bri + colston | emeralds hills wedding

1. How did you and your husband meet?

At the time, we were both 20 year old students at ISU and we had 2 mutual friends. I was a mechanical engineering major and he was a mathematics major, but he was also a wrestler, so I was hesitant to go out with an athlete. He asked me to go out to dinner at The Cafe about 7 or so times and I finally agreed to go get ice cream with him because ice cream melts, so if the date was bad it wouldn't last very long. We went to Coldstone Creamery and stayed and talked until the workers kicked us out to close for the night. A few days later we went to The Cafe and had our first nice date night!

2. How did he pop the question?

It was the last day of our family vacation in Italy and my mom wanted new family photos to hang in my parents house that had Colston in them, so we were walking around Venice getting family pictures taken. It was toward the end of the photo session, we were on one of the million bridges in Venice and I was talking about food. My mom told me that I should probably turn around and there was Colston down on one knee. Then there was a lot of crying and hugs. I knew from the start that we were going to get married but I had no idea that he was going to propose. I didn't know it, but he bought the ring 10 months after we met and had my sister hide it for 8 more months until he was ready to pop the question on the trip to Italy.

3. What do you two like to do for fun?

We enjoy eating, hanging out with our friends and family, playing board games, being outdoors, going to concerts, cooking, trying new things or going new places, traveling, and watching HGTV or action movies.

4. Tell us about your wedding planning experience! What did you love? Was your favorite part of it?

Well I guess it was full of surprises... not a single thing happened as we had first planned. Our venue went bankrupt, Colston had knee surgery, covid hit and we had to postpone, many family members did not come to any of the wedding related events like showers or weddings. The planning experience was mostly just frustrating and stressful. Our favorite part was winning the petite wedding and tasting the cake to choose a flavor with our friends and family.

5. What personal touches did you include into your wedding day?

We had Pancheros for dinner and red velvet cake which are two of our favorite things! I also walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of our song "Can't help falling in love".

6. Tell us about the wedding dress! How did you choose it?

I went to Modern Dress in Boone and decided on this dress because it is timeless. It was comfortable and had a slit and showed off my collar bones and I just loved the way I felt in it.

7. Tell us about the decor and floral. How did you decide?

I left this part to the pros! After having such a stressful planning experience, it was a relief to have wonderful talented people that I trusted to take care of the design!

8. What advice do you have for couple engaged?

Work with Karla from Honey & Joy and Shelly from Shelly Sarver Designs. You can trust them wholeheartedly to make your day beautiful and stress free. These would also be the first people I would contact during the planning process because they have connections with the other talented wedding professionals and can make great recommendations. Also, don't get too caught up in the frilly details. If you ended the day married to your best friend, then it was a successful wedding!