i feel bad that it’s taken me this long to post on my dear friends angela and travis’ wedding, as it was such a highlight of 2017 for us! i’m so behind but i’m trying my hardest to get caught up. they got married on september 2nd at big sky barn in montgomery, texas [around an hour north of houston]… which happened to be a week after the catastrophic hurricane harvey hit houston, devastating the city and displacing more than 30,000 people.
i can’t describe to you how unbelievably stressful it was for poor angela and trav to have this happen, and especially just before their wedding, but also how well they handled the whole thing. thankfully their house was okay, but there were so many effects of that horrible storm that were absolutely overwhelming during the week of their wedding. and they seriously considered cancelling it. i felt so sad for angela that week – when i talked to her, she explained to me how she felt selfish worrying about her wedding when people had lost family members, their homes, etc., but i can only imagine how sad she must have been. she’d spent SO much time planning the wedding and dreaming about that day [i now know firsthand all the effort and money and hopes and dreams that go into it], only to have a majority of their vendors cancel [understandably for the vendors, but also sad for angela and trav at the same time]; family and friends not being able to make it [there were so many flights cancelled, roads closed, and just fear of traveling there in general at that time]; inconveniences like curfews in the city, shortages of goods, business closures, etc.; and just a lot of really horrible news that week.
i remember being at jamie’s several days before the wedding and crying because angela had told me that she wasn’t sure if the wedding would go on or not… i had been looking forward to this weekend for months and couldn’t imagine them having to cancel. and so i can only imagine the emotions she was feeling at that time [and trav too]. my heart hurt for them as they received lots of bad news and made lots of difficult decisions and dealt with a lot of uncertainty that week.
but somehow, amidst all the chaos and devastation and cancellations, they managed to put on an absolutely GORGEOUS wedding – so gorgeous, in fact, that you would never have even known that hurricane harvey hit the weekend prior. they handled the whole thing with such grace, and the whole weekend went off without a hitch [at least from a guest standpoint – i would have never known what all was going on behind the scenes if she hadn’t told me, and i found out about some of it much later. and i was a bridesmaid!]. it turned out perfectly, and they did such an amazing job keeping things in perspective and ensuring that the guests were comfortable and had a fantastic time.
when i think of angela and travis and what they had to go through on their wedding week, i realize that their wedding and their marriage is a testimony of God’s presence even in the midst of disaster. i think of isaiah 43:2: “when you go through deep waters, i will be with you.” this verse will forever remind me of these two and the grace they showed during this tumultuous week. their beautiful wedding was surely the rainbow at the end of the storm! i felt so honored to be a part of it.
and i’m so nostalgic about this wedding! i feel such a connection to both of these wonderful people – you see, i actually met travis first, at the end of freshman year of college when we both landed as counselors in the same fish camp and got to know each other through that experience. the very next year, i ended up being a counselor in the same fish camp as angela, and we became besties at that point. still, despite living in the same dorm freshman year and hanging out with many of the same people, travis and angela didn’t know each other at all in college. it wasn’t until much later on after college, that their paths crossed again at angela’s epic birthday pedal party, when she decided to have sort of a joint birthday party with her friend brian, whose birthday is on the same day. brian happens to be trav’s brother, trav came to the birthday party, he and angela immediately hit it off, and the rest is history! apparently i should have introduced them way back when! ;) anyway, it’s hard to believe that less than a year ago, i was watching angela walk down the aisle and standing up with her for her vows to her best friend and life partner, and in less than a year from now [much less than a year], she will be doing the same for me. it all goes by so fast. i love cherishing these sweet moments.
here are some photos of our weekend in houston and their big day:
{just like everyone else, we were a little worried about what scenes awaited us as we landed in houston…}
{we saw lots and lots of water as we descended. thankfully, when we got on the ground, we didn’t see nearly the devastation as we saw from above. my heart goes out to all the people affected by this hurricane… my grandparents went through hurricane katrina and had their first floor [the garage] buried in water plus six feet of water in their second floor, so i know how horrible it is to go through this.}
{nails + starbucks on the day before the wedding. isn’t angela’s niece aubrey just precious?! she actually has three beautiful nieces and one handsome nephew, and i must admit that i’m a little jealous.} ;)
{pedicures with the girls}
{i know this is the worst and weirdest photo, but i distinctly remember just wanting to take a picture of my nails because i get to have them done SO infrequently since 1.) i can’t have nail polish or fake nails at my job, and 2.) before i started this job, i was in culinary school for 5 years and couldn’t have them there! so this had to be documented. even if i only got to keep the polish on for like 3 days.}
{the rehearsal dinner was at the yacht club at bentwater on lake conroe and it was just lovely.}
{beautiful place settings}
{this cute couple, 24 hours before they got hitched!}
{i stole this from sara, angela’s sister-in-law, but here are the bridesmaids with our bride!}
{best friends!}
{so excited to show jamie another part of texas!} :)
{i was thrilled to be one of angela’s bridesmaids!}
{angela’s photographer took this pic of the cute monogrammed sandals she gave us.}
{i absolutely loved the bridal suite. it was so spacious and a beautiful space for photos.}
{getting ready for the wedding when you’re a bridesmaid is like my favorite part of the wedding. besides seeing the bride and her dad walk down the aisle, and the vows. and the first kiss as husband and wife. and the first dance. well, all the dancing at the reception. okay, i just love all things about weddings.} ;)
{these cuties! only missing the littlest flower girl, blair!}
{ahhh-dorable}
{a little sneak peek of the reception site before it got set up! it was so pretty!}
{this picture is blurry, but they hung a beautiful engagement photo of the two of them above the mantle.}
{the venue had such a southern, homey feel, with a giant wrap-around porch, rocking chairs, and a huge porch swing.}
{lots of trees too.}
{in the process of table decorating}
{my wedding hair and makeup!}
{the bridesmaids!}
{i was obsessed with her bouquet.}
{love these girlies!}
{aaaaand i love these robes and still wear mine all the time. they are so pretty and comfy!}
{the dresses… isn’t angela’s absolutely gorgeous?!}
{heart eyes!!!!!}
{mrs. kovar}
{can’t wait to see our girl in her dress!}
{this was a grand moment.}
{so stunning! brought tears to my eyes.}
{reading a letter from her future husband}
{britney spears tickets!!!}
{these littles! i love their dresses!}
{with my soul sister}
{all 3 flower girls were just as cute as they could be!}
{WOW. such a beautiful picture of a beautiful bride.}
{i love these ladies.}
{i liked how the programs and guest book were not only personalized with their names and date, but also with paintings of their venue. it was a cool idea.}
{the lovely chapel}
{angela and her dad… cue the waterworks!!}
{this moment.}
{here’s davis and me walking down the aisle} :)
{mr. and mrs. kovar! they are official!}
{the wedding party}
{i had to get one with my flowers just because they were so pretty!}
{my favorite pictures of these two}
{let the reception begin!}
{it was a beautiful place for a wedding}
{the food was so good!}
{the background was overexposed, but i sure love him. and us!}
{i have the best date!}
{cute}
{the first dance!}
{angela’s sister heather gave a great maid of honor speech!}
{cake cutting!}
{fun times!}
{it’s a blurry picture, but here’s the sparkler send-off!}
{the next day, all decked out in our aggie shirts!} :)
{we stopped at b-52 brewery for a beer and to get my dad a couple gifts, including this hat that we’re both wearing, since he used to fly the b-52. doesn’t jamie look like a little boy when he wears a hat?! i totally think so!}
{since their wedding took place on labor day weekend, we were able to spend an extra night in downtown houston that weekend. we stayed at the trendy hotel icon, where i had stayed for work one time. the funny thing is, i didn’t even realize it when i booked it, but this is actually the hotel where angela and travis got engaged!! so it was a pretty appropriate place to stay this weekend!}
{houston was pretty dead because of the hurricane, but the moonshiners southern table & bar was open, so we tried it out. it was a pretty fun place!}
{we shared a bunch of healthy southern food.} ;)
{that night we went over to my friends brittni and robbie’s apartment to watch the aggie game, and then in the morning, we had coffee at the honeymoon cafe and bar, which was very cute. sadly, this place has closed since. i guess the honeymoon is over, haha.}
{i really liked it here.}
{this was fun!}
{before we left, i had to take jamie to central market for the first time, and then we met my friends kyle and josh at weights and measures!}
{these gentlemen know how to brunch! this was the drink lineup… and this was only round 1!!}
{…because i never say no to breakfast pizza! we had such fun with kyle and josh, i love these two!}
{and then we went to the gerald d. hines waterwall park, just for fun.}
after that, it was time leave wet and steamy houston and go back to cool and colorful colorado. i sure do have so many fond memories in good ol’ houston though! angela and travis, we loved every minute of celebrating you, and you mean the world to us. xoxo