Truly Joyful Wedding with Sweet Floral Detail: Austin & Marissa

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Today’s wedding comes with a strange piece of advice: avoid mailboxes. Or, actually, maybe don’t. For a while, mailboxes were a poor omen to Austin & Marissa’s future, but with a little time and a lot of soul-searching, the post managed to redeem itself and bring them together for good. Now, we are delighted with the incredible sight of two lovebirds in perfect communion — and some truly lovely floral details for good measure!

A word from photographer, Katie Webb:

“Marissa & Austin’s wedding day was a classic affair with subtle displays of the couple’s favorite things — from the bride’s shoes down to the groom’s cake. Marissa also carried the handmade bonnet that her groom-to-be wore home from the hospital as a baby, which was something special to both her and her future family members. Laura of Mountain Laurel Floral incorporated unique pieces into the couple’s classically styled floral arrangements, including pink leafed rubber plant leaves and bits of dried lunaria. The Addison Grove set the scene perfectly for their organic hill country wedding with a relaxed ye elegant atmosphere.

It feels so evident to me from the photos, but this wedding day was filled to the brim with joy, happiness and a steady peace about these two people coming together to become one. I’m so honored to find couples who value the emotional and relational experience of becoming engaged and getting married more than taking on stress or seeking to impress. It is all a process, and one of growth. I know I have been inspired by this sweet couple, and I hope you are too!”

Love notes from the couple, Austin & Marissa:

How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another?

“The question of where things started depends which one of us you ask. Austin will tell you we first met at the soccer fields, and Marissa says we first met over dinner with friends after a church event one night. Either way, we both played soccer in the same co-ed recreational league, and we both served in the kids ministry at our church, and we soon started seeing each other what seemed like everywhere. It turns out we also lived around the corner from each other and started working out at the same place too.

Austin is not a shy guy and made it pretty clear he was interested from the beginning. After lots of conversations in the foyer after church and walking to the car together after workouts, Austin asked if we could go on a date. There was just one problem…he forgot to get Marissa’s phone number. Luckily, we saw each other several times a week, so one night after a workout Austin asked if we could go get a smoothie. We chatted for a couple of hours and had a great time (and he made sure to get a phone number afterwards), and made plans for another date soon after. We went on a few more dates, and then Marissa asked if we could meet at the mailboxes (this will come into play later…). We went for a walk around the neighborhood, and while we were about as far from our houses as we could be on our loop (oops!), Marissa broke it to Austin that she just wanted to be friends. After an awkward silent rest of the walk home, we both left seeing more of each other’s character than we had known before, and thinking maybe we liked each other after all…

Fast forward a month or so later. Marissa realized maybe she jumped the gun on ending things with Austin, who she was starting to like after spending more time with, and so one night after a workout, followed him home (we were neighbors, remember, so not TOO creepy…) and said maybe she had made a mistake and would like to try things again if Austin were willing. He was willing, and we went on a few more dates. Until….we met at the mailboxes. Again. Marissa panicked and told Austin she didn’t want to date him anymore, and this time they both thought for good.

Fast forward another four months or so. Marissa had seen so many wonderful qualities Austin has and realized that she had made the decision to end things out of fear (not a good reason to make any decision), and finally, at the suggestion of a friend, asked Austin to meet for coffee. She explained that although she still had some fears, that she really liked and respected Austin and would like to date him, but would one thousand percent understand if he didn’t feel the same. Austin said he needed some time to pray and seek wisdom from friends and family, and the next week decided to meet at the mailboxes…again! But this time things had a much happier ending, and we decided to trust God instead of our fears and try one more time. They say third times a charm…

And it turns out it is! We dated for about eight months, realized we wanted to spend our lives together pretty early on, picked out a ring, and Austin rallied our friends and family to pull together a sweet, surprise proposal and engagement party. We got married six months later!”

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What is your favorite thing about each other?

Marissa: “My favorite thing about Austin is how steadfast and servant-hearted he is. He keeps steady and calm (especially when I panic!), and continually lays down his desires and preferences to serve and care for me (and others), even when I don’t deserve it. He’s the best!”

Austin: “My favorite thing about Marissa is how much she cares for her community and friends. Even when she is overwhelmed or at capacity, she almost always finds a way to care for others in need. Whether it is simply sending a sweet note and checking in, to working day after day with her students with special needs, her heart and desire to care for others is such a beautiful thing.”

Any special ways you incorporated your family or family history into your wedding day?

Marissa: “At our rehearsal dinner as Austin’s dad was giving his father-of-the-groom speech, his mom handed me a gift bag. Inside was a beautiful, handmade (by his mom), lace baby bonnet and his dad read a sweet poem about how they had been looking forward to Austin growing up and his future wedding day, and sharing the bonnet he wore home from the hospital with his future bride. There wasn’t a dry eye in the rehearsal dinner venue, and the next day we wrapped it around my bouquet so that it was part of our special day too. It was one of my favorite details of the day that most people didn’t even see or know about because it was such a sweet gesture of welcoming me into their family.”

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What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you?

Marissa: “When things got stressful during wedding planning, Austin and I kept coming back to our two main goals of the wedding: that at the end of the day we would be married, and that our friends and family would get to hear the reason we are able to love one another — because God loved us first and sacrificed His Son so that we might have life in Him. The pastor from our church who officiated our wedding did such a beautiful job of explaining this love and how it is unlike any other love we can ever experience. We were brought so much joy because the name of Jesus was lifted high and His love for us was magnified more than our love for one another.”

If you had one piece of advice for other couples, what would it be?

“For couples who are planning their wedding, remember to take time to do things you love to do together. Put down the spreadsheets and unanswered emails every once in awhile and connect about things that don’t have anything to do with your wedding. Also, try to remember that the wedding day is just that — a day! You’re celebrating the start of a lifetime together, so don’t sweat the small things that you (and your guests) probably won’t remember anyway.

Also, we don’t recommend closing on a new house the day before the wedding either…(speaking from experience). Weddings are stressful enough on their own!”

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