How did you meet?

Joey lived in the apartment complex where I was working. Little did I know that his interested in me started way back when. Fast forward a couple of years… We had mutual friends and started hanging out together. I still was unaware of his interest in me at this time. Then one day I was walking on the property and ran into him. He invited me to his football game later that week. I was unable to go but invited him to my birthday party the following week. When he arrived at my house, I found myself drawn to him. I remember he was flirting with some of my friends and was bothered by this but couldn’t figure out why. I realized that I was drawn to this man and wanted to know him better. We spent the next several weeks spending late nights talking and learning more about one another. And the rest is history.

Tell us about the proposal:

We had planned a cruise to the Bahamas and were really excited for the trip. Little did I know that he was excited for another reason. Joey had 2 proposal plans, 1 on a private sail boat or 2 an intimate and personal proposal on the cruise’s elegant night. I later found out that he scratched the sailboat proposal because the weather was windy and choppy waters. Which made sense why he would not let that backpack go! Fast forward to elegant night, we were dressed to the nines and enjoyed a delicious dinner. We later went for a walk through the cruise ships enjoying all the photo back drops. We took a break and got a coffee, that’s when Joey slipped away and spoke to a few photographers and got the perfect opportunity. I was tired and wanted to go change, but he insisted on one more picture. It was at the end of the cruise ship, with a beautiful firework back drop. The photographer was in on it and made me do an awkward pose to hide Joey getting down on one knee…and that’s when I heard “Katie, will you marry me?

What inspired the design or theme of your wedding day?

When we got engaged, I had a clear vision and color scheme in mind. However, that all changed when I found my perfect dress at Olivia Grace Bridal. The platinum color of the dress inspired me with a black and white theme with rose gold. I LOVE rose gold. The rose gold & crystal belt we added to my dress along with my rose gold engagement ring set the tone for everything. We wanted a classy, elegant and New York vibe to everything.

Why did you choose the venue and vendors you did?

We choose our reception venue because of its unique style. We are both in love with the “Big City” and wanted a venue that reflected this. Park 31’s exposed brick and iron beams accented by the crystal chandeliers gave us the perfect backdrop. We knew we wanted fun music as our family loves to dance. Howl at the Moon was Joey’s favorite place to go so we decided that the dueling pianos would be the perfect fit to keep our party going. We met Bartenders and Dreams at an open house and knew right away that they were the team for us. The father/son team and the city vibes in their attire fit right in with our wedding and family centered event. Before we were even engaged, we knew who would be creating our Wedding Cake. Cake Couture’s creations are both unique and delicious. Rhonda took all of my ideas and created our one of a kind cakes and took Joey’s love of Iron Man into creating his grooms cake.

What were some of the most unique elements of your wedding?

One of the most unique aspect was “the Dress”! Words cannot describe the feel this dress evoked. People are still talking about it to this day. The next things that stole the show was the surprise groomsmen dance! It started with an awesome rendition to the Lion King where the guys carried Joey in on his shoulders, and then went straight into an awesome up beat mix with songs from Destiny’s Child to Level Up by Ciara to Backstreet Boys and even added some Daddy Yankee, Pit Bull and Don Omar. They kept everyone on their feet the entire time! It was Epic!

Did anything about your wedding exceed your expectations?

The entire day exceeded our expectations. The ceremony was so beautiful and personal. The priest took every reading we selected and incorporated it into our ceremony which made it perfect. Being surrounded by our family and friends created the perfect day!

What advice do you have for couples planning a San Antonio wedding?

My advice for couples is to enjoy the process. I knew from the beginning that a planner was a must. I was a planner myself for 5 years but knew there was no way I could do this all by myself, so I enlisted the help of Jill from Couture Events. She allowed me to enjoy the process as I knew that I had somebody to worry about the small stuff for me.