July 18, 2020
Photos by Eleanor Stenner Photography
How We Met: Preston and I met on a church retreat back in 2010. At the time, I was an eighth- grader at Bumpus Middle School, while Preston was a freshman at Hoover High, but we did not start officially dating until April of 2012 when Preston asked me to be his girlfriend in the athletic hallway of good ole Hoover High School. So, as Preston said at our rehearsal dinner, “We have grown up together, and now we get to grow old together.”
The Proposal: On a skip trip to Utah, we walked a little way past the cozy winter lodges and down a short path to the edge of the mountain side to look over the converging slopes. I began taking pictures of our friends Caleb and Haley, and Preston then asked Haley if she could take a photo of Preston and me. Preston took both of my hands, got down on one knee and proposed to me on a snowy mountainside.
Favorite Moment: Finally getting to see our friends and family in one place after long months of quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Favorite Details: While planning the wedding, the music was the one thing that had to be just right. From the organ and piano played hymns we picked for the prelude, to our favorite soloist and family friend, Laura Guin who sang “How Great Thou Art” while we had our first communion as a married couple, to leaving the sanctuary to “The Sleeping Beauty Waltz,” the music definitely set the tone for the perfect day. I am an avid big band music listener, so we, of course, had to get a big band to play at our reception. It was so much fun to swing dance alongside friends and family on our special day.
- Venue: Shades Crest Baptist Church
- Wedding Coordinator: Marissa Rath
- Florist: The Wired Owl
- Videographer: A Morales Productions
- Bridesmaid Dresses: JJshouse
- Hair & Makeup: GLOW
- Music: Gwen Hughes and the Continental Dance Orchestra
