Trust us when we say these two have a love story that could make fairytales jealous. After meeting in high school, getting engaged on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii, and planning their dream wedding – you better believe they wouldn’t let this crazy pandemic get in the way of celebrating their love and starting their forever. To see all the details from their intimate backyard ceremony (included the sweetest four-legged friends), head on over to the full gallery – all taken by May Carlson Photography!
From the Bride… Theo and I met in Oahu, Hawaii in 2011 as high schoolers. On this magical island, we had our first date, shared our first kiss, and for the first time, exchanged “I love you’s.” 3 years later, we have officially become Texans and, from time to time, visit that special island we once called home. In July of 2019, we took a trip to visit Theo’s parents in Hawaii and celebrate the Fourth of July. What I didn’t know is that my now-husband was planning to add another “first” to our list of memories together.
We stayed at the Waikoloa Hotel on the Big Island when Theo surprised me with a date night for two! As we walked down the grand staircase and towards the water, I took in the sweet smell of the salty air and the vibrant blues and greens of the turtles and fish in the lagoon. I can still recall the butterflies in my stomach when I saw Theo drop down to one knee and ask me to spend forever with him, to which I exclaimed, “YES!” After several minutes of happy tears and warm hugs, we headed to our hotel as Theo insisted we wait to make calls to my family until we were with his parents. To my surprise, when we arrived to our room, both of our families greeted us with champagne and congratulations! This day – the first day of the rest of our lives – was filled with love and happiness that we will cherish forever.
We worked so hard to organize the perfect day and after so much planning and scheduling we had every detail completed. Once we were about a month out from our big day, Covid hit and the stay at home order was put into place. We knew it wasn’t going to be exactly as planned. If there’s one thing we did know, it was that we wanted to take this next step forward and become husband and wife no matter what.
With the grace of fast WiFi, expedited shipping, the best bakery still being open and the support from our family and friends – We had a small intimate ceremony at my husbands parents house while my parents and sister attended through a Zoom call and our friends and family watched on Facebook Live.
We spent every moment taking in every second. It wasn’t about all the small details to make a perfect wedding, it was about celebrating our love and how far we’ve come from meeting 8 years ago in high school to creating a beautiful marriage today. This experience brought us closer and allowed us to focus on our love. We spent the night dancing in the living room with our dogs, eating lots of cake and feeling so much love from our family and friends all around the world. It was the best day of our lives and it was nothing as we expected – It was even better!
Photography: May Carlson Fine Art Photography | Floral Design: Something Borrowed Blooms | Wedding Dress: BHLDN | Cake: Bird Bakery | Invitations: Minted | Engagement Ring: Addison Taylor Fine Jewelry | Rings: Diamonds Direct | Hair and Makeup: Bride | Officiant: Greg Gasaway | Cookies: Timeless creations by Julie | Location: Private Residence | Private Residence: NA