Elegant Hilton President Wedding

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Ceremony Venue: St. Andrew’s Episcopal     Reception Venue: Hilton President     Photographer: JSi Photography     Coordinator: Daniella Giglio     Gown: Nolte’s Bridal     Videographer: Sweet Tea Media     Invitations: 5×7 Designs     Menswear: The Black Tux     Bridesmaids: Bella Bridesmaids     Hair: Skyline Salon     Makeup: Christa Martin     Photobooth: Luxe Photobooth     Florist: Byran Long Floral     Band: Downtime Band     Cake: Take the Cake

Andy & Lucy’s Love Story:

Andy and I met while living in Dallas, Texas. He had attended SMU and was working in the finance industry and I had moved to the area for work after attending Mizzou. We met at a mutual friend’s house one afternoon. After talking and hanging out all day (and after a few drinks) he “proposed” using a wire he’d twisted into a ring. The rest of the night he jokingly referred to me as his “wife”. We exchanged numbers that night and made plans to hang out later in the week. The very first text he sent me was “where is my wife”? Three and a half years later he would propose for real. I still have the wire ring he made me. 

My sister and I are extremely close so Andy enlisted her help in his proposal. She called me to invite me to dinner at this new restaurant in Dallas that was nearly impossible to get into at the time. She said her husband’s boss had a reservation he couldn’t use so he offered it to us. So dinner was to be the four of us: myself, Andy, my sister and her husband. The restaurant was in a park on the edge of downtown Dallas with incredible views of the city. My sister suggested walking around the park before our dinner and at one point we stopped to take pictures with the city skyline in the background. While Andy and I were posing for our picture, he got down on one knee and proposed. We went to dinner and celebrated just the four of us but as dinner wrapped up, Andy let me know he had called all of our friends and they were waiting outside on the restaurant patio. We celebrated all night with our closest friends.

I worked as a corporate event planner in Dallas so I did the vast majority of my own planning. My former boss served as my day-of coordinator. I spent a lot of time focusing on the timeline and flow for the entire wedding weekend. We ended up having a four-day celebration- welcome party hosted by family friends on Thursday, the rehearsal dinner Friday, the wedding day, and a post-wedding brunch. About half of our 210 guests were from out of town. Something I learned working in events was to walk through your event from a guest’s perspective. With that in mind, I spent a lot of time working on touchpoints that made my guests’ experience seamless, easy and fun. I wanted a classic, elegant spring wedding that didn’t feel overly stuffy. Floral was extremely important to me and my florist absolutely blew me away with his creativity and vision. We constantly joked the theme was “blush and bashful” (from Steel Magnolias). I was able to relax and enjoy our big day because I put the day-of coordination in the hands of someone I really trusted. We had a traditional church ceremony and a formal sit down dinner at the reception. As soon as the band started though, the night turned into a party and we never left the dance floor. Our band was incredible and we threw in a lot of touches that kept the party going- from light up sticks to sunglasses, to a photo booth, and a late night mac-and-cheese bar.

A Few Special Pieces:

My great grandparents were coincidently also Andy and Lucy, who I was named after. I had her wedding band from the early 1900’s tied to my bouquet, which was inscribed with “Andy to Lucy”. 

Instead of a traditional guest book, we had a whiskey barrel head customized with our last name and wedding date- a nod to my husband’s distillery, J. Rieger & Co.

The Groom’s Favorite Part of the Day

My favorite part had to be the reception. I got to celebrate being married to my best friend with all of my favorite people in the world being in one room together. Our impromptu singing on stage with the band was one of my favorite moments and something I will never forget.

The Bride’s Favorite Part of the Day

My favorite moment of the day was definitely our first look. I walked up the stairs at The Kauffman Center and met him on the landing while our friends watched us from above. It was the first time that day where I really felt like everything was truly perfect and that this was going to be the best day of my life. 

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