting married in October and have been on the search for an artist to capture our wedding as my gift to my fiancee. This would be a dream come true to win this!
Our last name will be Elliotte and we are dancing to Everlasting Love by Natalie Cole! #EverlastingElliottes can not come soon enough!
We danced to “Stand By Me.” I wanted something timeless and twirling around the dance floor was one of my favorite memories of our wedding day.
Our first dance song will be “Yours” by
Our first dance song will be “Yours” by Russell Dickerson. We both fell in love with this song and think it works so well for us.
Our first dance song was “forever like that” by Ben Rector. I LOVE these paintings and have been wanting one for so long!
Our first dance was “I don’t dance”
“Slippery Slope” by Dar Williams. My MOH contacted Dar through Facebook and asked her to perform for us at our wedding. Dar was unable to, but sent us 2 tickets to her Nashville concert instead, and sang our song for us there!
Wow! This is so stunning! I would adore one in my own home!
Love her work! It is so beautiful and so unique. I would love to have something like this in my home!
Crazy Love by Van Morrison
Our first dance song was “Forever Like That” by Ben Rector :)
Our first dance was to I belong with you. I actually had “my sweetheart” engraved in my husbands wedding band for our song,
Our first song was Brown Eyed Girl
L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole
First Dance- You are the Best Thing
Love this!!! so pretty!
We danced to Forever Like That by Ben Rector Such a sweet song :)
We danced to Forever Like That by Ben Rector! Such a s weet song :)
We danced to Blake Sheltons’s “God gave me you”
We haven’t decided for sure, but “Forever and ever, Amen” by Randy Travis is one of our top picks.
We danced to Can’t take my eyes off of you, by Franki Valli and the Four Seasons!
Our first dance song was wagon wheel by old crow medicine show!
I would love to win a picture of our special day :)
What beautiful artwork! I hope my fiance and I will be able to hang such a piece in our new home after our wedding this month (!!!). We decided to go with a tried and true classic, and will have our first dance to “At Last” by Etta James.
Then by Brad Paisley
We can’t decide on a dance song!
We WILL dance to something likely by Cory Morrow, we met at one of his concerts at the Houston Rodeo! Love Deann’s work! So excited to enter!
We danced our first dance to “Hung the Moon” by Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors
Our first dance will be to Andy Grammar’s “I Choose You”
Hall and Oats transitioned to Harry Connick…the best of both!!
Forever Like That by Ben Rector! The artwork is GORGEOUS!
Our first dance song was to The Beatles, “When I’m 64”. It was a great dance to celebrate our fun loving relationship. Oddly enough, the DJ played the instrumental version which we had not requested, but we laughed through it and sang the words ourselves! (:
For the life of us, my husband and I cannot remember our first dance song. We’ve only been married 3 years too!
My first song was At Last by Etta James.
Our first song was Our Love is here to Stay by Billie Holiday. Will always be my favorite song!
Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran.
Our first dance was to “Forever Like That” by Ben Rector
Got married this past April! Our first dance song was to Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli.
Our first dance song will be the same song I walk down the aisle to… “Turning Page” by Sleeping at Last :)
Oh WOW!!! This would be amazing!!!
We danced to “I love the way you love me” by John Michael Montgomery!
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli! It starts off slow and then has a fun upbeat ending!
We haven’t picked our first dance song yet – but maybe ‘Yours’ !
Wow this giveaway ?? our first dance was Frank Sinatra Fly Me To The Moon ?
Elvis Presley can’t help falling in love with you
I love her work! Simply amazing!!
at last by etta james
Happy Talk by Nancy Wilson
By Your Side by Sade
Our first dance was “LOVE” sung by Michael Buble.