Arriving at the reception at the Bob Bullock Museum was like stepping into a peachy garden. The front porch of the museum features a several story high copper star, and below that star was a bar and open seating under twinkling string lights. Inside the foyer of the museum, guests were greeted by a towering cake by Simon Lee Bakery that proves that everything's bigger in Texas. As a "homesick Texan" living in Nashville who is marrying a man from Georgia, this bride chose to incorporate all the things she loved about their state heritages in the wedding. Desserts included peach macaroons and peach-filled empanadas, and there were even late night breakfast tacos! Everyone agreed that the night was "Parker-perfect," a term the Gaston family has always used to describe how much they love to make sure things are all set up for those visits where Parker would travel to town while he and Whitney were dating.
Because Whitney comes from a house full of ladies, they have a family joke about "Roadkill" with Whitney's dad. In addition to a groom's cake, they had a cake dedicated to the father of the bride that was a funny twist on the Steel Magnolias armadillo.
As they prepped for the day, the bride and all of the bridesmaids wore authentic, hand-embroidered dresses from San Antonio's famous downtown import market to celebrate the bride's family's San Antonio roots. Whitney told us that she and her sisters basically "lived in these dresses during the summers" as she was growing up.
Whitney's dress featured a stunning monogram of her maiden initial and her married initial on each side of her dress. Paired with Kate Spade ballet flats, Whitney's gown was perfectly designed for high-intensity dancing on the dance floor. Whitney told us that she was looking forward to walking down the aisle in the church she grew up in and in the presence of people who have known her for years (shout out to her family's supper club!), but she was also looking forward to just dancing the night away with Parker.
Here's the proposal story from the bride:
"Parker just graduated from medical school this May (woohoo!), but back in September when we got engaged, Parker was in between orthopedic surgery rotations at various hospitals across the country. I always knew I wanted to marry Parker, but I didn't think a proposal was coming any time in the near future; so, we had never had a serious conversation about it.
Before starting his away rotation at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Parker came through Atlanta (where I was living) for the weekend. He told me that he wanted to take me to a special dinner before he was in Texas for the next month. He knew I was excited about the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" exhibit that was at the High Museum in Atlanta. I have always loved art, and two summers before, I had dragged him through art museums all across Europe. So, he called to tell me that his uncle had tickets to a private viewing of the exhibit that he couldn't use, and he had offered them to us. His uncle had been on the board of the museum, so although this was a special treat, it didn't raise a red flag.
I got off late from work, and despite getting ready in 10 minutes, I was still late. Parker was visibly anxious (he has always hated being late and hates not fulfilling a commitment, in this situation, not making our allotted "window" of time at the museum that his uncle had given us), so again, this didn't raise a red flag. When we arrived at the museum, a docent led us to the exhibit and Parker and I had the whole floor to ourselves. He dragged me through the exhibit (skipping unbelievable Rembrandt paintings, etc.) but I attributed it to running so late. When we got to the room with "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" I walked up to the painting to look at it more closely. I realized Parker wasn't standing next to me and turned around and he was on one knee. I was so shocked I could hardly say "yes" when Parker proposed.
After we left the museum we went to dinner at Capital Grill, where the hostess lead us to a private dining room, and both of our families were there to surprise me! I was surprised all over again and burst into tears!
It was so special that Parker proposed in such a beautiful place and that we had that private moment, but I also loved that my family was there; we are so close and I can't imagine not sharing those memories with them." --Whitney
We're so thrilled and grateful to have had the opportunity to serve Whitney and Parker as their wedding videographers, and we look forward to what life has to offer to the two of them. They are obviously people who bring a special presence and love to their community of family and friends.
Warm and gentle, the sun filtered through the leaves of the wild oaks scattered throughout the lawn of the Orchard in Azle, TX as David waited to see Tyler for the first time. When he finally saw her, he hugged his bride so tightly and whispered into her ear, "I'm gonna kiss all your makeup off!"
