Months ago, Reagan and Cody asked me to officiate their wedding. We met several times over coffee and chocolate chip pancakes, sushi, champagne slushes, and more coffee to ensure the ceremony was exactly as they hoped. Over the weekend, I traveled to Dripping Springs, Texas for the big day. It was a wondrous weekend…full of friendship and hugs and plenty of chips & queso!
I arrived in Austin on Friday afternoon (after finishing a book - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - thanks for the recommendation Shanzie). I rented a car and drove immediately to San Antonio - to my best friend Amanda Roth. We enjoyed our traditional FIRST NIGHT IN TEXAS dinner at Chuy’s. I LOVE CHUY’S. After dinner, we spent the evening catching up and played a few raucous games of Monopoly Deal. It was a delight to steal a few minutes of calm and cherished with my best friend in advance of all the festivities. I wouldn’t have traded that for anything.
Saturday morning came (way too early) and I was back on the road (two cups of coffee deep) headed to Dripping Springs for the rehearsal and bachelorette shenanigans. As a group of ladies, we headed straight for coffee…then went to an acrobatic class (where we laughed a TON and my abs just got sore - 3 days later) and ended our afternoon with some delicious eats at Hula Hut. It was honestly a really fun and casual day. That evening was the rehearsal dinner with more food than you can possibly comprehend - bacon wrapped jalapeños + pulled pork sliders + mac and cheese + potato salad + 2 different kinds of pasta salad + a green salad + chips and salsa - ALL BEFORE WE GOT TO DESSERT - mini cheesecakes, oreo cake, tiramisu, an apple / cinnamon roll concoction…honestly it was too much to take in and every last bite was absolutely delicious. A couple of us stayed up late into the night chatting it up in the bathroom of the Creek Haus - it was a really sweet time.
Sunday morning we got to sleep in, a rare treat in my life. I got up around 9am and got ready to head “into town”. I met Kimie (one of my best friends from college - and really the only one I am still in touch with) for breakfast. My sweet friend drove 3-hours EACH WAY to share a sub-par meal in an ordinary diner with ME. What an amazingly generous gift. Life together IN PERSON is really the best.
I retuned to the venue to get ready with the girls. There aren’t words for how radiant Reagan looked in her wedding dress - or how she encapsulated hope and joy. She was the depiction of bridal bliss. In what seemed like only minutes, it was time to get mic’ed up and ready to begin. I quickly changed out of my regular outfit and put on my dress. The nerves kicked into gear and I headed downstairs to greet the gents and the family to get the ceremony underway. Everything went exactly as they hoped. Cody sobbed as Reagan walked down the aisle toward him and Reagan cheered that she had made him cry. The ceremony was equal parts tender and sweet alongside some hints of hilarious and a helping of truth. I was so honored to stand with them as they said their vows. It was intimate and it meant more than I could have imagined. I didn't realize until later that I had two bras on...changed too quick shell, changed too quick!
After the wedding I headed back to San Antonio to spend Monday morning with Amanda. We lived the ordinary life - coffee and breakfast (pumpkin pancakes with chocolate chips) and then headed to H-E-B with our favorite little bud. We rounded through Starbys on the way home and then had a quick lunch before I got back in my rental and returned to the airport to head home. It was the perfect way to end a spectacular weekend (plus the guest bed at Amanda’s house is AMAZING!).
If you asked me for the highlight of the weekend - it would have to be Cody. I don’t know him all that well, but he has already made me feel like a million bucks. He told his family that I have the purest heart of anyone he has met and at the wedding, he hugged me super tight and said he just couldn’t thank me enough for everything. It was so genuine and I am absolutely certain that he saw the reflection of Christ in me. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
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