Let's try this again

We are asking all guests to be mindful that there will be elderly as well as pregnant guests at our wedding. If you have chosen not to be vaccinated please consider wearing a mask when interacting with vulnerable guests. We also ask that anyone who attends the wedding and becomes ill within two weeks to please notify us, so we may notify other guests. Masks will be available at the wedding.

Hey yall! It's a new year so let's try this again... We are so excited to celebrate with everyone and I can't be the only one who needs something to look forward to and a reunion of family and friends! Our new date is August 7, 2021 and thanks to our amazing wedding vendors (and my mom) all the other details stay the same. COVID be darned - hah jk but that being said we (being family and the wedding party should they choose) will hopefully have our vaccines by the wedding 2.0. If you are not comfortable attending, we will understand. TBD on what the COVID precautions will be in August but optimistically thinking we should allllllmost be back to normal? Right? Maybe...

Taylor (Kyle's sister) got married in Houston on Memorial weekend 2014 . The Thursday before the wedding, Taylor and her MOH (Mindy Watts) invited me to dinner luring me with "Taylor's brother will be there and he thinks you're cute." Little did I know they told him the same thing. It was just a simple dinner at Olive Garden with Taylor, her now husband Brandon, Mindy, her now husband David, my now future husband, Kyle and me.

Although we were introduced in Houston and both grew up there, when we first started dating, Kyle was living in Denver, CO. Wells Fargo had conveniently given me a rotational position in the Denver Oil & Gas office, so I traveled up there every month (thanks again Mei Wan!). After a couple of months, I was in discussions to move up there permanently, the oil & gas market turned and Kyle got laid off. He found his next job in Tulsa, OK where he worked for 2 years. On 5/27/17, I nervously broached the 'Are you going to make me move to Oklahoma?' discussion. Instead of one of us giving up everything for the other, we decided to both move - a fair compromise and how we ended up in Dallas, TX!

It started as all Saturday mornings do for us by watching College GameDay on the couch. Kyle told me he picked out a restaurant for dinner that night and when I asked him what he was going to wear, Kyle said 'I'm wearing a jacket.' Well, you don't date for almost 5 years without a few times where the girl 'happens' to dress up nicely just in case. This naturally perked my interest, so I did my hair and make up to the best of my abilities and wore one of my favorite new dresses. I went over to Kyle's to watch the 2nd half of the Texas A&M/Clemson game (I'm sure this didn't help Kyle's nerves) and we went to drinks at Gloria's afterward. While waiting for the LSU/UT game to start at pre-dinner drinks, I asked for Kyle's jacket because I was cold. I got a very quick "NO!" and thus I was 99% sure it was happening tonight. And of course, I was over the moon about it! When I went to text my mom, I saw a text from her with a picture from the OU/South Dakota game “Good turnout considering who we're playing.” I was a little surprised she wasn't going to be here - I even enlarged the photo to make sure the team we were playing against was actually South Dakota in case Mom was trying to trick me. It was indeed South Dakota. After this Kyle announces that our reservations are coming up so we need to leave and walks me outside. I was instantly suspicious as it was September in TX and 99+ degrees outside. For those of you who know Kyle, he is a sweater so I knew we couldn't be walking far. He then turns me into Turtle Creek and had a cute little spot set up with lights (don't remind him of these - they didn't work) and rose petals spread out. And that’s where he got down on one knee and proposed, at the same place where my dad proposed to my mom 35 years earlier. I don't really remember what he said but I remember pausing to take it all in (which I'm sure freaked him out) before saying "Of course you fool!" Yes those were my actual words (*face palm*).

After a wonderful and successful proposal (where Best Man Sam played photographer - thanks again!), Kyle told me we do indeed have dinner reservations at the Mansion. I had been dying to try it and it’s known to be a very couple-y, expensive, Dallas-staple, French restaurant. We had a blast at dinner with Kyle telling me all the times he had snuck off to look at diamonds, how my dad brought 2 pages of questions to ask when Kyle asked for his permission and all the times I had nagged (that's not the term I used) him about being late after dirt biking when he really had been getting the ring... After dinner, Kyle announces his last surprise saying we should have dessert and drinks at the Stoneleigh, where he got us a room to really make the night special (sorry Dad). So we whisk off to the hotel (after a few pictures at the restaurant) and walk straight to the elevator. Kyle said he already checked in and they majorly upgraded him so we were on the top floor in the Presidential Suite. We get to the top floor; walk up to the door but instead of opening it, Kyle knocks! I was super confused until the door opens and there is my family and his! It was a surprise engagement party with everyone from his sister (who lives in Jackson, MS) to my uncles (who live in Los Angeles)! And that's when I cried. Even my brother was there - which was special to me because he gave up going to the LSU/Texas GameDay game for me! It was truly the best day of my life and Kyle made it all happen! He proved to me that even though he took his time, it was definitely worth the wait!

Like everyone last year, COVID hit us hard and threw mom and I into a frenzy trying to get things re-planned. Unfortunately (and it's my own fault for wanting a church wedding), we were limited to 20 people by the time August 8th rolled around. This meant it was just family and 1 MOH and Kyle's best man, Sam, who came to the wedding. We did have a wonderful ceremony and dinner afterwards at the Crescent (one of my all time favorite spots in Dallas). We overran the bar and kept the family party going until late and it was the best night ever! It was intimate and just lovely! I definitely felt the love in the room and I finally got to marry Kyle! However, with all that said, we are so excited to do it up BIG this time with all of you! And let's be honest, I'm excited to wear my dress again. Don't worry, I'd marry Kyle a bunch more times if another pandemic hits - jk dad this is it, I promise!