Mr. & Mrs. Howerton

The summer of weddings has come to an end, and I think this one was the most meaningful of them all. There's just something so special about standing beside one of your best friends as they commit to love another one of your friends for the rest of their lives. It was a precious time to reflect on the past 4 years of college and how far we've all come, and I could not be happier for the newlyweds! God is going to bless their marriage in unimaginable ways, I just know it.

Neil and Thomas are in the same fraternity family line, so Neil has always been like a big brother to Thomas. Thomas and I had been friends since freshman year, but when we started hanging out more sophomore year, Thomas introduced Neil to my roommate Brynn, thinking they'd hit it off too. And what a matchmaker he was! Brynn and Neil started dating one week and a day before Thomas and I made our relationship official, and it's been fun to walk through this chapter of our lives together. Brynn and I lived together for three years and had many "girl talks" about our love for our boys, and it's been amazing to see God's faithfulness in bringing us our soulmates.

One of their first photos as a couple - Phi Chi Fall Retreat 2008

Brynn and Neil got engaged in December when they went to Salado for Brynn's annual family Christmas get-together. I still remember when I got the text message from Neil, informing us he would be popping the question that weekend:

"DO NOT READ THIS MESSAGE AROUND BRYNN! I just wanted to let y'all know I am proposing to Brynn this weekend when I go with her and her family to Salado! I wish y'all could be there, if you want to maybe we can work something out."

It was so hard to contain my excitement in the days leading up to that weekend. We were told he'd be proposing after dinner, on a bridge after a carriage ride, so Thomas and I drove down to Salado to be at the surprise engagement party. Her entire family (besides mom/dad/siblings) thought it was a party to celebrate Neil's graduation the following week, so it was a surprise to them too!

Brynn and Neil were both beaming, they were so happy! Almost eight months later, their wedding weekend arrived.

Although my first day of work was on Monday, I was able to take my first paid holiday on Friday for all of the pre-wedding festivities. Some of the Berry's friends hosted a wonderful luncheon for the house party and bridal party that morning. Brynn honored each of us with a speech she had prepared, and she gave us monogrammed pink robes to wear the next day, as well as the jewelry to wear with our bridesmaid dresses.

After lunch, we all went to the nail salon for a little pampering before the rehearsal. That evening, we ran through the ceremony a few times before heading to the rehearsal dinner at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. When dinner was over, the bridesmaids, house party, groomsmen and ushers ventured out to Sundance Square for dessert at Razzoo's. We had such a great time celebrating before the big day!

Saturday was nothing short of amazing. The girls spent the day getting pretty before the photographer arrived at 5:00. The ceremony began at 7:00, and it was absolutely beautiful. I started crying as soon as I saw Brynn walk down the aisle with her dad. My sweet Thomas (Neil's best man) was crying during the ceremony, which got me even more teary-eyed! Only one year until we say our vows and exchange wedding rings... Watching Brynn and Neil become husband and wife made me even more excited to marry Thomas. We caught each others' eyes several times and Thomas winked as if to say, "I can't wait!"

After the ceremony, we dined and danced the night away at Brynn and Neil's reception. After toasting the happy couple with Dublin Dr Pepper, we sent them off with sparklers to their honeymoon in Antigua.

Brynn and Neil, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your special day. I'm so excited for your new life together as husband and wife, and I look forward to making even more memories with you!

More Wedding Fun

Wedding #4 took place on Saturday afternoon, and it was the first time we got to sit on the groom's side of the church this summer. Jeremy is one of Thomas' fraternity brothers and he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. It was a beautiful ceremony, and it was great to catch up with Baylor friends, too!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert!

Only 20 days until these two tie the knot!

Immediately following the reception, Alex and I hit the road to Arlington to celebrate Brynn's bachelorette party. We're both so excited to be bridesmaids in her wedding in a few weeks, and the evening was a great chance for the bridal party to bond and create some memories before the big day. We went to Joe T. Garcia's for dinner in downtown Fort Worth and then spent the night watching movies and playing games at a nearby hotel.

We love you, Brynn, and we can't wait to stand by your side on July 30!

This summer is really flying by. Life after college has been wonderfully relaxing and fun, and I have a feeling big changes are right around the corner!

Tour de Dallas

380. That's the number of miles I traveled this weekend. Whew.

The past few days were all about reunions, one after the other. I've blogged before about being in denial that college life is really over. It's hard to live life together for four years and then go weeks or months without seeing each other. So I hit the road on Friday to put a temporary end to missing some of my dearest friends.

First stop, Frisco to have lunch with Heather. [Heather lived across the hall from me freshman year and she introduced me to Mr. Thomas Reed.] She took me to lunch at In-N-Out where the line was crazy long, but once we finally found a table, we sat and talked for almost two hours. It was so great to catch up with her!

A classic self-timed photo. Three of Heather's Pugs decided to join.

After lunch, I headed south to Arlington to see Brynn and go to the Ranger game. [Brynn and I lived together for three years, and her fiancé Neil is one of Thomas' best friends.] Friday night was "Baylor night" at the game, but the only tickets we could find were in the direct sunlight in the outfield. UGHH. It was miserably hot, but once the sun went down we had a great time and got to see several Baylor buds.

Saturday morning, we headed west to Fort Worth for one of Brynn's bridal showers.

With Brynn and our other roommate, Alex

After the shower, I joined Thomas and Ross at Northpark Mall where we ate lunch and shopped before meeting up with Bailey for dinner at Grimaldi's... and then it was showtime!

For Thomas' birthday, I bought us tickets to see Uptown Player's production of "Next to Normal." We fell in love with the musical after it won three Tony awards in 2009, and we had even more reason to see it when we heard our friend Anthony would be starring as Gabe!

This kid is so talented. HOLY COW.

Congratulations on an incredible performance, Anthony! We're so proud to know you!

You can check out the Uptown Players' preview of "Next to Normal," or watch their performance on Good Morning Texas this morning. It's a beautiful, amazing show.

Saturday night after the show, Thomas and I stayed with some family friends up in McKinney. We had breakfast with them on Sunday morning before driving to our last stop on the tour, a good friend's wedding in Colleyville.

Rachel was in Thomas' Welcome Week group freshman year, and I was introduced to her through my friend Kaitlyn. Funny story - I was actually at Rachel's bridal shower on April 17 while Thomas was preparing to propose to me that night. Rachel had no idea, but kept asking me "okay, you're next. When's he popping the question?!"

Mr. & Mrs. Armstrong

Reunited with two of my beautiful sorority sisters, Sarah Hall and Adrienne

Great great friends, Will, Patrick and Kaitlyn!

With the beautiful bride!

And with that, the month of June comes to an end. We've had plans every single weekend, but we wouldn't have had it any other way. We know that we're so blessed by the friendships God has given us!

Adventures in Bossier & Austin

Wedding bells continue to ring. Wedding #2 of the summer took place last weekend in Thomas' hometown of Bossier City, Louisiana for one of his good high school friends. Congratulations Laura and Drew! We're so happy for you!

Their reception was in the Sky Room at Harrah's Louisiana Downs, and as we were leaving Thomas and I stopped in the casino to each put $1 in the penny slots. I doubled mine [$2.02 to be exact] while Thomas lost it all. The woman at the cashier's desk teased us, asking if we wanted someone to help escort us out with my huge winnings.

We returned to Waco on Sunday and then I jumped back in the car to spend a few days in Austin. Dad invited me to join him Monday night for the monthly meeting of Austin's Professional Photographers Association, and I was really excited to hear from the guest speaker to learn more about lighting and posing. Master Photographer Doug Box spoke for close to two hours, and his hints and tips as a seasoned professional were really helpful.

On Tuesday morning, Sarah and I rolled out of bed to go downtown and stand in line for lunch at Franklin BBQ. I heard about Franklin's while working as an intern at Texas Monthly. Back then, they were serving out of a tiny teal trailer, but as their fame grew, they moved to a permanent building.

Just a few weeks ago, Bon Appétit magazine published an article about Franklin BBQ, dubbing it the "best BBQ in Texas, if not America." Sarah and I were dying to see what everyone was raving about.

We arrived at 10:30 (as per the article's recommendation) and sure enough, the line was already 100-people long. Folks toward the front of the line even had Starbucks cups in hand, evidence of their early morning stakeout to be the first customers served when the door opened at 11.

The line at 10:30. Sarah and I were just a few people past the far left edge of the building.

After an hour-and-a-half of waiting in the hot summer sun! Once we got inside, we waited for 30 more minutes before reaching the counter.

This sign went up around 11:30, much to our surprise. Employees count the number of people in line, "guesstimating" how many can be served before selling out. At this point they went to the end of the line, giving the last hopeful customer a sign that said "Last Man Standing." They were instructed to turn anyone away who came to join the line.

FINALLY inside.

Close to 1:00 p.m. when we finally emerged victorious. We took some to Mom and Dad at work so they could try it too!

Where it all began!

Sarah and I split this "two meat plate" as well as a "Tipsy Texan" sandwich (what they're famous for, on the cover of Edible Austin).

Here's my verdict: the brisket was incredibly juicy and delicious! I loved the taste of the sausage too. We really wanted to get a pulled pork sandwich, but they were sold out by the time we ordered. The Tipsy Texan was really great too, but the chopped beef had too much sauce on it for my liking. Their potato salad was reaaaaaally good!

I told Mom that I didn't feel qualified to conclude if it was in fact "the best," but it was pretty amazing. If nothing else, it was a fun experience with my little sister!

Mr. & Mrs. House

After the craziness of final exams, I unintentionally neglected my agenda book for a little R&R. When I picked it up the other day and flipped through the next few months on my calendar, I realized that almost every weekend of the summer is already planned. With all of the weddings we're attending, I'm going to blink and it will be August!

Sallie graduated from the Speech Pathology program with Thomas and Alex, and over the years she has become a great friend to me as well. This weekend, she and her high school sweetheart Tyrus tied the knot in their hometown of Camdenton, Missouri, and we wouldn't have missed it for the world! We wanted to break up the road trip (and save money on a hotel) so we stopped in Tulsa on Friday night to stay with one of the Reed's family friends, the Smiths. When we arrived, they had dinner ready for us, and we spent the evening catching up on their back porch. Thanks again for letting us stay with you, Glenda!

We left Tulsa at 9:30 Saturday morning to drive the remaining 4.5 hours to Camdenton, and the wedding was beautiful! Sallie looked absolutely gorgeous in her wedding dress, and it was so fun to be a part of their special day!!

Since it was our first time to visit Missouri, we made Thomas stop and take our photo in front of the Missouri sign.

Wedding ceremony at St. Anthony Catholic Church

The happy couple!

My beautiful roommate Alex, who was Sallie's maid of honor

Dinner was served in the backyard of Sallie's parent's house.

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. House! We love you!