Real New Mexico Wedding: Michael & Megan

Michael and I met in October 2009 at a tailgate party prior to the Texas Tech vs Kansas football game. Michael and some of his buddies were hosting and I was attending with a friend.

Michael’s dad struck up a conversation with me, and after a while, Michael came over to “rescue” me. We hit it off right away and later that evening, he told me that he was going to marry me!

I carried a European style hand tied bouquet of white tulips, white/green parrot tulips, white rananculus, white medium size roses, green viburnum, and lemon leaves.

My bridesmaids carried European style hand tied bouquets of roses, tulips, ranunculis, and baronia heather in vibrant shades of orange, yellow, red, and purple.

All of the bouquets were tied with turquoise ribbon to match my shoes and the turquoise stones in the bridesmaid’s necklaces.

On the Wednesday before our Friday wedding, God sent a massive snowstorm that blanketed most of West Texas and pretty much all of New Mexico. When we selected Santa Fe as our destination wedding location, I had hoped for some snow on the ground on our wedding day, but knew that with the wedding being in February, the chances were slim.

God answered my prayer for snow in a BIG way!

Travel was slow, and some of our guests nearly didn’t make it, but by the day of our wedding, the weather had warmed some and there was still a beautiful, clean, white layer of snow on everything around us. God’s last minute detail made the entire weekend all the more magical!

Michael proposed on June 18, 2010. He had been acting strangely the week leading up to his proposal and had told me early-on that week not to make any plans for Friday night because he had committed us to go to a fundraiser that evening with some of his friends. He took me out shopping for a new dress to wear and kept reminding me every chance he could not to plan anything for that Friday night. Once Friday night rolled around, I had begun to suspect that something other than a fundraiser was on his agenda! He took me to dinner at the Double Nickel, a very nice restaurant here in Lubbock, TX and said we would meet up with the rest of the group afterwards. As dinner was drawing to a close, Michael excused himself, saying that he had left his wallet in the car and needed to go get it. After a few minutes, our waitress approached me with an envelope. It was addressed to me. I opened it and inside found a card that read:

“A beautiful girl, in a stunning dress,
What’s coming next, she can only guess.
Get up from the table and walk outside,
Someone is waiting to take you on a short drive.”

I made my way outside and found a limo waiting for me. As I got in, the driver handed me another
envelope. The card inside read:

“I’m sure at this point you’re wondering,
“Where has he gone?”
The answer is coming, it won’t be too long.
Sit back, relax, and soon you will see
What will be next in our love story.”

The limo drove me to the Lubbock Memorial Arboretum, where I was met by Michael’s friend Jeff who helped me out of the limo and escorted me down the garden path. As we rounded a bend, I saw Michael standing under an archway that was lit up with tiny twinkle lights. Jeff excused himself and I made my way to Michael. He looked so handsome…..and so nervous! When I reached him, he told me how happy I made him and that he couldn’t imagine his future without me in it, then got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife! Of course I said yes! After we left the Arboretum, the limo took us to the Overton Hotel where Michael had arranged a surprise engagement party. I couldn’t have imagined a more thoughtful, romantic, beautiful proposal. Finding my family and friends all waiting to celebrate with us afterwards was the perfect finishing touch to a fairytale evening!

Michael’s daughter, Bragen, turned three a couple of weeks before the wedding. We wanted to include her in some aspect of the ceremony, but knew that she was still too small to be comfortable standing with us in front of all our guests. At the beginning of the ceremony, Michael escorted her in with his mom and seated them together.

When it was time for the “giving of the bride,” our pastor called both sets of our parents up to the alter, asking my parents if they would accept Michael in to their family and asking Michael’s parents if they would accept me in to their family. Bragen also stood with us during this time.

At the end of the ceremony, after we had been pronounced husband and wife, Bragen joined us and we walked out of the chapel as a family. All of this allowed her to feel part of the ceremony without being scared or intimidated by the crowd. She was very proud of the part she played in our special day and still talks about “our wedding” and “when we got married in Santa Fe.”

We had a three-tiered, round; white fondant finished wedding cake with hand painted decorations on the sides in ivory.

The top of the cake featured a composition of ivory and white fondant faux roses. The top and bottom tiers were almond vanilla cake with vanilla bean butter cream frosting. The middle tier was chocolate cake with raspberry preserve filling. It was delicious!