{photo by caroline ann photography}
on the saturday after new years day, i got to be a bridesmaid in my college roommate’s wedding in college station, TX, where we went to school. it was really special to me because:
1. aggie weddings are always special.
2. the wedding was in college station, which brought back lots of memories.
3. they got married in the church that i’d gone to all through college [often with them!], which is a really extraordinary place.
4. it was my first time to be a bridesmaid!
5. katlyn is a dear friend of mine – she was my first real friend that i met in college and was my roommate for three of my four years of school, plus she’s a sorority sister of mine, which makes us sisters for life!
6. she started dating ryan right after i met her, pretty much the month after we started college, and i’ve been friends with her throughout the course of their relationship. i know what a great guy he is and that they are perfect for each other.
{photo by caroline ann photography}
so that’s a lot of reasons, right? i couldn’t be more thrilled for them and i was so happy to be a part of their big day. it was such a beautiful wedding, and it was neat because my parents were invited too. what i couldn’t get over throughout the whole weekend was how calm and relaxed katlyn and her family seemed. they didn’t appear to be stressed at all [and i wouldn’t have blamed them if they had been – after all, it’s a huge day that involves a lot of planning and preparation]. it made for such an enjoyable weekend. katlyn looked absolutely breathtaking, and i thought it was really fun to get ready together, have my hair and makeup done, and go through the whole bridesmaid thing, since i hadn’t done that before. here are some photos from the weekend, including a little walk that i took with my parents and shiner around campus [in the cold!]. we had a wonderful time from start to finish:
{this little boy didn’t know what to think about riding up on the bag cart!}
{on our little walk on campus – shiner was FREAKED by sull ross. he didn’t want to go anywhere near him…}
{…i guess he won’t be passing any tests anytime soon…#aggiejoke}
{it was a cold weekend! but i was so happy to be in aggieland.}
{i finally got to see the newly renovated kyle field!}
{shiner checking out the reveille graves! if only he could have met the current first lady of A&M in real life…} ;)
{ready for the rehearsal dinner!}
{the next day, the bridal party got ready together, as is typical for weddings. it was such a dream for me! katlyn had given us these adorable v-necks which i love, and we had starbucks and breakfast and mimosas and then lunch together while everyone took turns getting their hair and makeup done. i was the first one in the group to get my makeup done – she did such a great job and i didn’t even recognize myself! [in a good way!] it made me realize that i should probably be spending a little more time on my makeup normally…ha. but i have a feeling that she worked some magic that i just wouldn’t be able to imitate! check out the makeup artist’s website here.}
{a couple more selfies because i couldn’t get over how different i looked! it was so fun to have this opportunity.}
{the bridal party! it was such a great group of girls.}
{mrs. mccoy and katlyn – love them both so much!}
{and then selfies with my hair done! here’s the link to the hairstylist’s site, although it was actually someone else on her team that did my hair. it was fun to pick out a style and have them do it for us…not gonna lie, this was a total 5-year-old princess moment for me! i had stars in my eyes the whole time. it was sooooo much fun.}
{a cute picture – the bride and mother of the bride, photo by caroline ann photography}
{the lovely mothers of the bride and groom, and beautiful katlyn, reading a letter from ryan! so sweet.}
{getting ready – photo by caroline ann photography}
{with the maid of honor, priscilla, before the wedding!}
{bridesmaids! i loved how katlyn let us pick different styles of dresses.}
{i love this girl so much!}
{the bridal party, minus one!}
{this is jessica, the bridesmaid missing from the photo above. i was so glad to get to know her – she’s so sweet and also happens to be a skilled event planner.}
{processing into the church…photo by caroline ann photography}
{i couldn’t believe how well little luke, katlyn and ryan’s nephew, did at his role of ring bearer! he knew exactly what to do and was just about the most adorable thing ever. by caroline ann photography}
{cue the tears!!! photo by caroline ann photography}
{my parents captured this one as we were processing out}
{i love that this church is as special to them as it is to me. photo by caroline ann photography}
{the wedding party in the church – photo by caroline ann photography}
{and a fun photo! by caroline ann photography}
{the wedding party in front of st. mary’s – by caroline ann photography.}
{i love this one so much. they are my favorite. photo by caroline ann photography}
{the bridesmaids and the groom! by caroline ann photography}
{fixing katlyn’s dress – by caroline ann photography}
{the groomsmen – by caroline ann photography}
{one of my favorites – by caroline ann photography}
{bridesmaids – by caroline ann photography}
{aggie pic! by caroline ann photography}
{love this and love her!! by caroline ann photography}
{this. by caroline ann photography}
{they’re married! by caroline ann photography}
{at the reception – the tradition in ryan’s family is to do a grand march with everyone at the reception, which i’d never done before. it was so. much. fun. such a great way to get everyone up out of their seats and participating! photo by caroline ann photography}
{the first dance! by caroline ann photography}
{the daddy-daughter dance. by caroline ann photography}
{and it’s always cute to see my parents dancing together. they’re role models for me always.}
{even the photographer captured one of them! photo by caroline ann photography}
{hey, i recognize these people! by caroline ann photography} :)
{the beautiful cake. photo by caroline ann photography}
{throwing up our delta gamma signs!! i love these girls so much. roommates in college, sisters forever. photo by caroline ann photography} :)
{no aggie wedding would be complete without the aggie war hymn! photo by caroline ann photography}
{WHOOP! photo by caroline ann photography}
{gahhh i couldn’t get over how gorgeous katlyn was. and ryan was looking handsome himself. they make a beautiful couple.}
{i loved their send-off – they had 12th man towels made with their names and wedding date printed on them, and gave them out to wave as a send-off, just as we do at football games. it was really fun and a neat way to incorporate an aggie tradition. more on this tradition and some of the other aggie traditions here.}
{what a night! photo by caroline ann photography}
aaaaaand you can check out more of the beautiful photos that caroline took of the wedding here.
{the following day, i went to church at st. mary’s with my parents and we had lunch at an old favorite – atami. it was delicious, and i enjoyed catching up with my parents about all the wedding happenings.}
{until next time, college station…}
katlyn and ryan, thank you for the amazing weekend, and congratulations! we are so happy for the two of you and i was honored to be a part of your wedding. love you both so much! xoxo