"Let someone else worry about the details,
you just concentrate on being in love."
Terri and Dustin Wilke
Married November 28, 2009
at Safari Texas Ballroom, Richmond, Texas
When our wedding came around, Dustin and I had been together almost a year and a half. We attended the same high school, but rarely crossed paths because of our different activities. If someone would have told me then that we’d now be married, I would have probably laughed at them! Dustin was popular and the life of the party, while I spent most of my time dedicated to FFA and working with my animals.
After getting out of a serious relationship, my main focus was finishing school at Texas A&M. I was certainly not looking for another relationship, but rather friendship. Dustin and I became friends on MySpace and I was shocked when he asked if he could take me to dinner. I went to Houston the next weekend, and we both made it very clear to one another that marriage was not in the plans. We were looking for companionship and fun, nothing serious. You can’t change fate, and we each knew that we were just kidding ourselves and it would only be a matter of time before we broke down and admitted that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.
On February 21, 2009, Dustin orchestrated a dinner at PF Chang’s with our closest friends and asked me to marry him. I was amazed by his sincerity and the words he used to express his love for me. Of course, I said yes, and we began our wedding planning!
I had nine months to plan our wedding, and was gradating from A&M and moving back to Houston all in between the engagement and the wedding; so obviously, I had no time to waste.
Once our special day came around, it was all magical. I had so many great people that made my wedding possible and I had a pretty stress free day! The memory that still takes my breath away is the moment that I turned the corner with my dad and saw Dustin for the first time. I will never forget looking in his eyes all the way down the aisle and knowing that we were about to be one.
As my friends get engaged, my biggest piece of advice for them is to hire a wedding planner! There are so many tools that a wedding planner provides that you don’t realize you need as a bride, and it saves you so much time. Ashley and I worked together throughout the entire wedding planning process and we truly became friends with all that we did. She made multiple trips to Houston to iron out details, and her mom even made 35 runners for our wedding tables that were absolutely beautiful! Words can’t express how much Ashley helped me and how thankful I was that we were able to go through all of this together. We had a great time working together!
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Amy and Dusty Davis
Married on May 30, 2009
at Messina Hof Winery, Bryan, Texas
Dusty and I met in 2002 at a local dancehall that I frequented and where he worked as a bouncer. Immediately I thought he was the most handsome guy I had ever seen! When we finally danced and began to get to know each other, I found out he was headed for Army Basic Training in just a few days. He asked if I would allow him to write to me while he was away, and I of course was thrilled! A few weeks after he left, there in my mailbox was that Army Stationery I came to love. We continued our written courtship, but the timing was not quite right. We each saw other people but always thought, “what if…” when we dreamed of one another.
In November of 2007 a group of friends was going dancing and I sent a text message to invite Dusty. This time it was different. The spark that was always there had grown into a magnetic connection that neither of us could ignore. We both decided that maybe this time the stars had aligned and we should give it a shot. We were inseparable after that point and are the happiest that we’ve ever been in our lives! We often think about our story and know that life is all about timing. You will meet “the person” for you, but it might not be “the time” in your life to recognize it. I still have all of his letters that he wrote me and will cherish them always!
On August 9, 2009, Dusty and I decided to get dressed up and took a stroll on the Texas A&M campus after dinner and a movie. Throughout our relationship, we often walked and talked on the campus, so I thought nothing of it. We went through Main Campus and he started walking toward the Century Tree. I quickly stopped him and had to explain that it was bad luck to walk under that tree without the intention of proposing or already being married. We couldn’t let that jinx us! He laughed at me and was certain that nothing could jinx our relationship, but humored me and we walked around a little more. After about an hour passed, we came back to the Century Tree where there were Japanese lanterns and rose petals in a very romantic setting. I started begging him to leave because we were going to ruin someone’s special night. It was at that moment that he got down on one knee and said, “Amy Kate, will you marry me?” I thought it was a joke and tried to pull him to his feet until he pulled the ring out of his pocket. I was shocked, and said “YES, YES, YES!!!!” I got down on my knees beside him and kissed and hugged him and asked how he managed to get all of the decorations up. It turned out, that was really for someone else, but he thought that it worked pretty well in his favor!
We had nine months to plan our wedding and I knew immediately that we needed a coordinator! I worked full time and taught Country and Western dance lessons, and Dusty worked two jobs. Spare time was something we had very little of. We started looking at wedding dates and realized that May 30 was my parents’ 34th wedding anniversary, and tried to make that our date as well. We found the perfect location that had our date available and everything began to fall into place.
It is so hard to pick one favorite thing from our entire wedding. The vendors that we worked with were amazing. The harpist that played for our ceremony truly added the perfect touch to our ceremony. Her music lifted me up to a place of pure happiness. The reception was above our widest dreams! The food, flowers, cakes, dancing, and all the people we loved! Our guests are still talking about the entertainment of our wedding and how wonderful the personal touches that the DJ put on everything were.
For future brides: enjoy the process of planning your wedding! Savor that time in your life. It may seem like an eternity from start to finish, but it’s fleeting and gone in one night! Make sure to take a breath every now and then on your wedding day, so you can make mental notes of those special memories. Relax & enjoy that day, don't stress over small things. It will all be perfect in the end, because you leave as man & wife.
After our experience, I always suggest to hire a wedding coordinator. As far as budgeting, and time constraints, having that guidance from an experienced coordinator is invaluable. For me, it was important to follow proper wedding etiquette and I wanted everything about our wedding to reflect our relationship. When I had a question or an idea, Ashley would listen and give me a lot of options to choose from. It was a huge stress relief to know that I could always go to her with any concerns, and she not only validated my concerns, but also eliminated any problems. On the day of our wedding, I was able to really enjoy it. So many brides are stressing over deliveries and guests arriving, but I was able to sip my Riesling, laugh with my best friends and get ready to marry the man of my dreams!
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