Wedding Wednesday: Mallory and Johnny’s Surprise Wedding

I have known Mallory since I was probably like nine, we met at summer camp, or something. I don’t know. Really I fell in love with Mallory when we discovered each others respective blogs. Hers is absolutely hillarious. I reference it often around these parts, I don’t even think she tries to be funny. She’s just cool and witty and has amazing taste. So when I heard about her incredible “Surprise Wedding”, I had to ask her to do a guest post, and she graciously agreed. Everyone, please welcome Mallory!

Johnny and I have been dating since we were 16. He had just moved back to San Antonio from Virginia which is where he was going to school and we ended up at one of our mutual friend’s houses, where Johnny at one point in the night mentioned he needed a haircut. I dont know what it is with me and haircuts, because I gave one to Mollie (*editors note*one of my best friends) at camp one summer that most definitely ended in tears. So I volunteered, and astonishingly (Johnny has presidential hair) he agreed to it…and I gave him a haircut took several months to grow out. Several.
(just LOOK at those Presidential locks!)
So I guess as they say next in a story like that, “the rest was history.” But, cliches must have authentic foundations because that is a bit how it was. Some way or another we just always stuck around each other for the next 8 years. We both went to SMU, and then moved to Austin. So you can imagine that over the years people always asked when we were going to get married and we always just brushed it off,  it even made us a bit uneasy to feel like we had to change something.

And then, one day, during lunch when I was feeling especially in love, I proposed to him. He quickly replied a nervous yet firm “No.” And we laughed.  Then he proposed on Christmas day…on a walk after christmas lunch, with an antique ring. Best christmas present i have ever, and probably will ever receive!

But, we had a lot of decisions to make. In terms of the uncertainties of both being young as well as the economy,etc. We talked alot about what it would mean, and weighed our options of why we should. Ultimately, it was those discussions that led us to the idea of a surprise wedding.

One of our deciding factors was that we felt like we had been given something special, whether it be a gift from our parents, our friends, or God, and that we wanted to have a wedding that felt purposeful. So, we decided to throw everyone a curve ball.

That way, no one could have preconceived notions of how your supposed to act, or what your supposed to do. We wanted to have a more organic feel, and just have everyone be in the same boat, having an experience that you don’t have all the time, thus, feeling connected in a different way.

So, with our lips very tightly sealed, we devised a plan to throw a black tie engagement garden party at Johnny’s parent’s house in the Spring, and then tell everyone we were having a very small wedding at his ranch in the Fall.

The Invitation with the front door…

…That we were to be married in front of!

That way, everyone had a reason to get dressed up or fly in even though it was just for the engagement. We decided the party would start at 8:00, and that we would invite less than 100 people, just family and close friends, to a “seated dinner” before hand. We figured if it were seated, people would be on time.

So when they arrived at Johnny’s house, that has a yard you conveniently can’t really see from the street, they were given “programs” handed out by our brothers.

The programs were beautiful, and one of my favorite parts of the wedding. On the front was a painting done by my Grandfather of a blossoming tree, which we thought was springish, pretty, and symbolic.

On the back was a letter from Johnny and myself explaining what we were up to.

I sat upstairs watching jaws drop as the guests walked in the front gates, and a few people get a bit flustered, but it was very fun.

I loved my outfit. My mom works at Julian Gold in San Antonio and one day came home with this amazing Monique Lhullier skirt made of an ivory organza that tied with a bow sash. It was perfect because it felt organic, and elegant, and because Johnny loves bows. The top was another story. My mom found this ivory shawl that was the perfect color and purchased it hoping that we could find a top in the same color and material…about 3 weeks before the wedding, still no top. When we went to have the skirt altered, the seamstress said that she could make a top however we wanted. We ended up sketching the shirt on the back of an order ticket, and then she used the shawl as the material! It fit like a glove, felt like a million dollars (even though it cost much much less…it being a shawl and all…) and was exactly what I wanted.

I wore a beautiful pearl bracelet borrowed from my mother-in-law, and my grandmother’s locket, a locket that had been my grandfather’s mother’s and has a very old picture of my great, great, grandfather as well as a lock of his hair.

It is beyond. I was comfortable all night and literally wish I could wear the whole thing again.

We had our ceremony right there in the front yard.

It was homey, but elegant. And there was a bit of humor mixed in with a lot of sentimentality. Lots of love.

We had the party afterward, where conversation was not something anyone was really searching for.

The surprise had a fun way of setting the scene and taking the pressure off of us from feeling like performers who were constantly being placed one spot or another for posed pictures or staged things. It was a blast…although a few of our friends seemed a bit peeved at our secret keeping skills…

We had great music, a DJ had a song list I’d made him with all of our favorite songs. Great food, delicious drinks, beautiful flowers, and amazing company. In the end, it was very special, and just what we wanted.

Photography: Paul Overstreet

Flowers: Danny Cuellar

Food: El Jarro

I mean…Really? How cool is that, people. Do you think you could ever pull off a surprise wedding??