My wedding was the week when coronavirus was starting to unravel in the United States. I had a bridesmaid who lives in New York City, who couldn’t make it to my wedding, because it hit much harder up there and she was pregnant.

I was super stressed out and worried that the photos were not going to look good and be symmetrical the way I had planned. I was also getting many messages on the day of the wedding that people were not going to be able to make it anymore to my wedding.

However, all my vendors pulled through and made it very special, especially our photographer. Hannah Charis could see how stressed out and upset I was when she arrived. She started getting pictures of us and talking to me. She got me to forget about the craziness around the world and made me feel special, during a pandemic about to explode.

It’s funny looking back, at the time of my wedding planning I was so worried that it was going to rain and ruin my plans. It never did rain.  Little did I know what the storm clouds were about to deliver – a worldwide pandemic.

Our Paths Finally Crossed

We officially me at work Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. However, our story started much sooner. We have crossed many paths before this and never realized it. During high school we worked together at the same time at Alamo Cafe and didn’t know each other.

In past years we have learned of mutual friends and other connections that we’ve had along the way as well. It was destined that one day we’d meet! Becoming best friends was the start of our relationship as we went to float the Comal River in New Braunfels with mutual friends and spending time together at work.

The more we hung out, the more we didn’t want it to stop. Our friendship was growing rapidly and we grew inseparable after that summer of fun and adventure.

The Proposal

James took me to Wurstfest, which is a German festival. It was our tradition to go every year and we’ve never missed one event. I was trying to get over being sick from pneumonia for about a month and I was super tired going up to New Braunfels that day, but I knew I couldn’t miss it.

We went with our best friends. As we were walking on the bridge, James, our friends, and I were taking turns getting pictures of each other. Then it was our turn to get a picture of just James and I. The wind was blowing hard and I moved around him to the other side, because my hair was all over my face. As I turned to look, I saw him knelt down and he proposed. All of a sudden a crowd drew and I was in shock, because he did so good at hiding it from me. I didn’t say anything at first and then I said yes, and the crowd cheered all around us.

Choosing the Venue

We chose The Milestone in New Braunfels, TX, because it is the location of where we share all of our special memories and it’s only fitting! Also, I have been such a huge fan of the modern farmhouse style. I went to a lot of venues and I knew they were not right for me. I knew that I wanted to get married outside and to have a beautiful inside reception at the same place. There were two reception halls at that location.  When they took us into one, they told us that it was going to get renovated. They showed us the plans and the designs. I fell in love with the new design and I knew, that I was going to get married there!

Unique Elements of Our Wedding

Something that was unique that we had during our wedding was that James’ best man and his wife custom made corn hole boards, with our last name and wedding date on it .It turned out beautiful and we put some lights around it, so people could play at night during our reception.

Another unique thing was that James had cuff links, they belong to his grandfather. He brought them back from Thailand, while he was stationed there in the Air Force. He passed them down to James’ dad for his graduation and let James use it for the wedding.

James also wore a tie clip that belonged to his great grandfather on his mom’s side. It was passed down to James when his great grandfather passed away. It was important for James to wear these heirlooms on the day of his wedding.