Our Name in Lights

So when it came time for Corley and me to start pulling together ideas for the Save the Date cards, we weren't really sure what we wanted. What we did know was that we didn't want to follow the standard or the typical. After brainstorming and debating over ideas, we realized that what we were really looking for was a way to highlight two of the things we really love, Dallas and music.

One of our favorite areas in Dallas is known as Lakewood which is in East Dallas and is home to several local restaurants, bars and shops. The centerpiece to this neighborhood is the Lakewood Theater which plays hosts to a number of different bands across a wide range of genres. Corley would probably tell you that she saw one of the best shows at the Lakewood Theater the night that Sister Hazel came to town. She might be a little biased since Sister Hazel is from Gainesville, FL (home of the Univ. of Florida) and her and her other Hazelnut friends attended many a show during their college years.

So we took a chance and sent an email off to the management of Lakewood Theater to see if they could accommodate us by putting our Save the Date info up on the marquee. The next day I had a voicemail from Deana at Lakewood Theater saying for me to name the date and time and they would take care of the rest. We couldn't have been more excited!

The next part of the equation was finding someone to take the perfect picture for us to use on the Save the Date postcards and we both knew immediately who we wanted behind the lens. Melissa Preston has been a best friend to both Corley and me from day one and we both knew that there wasn't a better person for the job. Melissa is one of Dallas' new, up and coming photographers. Her business, Mel Marie Photography, has been featured in the Advocate magazine and she is extremely talented.

The day of the shoot was such an awesome experience. It was a typical Friday evening in Lakewood. Everyone was out and about, making their way to their favorite restaurant. When we got there the marquee was set up, the lights were on and it looked every bit as we had imagined it.

The pictures turned out great and we had a blast doing it. We even came back later that night to snap a few shots after sundown. A big thanks is in order to Lakewood Theater for putting our name in lights and of course to our good friend Melissa for running the camera!

The Engagement

So many people have asked us for the story of our engagement, so here it is:

The day of the engagement started out as normal as any other Saturday morning. The week leading up to the engagement, however did take some maneuvering on my part. I needed to make sure our weekend was free of any plans so in order to ensure this, I convinced Corley that we were due a trip home to Stephenville to see my parents and get out of Dallas. Little did she know this was not the case.

Come the Friday before the big weekend, I called Corley to tell her my parents actually had their weekends mixed up and that they had an out of town wedding they had to go to. Corley was genuinely disappointed but I told her that we would find something fun to do over the weekend instead.

Saturday morning we decided to load the bikes up and go down to Katy Trail in the Uptown area of Dallas for a morning ride. The weather was good and the bike ride was a good way to kick start the day. After the ride, we cleaned up and headed back down to the Uptown area for brunch. The location of brunch was key to rest of the day.

We took our time over brunch, enjoying the patio and the people watching. The late morning brunch played nicely into the idea of taking a drive around the McKinney Ave. neighborhood. I conveniently navigated our way towards the Crescent Hotel where, unbeknownst to Corley, I had scheduled a day at the spa for her. She was suspiciously surprised but refrained from asking too many probing questions.

As soon as I left Corley at the spa for her day of pampering, the real plans had to start falling into place. I drove the car that we arrived at the hotel in across the street where I could leave it for a few short hours. I quickly hopped in a cab and made it back to my house where I packed up the necessities for the remainder of the evening. Items on the packing list included the ring (of course), a special bottle of champagne and an iPod with a playlist put together just for that evening. I loaded up my car, made a stop at the local flower shop and the headed back to the Crescent Hotel.

Once I arrived at the Crescent, time was of the essence. I checked into the hotel and went to work on setting up the room. iPod volume set - check, champagne on ice - check, rose pedals spread out across the floor - check. Before I knew it Corley was calling me on my cell phone for me to come pick her up.

I rushed down stairs to the spa and somehow slowed my heart rate back down to a somewhat manageable pace. With my car now valet parked, we left the hotel and headed back to the house in Corley's car. On the way, I told Corley I had made dinner reservations at a nice restaurant and that we should try to leave by around 6:30pm. Of course, we both we both got dressed and ready to go before the 6:30pm departure time so I had to find a way to stall for at least a few minutes. Finally, there was a knock on the front door and I ushered Corley out to a waiting chauffeured Lincoln Towncar.

We made our way to downtown Dallas to the restaurant, Stephen Pyles where we were treated to one of the best dinners we have ever shared together. After dinner, we took the car up to the Stoneleigh Hotel for dessert and a drink at Bola, their newly renovated restaurant. Once we finished off the last crumbs of our dessert it was back in the car and off to the Crescent Hotel.

By this point in the evening Corley's level of suspicion was boiling over. We went up to the room and weren't two steps in the door before Corley put all the pieces together. I had a small table with two chairs centered in front of the opened, french doors that overlooked the hotel courtyard and pool. Sitting atop the table was the bottle of champagne and a glass bowl filled with strips of white paper. Once Corley gathered up her composure, I sat her down at the table and asked her to hold the glass bowl in her lap. On each strip of paper were little reasons I had captured of why I love her so much. I read through each one of these until I got to the very last strip of paper, which was red and tied together with a bow. Inside that strip of paper was the ring.

As I'm sure you know by now, I asked and she said yes. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. Everything went as planned and I somehow held it together, at least for the majority of the day.