Real Wedding | Jessica + Michael | April 29, 2023

Jessica and Michael were wed on a beautiful Spring day at The Laurel! The word swoon-worthy comes to mind.
Join us in looking back on all the special details of their big day!

We met in March 2019 on Bumble while we were both living in College Station, TX! At the time, Jessica had recently moved back to the area for a new job at Texas A&M University and Michael was pursuing his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering after leaving the Air Force a few years earlier. We fell for each other hard and fast (four dates in our first week of knowing each other)!

We knew The Laurel was “us” the moment we first walked in for our initial tour. We wanted our day to feel like us, but elevated and more elegant than our everyday life. And we wanted our guests to feel cozy, instantly welcomed like you feel when visiting a friend’s home for a long night of just catching up on the couch or in the backyard and having a good time. Every inch of The Laurel helped us achieve this! From the cozy, clean environment and perfectly designed ready rooms to the chapel and great room… the beautiful wooden beams and massive windows with gorgeous natural light throughout… Every. Inch.

We loved the bones and natural gorgeousness of The Laurel, so we knew we didn’t want to cover up too many of these elements. We wanted an overall feel of simple and cozy with elegant floral statements throughout, so our florists at Wedfully Yours helped us achieve a simple “Southern Garden Elegance” feeling for our spring evening wedding.

When planning, we only met once with our officiant, Reverend Stefanie. With just the notes/desires we shared with her in that one meeting, she was able to whip up a ceremony that was incredibly customized to us and was exactly what we wanted. At our reception, we were so humbled by the kind words of our Co-Best Men and Matron of Honor in their toasts. The entire day we felt showered in love by our family and friends.

What were your favorite moments/what do you remember most about your wedding day?

Jessica’s favorite moment - Our first look where we read our private vows to each other and getting ready with my ladies all day.

Michael’s favorite moment - Seeing my wife walk down the aisle.

Despite the wind that day, our first look and golden hour photos were taken outside on the lawn. Our genius photo team paired with the beautiful, natural landscape at The Laurel just MADE those photos solid gold. The other awesome location for photos was right outside the bridal suite! Jess and her bridesmaids did their entire photoshoot with the orange wall as the backdrop and it was so amazing!

Throughout our entire planning process with The Laurel Staff, and specifically on our wedding day, we both felt taken care of and celebrated – almost celebrity-like, but in a very humble, loving, “we’re here for you whatever you need” type of way. We really can’t endorse enough how amazing everyone at The Laurel/Boxwood Hospitality was to work with every step of the way!

The songs we chose for our ceremony and first dance were the best showcase of who we are as a couple and what we’ve committed to each other.

Tell me about the catering/beverages at your event? Was there an item or drink you especially loved?

We loved it all! It was honestly very hard to narrow down our final choices. We recommend signing up for the Supper Series after you’ve booked with Boxwood at The Laurel! Such a divine experience and it helped us make some decisions. For your wedding day, we also recommend scheduling a private dinner for you as a couple while your guests are at cocktail hour. This was such a special 25-ish minutes for us to be alone, stuff our faces with top-tier amaaazing food and reset before joining everyone again at the reception.
After our wedding, our guests shared a few faves from the day! One thing in particular was how great the food was. Another was how simply tasteful and elegant our decor and florals were.

Looking back, what words would you use to describe the day?

Us. Happiness. Perfection. Above and Beyond.

The fact is…planning your wedding is intense, whether it’s just y’all or you’ve hired a planner. Our advice is to 1) more than anything, don’t sweat the small stuff, 2) incorporate special elements or ideas from each of you so that it truly is your day as a couple, 3) let yourselves be okay with pivoting your vision throughout the planning process, 4) over-communicate with your vendors and 5) delegate to friends/family as much as you can. Ultimately, what matters most is that at the end of the day, you’ll be married to your love. It will matter very little what may not have gone according to plan. And we promise, you won’t even notice those things. To this day, we have absolutely no idea if something didn’t go according to plan on our wedding day! Not a clue! You’ll be too swept up in making amazing memories with the love of your life and all of your loved ones around you!