I hadn’t lived in Austin very long before getting a job with the corporate office of EZ CORP. Corey and I both worked there – Corey in the I.T. Department for over two years and I in Human Resources for three months. We noticed each other around the office a couple of times, but never had the opportunity to actually meet – until the Christmas party in December of 2005!

Since I was new to the area, I hadn’t made many friends yet, so I decided to attend the company Christmas Party. My hope was to become better acquainted with my co-workers in other departments. Both Corey and I went to the party without dates. Several co-workers tried to play matchmaker all evening between Corey and me, with their encouragement, we soon ended up on the dance floor. I couldn’t resist his Michael Jackson moves! We started dancing silly and when the band took a break, we started talking and hit it off immediately. We had so much fun that night.

The following Monday he e-mailed me an invitation to lunch and I accepted. After that we were pretty much a “couple”. I’m not going to say it was love at first sight, but after knowing each other for just a few days, we both knew that something special was happening! We both liked hiking, camping and being outdoors. And we both had the same feeling family values.

A week before my birthday, we made a trip to Louisiana to attend the wedding of one of my good friends. While we were there, without my noticing, Corey pulled my Dad aside and asked for his permission to marry him! My Dad gave Corey his blessing and was supposed to keep Corey’s plan a secret;. but he decided to tell my Mom. In no time, my whole family came to love Corey. Mom was so excited when Dad told her; but couldn’t keep the secret either, so she told my sisters!

On my birthday, Corey gave me a present. I was disappointed because it wasn’t the ring that I had been expecting. Being a “nice” girl I couldn’t let Corey see the disappointment because it wasn’t the gift I’d been hoping for. Later that evening I got a call from my sister, who already knew that he was going to ask me to marry him that weekend and she also expected that he’d give me a ring. She kept asking me about the present and after a while I became suspicious of her actions – it was almost like she already knew what it was! After opening the present we loaded the car and got ready to head out to a friend’s ranch near the Frio River. Every year a group of us went there for a weekend of camping and tubing.

Corey did have a plan – he was going to float down the river with the ring and at a particular spot that he had picked, he was going to ask me, in front of all our friends. But the night before the tubing trip, after everyone else were sleeping, Corey and I were talking in our tent, and he decided that he just couldn’t wait until the next day; he got down on his knees and proposed right there in the tent! This was the best camping trip ever!. The ring he gave me belonged to his Great Aunt Ruth who had left it to Corey when she passed away a year earlier. I was so glad that he didn’t float down that river; it would have been very sad if he had lost this 70-year-old heirloom.

At first we planned to have the wedding in Austin, thinking that it would be a great experience for my friends in family from Louisiana. Then, after discussing my childhood dreams with pictures of a wedding in my parents’ beautiful yard, we began planning for that dream wedding. And it truly was a beautiful wedding, with the moss hanging down gracefully on the Live Oak trees. There aren’t many wedding vendors in and around Sulphur, so we worked mainly with those from Houston, Austin and Baton Rouge. I already knew what I wanted the wedding to look like – the right colors, flowers, etc; and Mom offered to handle all this, along with the vendors, to relieve me of any stress. It seemed easy for Mom; she hired Karen Brown to coordinate the wedding. Karen had been my sister’s coordinator at her wedding a few years before. We also used the same caterer and rental equipment company. I love my mom!

I seldom get stressed, but Corey and I are both shy and were a little nervous about 300 eyes staring at us! In fact, I was almost calm – our florist Coby Neal made a nice comment about my calmness. But everything was beautiful. The Rehearsal Dinner was a crawfish bake at my parent’s lake house on Moss Lake in Sulphur. For my “something old” I wore a diamond ring that mom had given me for my 25th birthday; making me the fifth generation bride to wear this ring on their wedding date. The Wedding was in my parents’ front yard and the reception in their back yard, It was an awesome garden wedding under the live oak trees with the sun just beginning to set over the gazebo covered with flowers. As I said before, we had the same family values, and the wedding was definitely a family affair. There were eight bridesmaids, two sisters as maid and matron of honor, two nephews as ringbearers, my brother was one of Corey’s eight groomsmen, and his brother was his best man Our officiate was a family friend of many years and offered a special touch to our wedding. Dad walked me down the aisle and gave Corey a big hug before sitting down. Corey and I were so nervous that we kept giggling throughout the ceremony. The ceremony was circled by our guests and we were definitely the center of attention. Music was performed by a classical guitarist playing the traditional wedding processional song “Here Comes The Bride”, but we wanted a happy song for the recessional, so he played “Here Comes The Sun”. It was great.

While the guests were proceeding to the back yard reception, the wedding party was posing for pictures. The Reception tables were fantastic; all of the vendors did a spectacular job. Appetizers included a raw oyster bar. Corey and his family are big Texas fans; and my family are LSU fans. The cake was covered with sugar orchid to match the wedding flowers. The grooms cake had a Texas Long Horn centered on the top. I surprised Corey with an LSU garter. During the reception, our first dance was to “Bring It On Back.” It turned out much beter than we had imagined.

The next morning we got up early to get ready for our flight to Hawaii, where we spent two amazing weeks. First was the Island of Kaauai, which was our favorite. Then a lot of hiking through Waimea Canyon, snorkeling with sea turtles along the Napali Coast, touring Maui and the Big Island. We loved everything and were constantly on the go; we wanted to see everything and do everything – no time for relaxing – until our last day. Then we took advantage of the hotel pool. We were exhausted by the time we got home, but we loved every minute of it!

Austin Resources

Ceremony & Reception Venue:
Family home in Sulphur, Louisiana.

Rehearsal Dinner Venue:
Family’s Lake House on Moss Lake

Cake:
Edible Designs by Jessie

Caterer:
Margo E. Bouarchaud, Inc.

Florist:
Coby Neal and the Flower Studio

Gown & Bridal Attire:
Priscilla of Boston

Bridesmaids Dresses:
Alfred Sung, Bridesmaid’s Store

Men’s Formalwear:
Martinez Custom Clothier in Baton Rouge.
Groomsmen: Al’s Formal Wear

Photography:
Tomas Ramos from Houston

Videography:
Diane and Gary Smith with Crescent Video in Austin

Entertainment:
Avalon Music - Burgundy Band from New Orleans; Guitarist Mark Moore

Consultant/Event Planner:
Karen Brown of For Your Memories

Equipment Rental:
Acme Rental

Lighting:
Ilios Lighting, LLC from Austin

Hair & Makeup:
Hilda Kershman, Makeup Artist

Invitations & Favors:
Candy Favors by Coby Neal and the Flower Studio from Austin

Custom Maps:
William Arthur Invitations

Honeymoon & Travel:
Connie Barton at Precision Travel, Inc.