Love at First Sip - Matthew + Missy

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“Love at First Sip!” is how Missy fondly describes their first date. Despite a string of disappointing dating app experiences, Matthew and Missy’s initial meeting at Never Never in Wedgewood-Houston proved magical. Early in their relationship, Matthew delighted Missy with his efforts to perfect a margarita recipe while Missy took him on a tour of his new city. The engagement came with a heartfelt surprise proposal at their cozy apartment, which kickstarted nine months of wedding planning. A standout moment in their journey was discovering the perfect wedding dress. After exploring numerous boutiques, Missy finally found “the one” at Eleven Bridal Curvy Couture, thanks to the expert and enthusiastic help of Taneka. Their wedding day was a beautiful blend of elegance and personal touches, perfectly capturing their unique love story.

Tell us about your love story and engagement!

After years of bad luck on dating apps, we had our lucky swipe. We met for a first date at Never Never in Wedgewood-Houston, and it was love at first drink. In the early days of our relationship, Matthew spent weeks testing margarita recipes to see which was my favorite, and I showed him around the city as he’d moved here a few months before we met.

Matthew made a reservation at Margot Cafe in East Nashville, and I was suspicious he might propose as it is our favorite date spot. I was buzzing with excitement to head out to dinner when he stopped me in the doorway, got down on one knee, and proposed right there in my apartment. We were engaged for a little over 9 months while we planned our wedding for May 2024.

Where did you get your dress and attire? How did you know you had found your dress?

Matthew wore a black suit with a bow tie from Jos. A. Banks.

I found Eleven Bridal Curvy Couture by googling plus-size Bridal gowns. I cannot rave about my experience there enough. The owner, Taneka, was so fun to be around, as well as helpful and gracious. She made me feel completely comfortable, I wasn’t rushed, and I got to try on so many different styles. It was the dream experience that many brides desire, myself included.

I knew I had found my dress as soon as I put it on. I had some ideas about what style I might want but stayed open to other ideas in case something new stuck out to me. As I tried on various styles, nothing was quite right until I found “the one.” It was actually one the store owner had pre-selected for me based on the preferences we’d shared with her prior to the appointment.

What was the vision & theme for your wedding? What details were used to create this vision?

The vision for our wedding came from trying to create a day that reflected us uniquely, making intentional choices rather than defaulting to what we’ve seen at other weddings. We chose a venue with a gorgeous space with large windows and a high vaulted ceiling. We didn’t need to add any decor to the ceremony space, as it was breathtaking on its own. We wanted our ceremony to be short, sweet, and intimate. I’m a big Taylor Swift fan, so while our guests were being seated for the ceremony, we had our friends playing instrumental Taylor Swift cover songs, and I walked down the aisle to them playing Lover.

We kept the floral design simple and classic. I went with long-stemmed red roses, and my bridesmaids, who wore red dresses, carried long-stemmed white roses. I bought these from a wholesaler, Import Flowers, and my Matron and Maid of Honor arranged the bouquets for me.

For our reception, we wanted a dimly lit cocktail bar/modern-day speakeasy vibe, as we had our reception in the basement of the ceremony space. I really wanted a disco ball and a black-and-white tile dance floor. Those items, in addition to a foil fringe curtain wall with a custom letter banner, really brought the vibe together. The room itself was a blank slate, so we knew it could come to life with the right decor. Additionally, we had singular long-stemmed red roses on the tables.

I thrifted bowls to put our custom matches in and silver trays for various displays around the reception. We had photos of our parents and grandparents on their wedding days in frames as decor for a personal touch. We also left out two Polaroid cameras and tons of film so our guests could take photos to either leave with us or take as a souvenir.

We didn’t want to have a fancy dinner because that didn’t reflect us. Instead, we had our favorite pizza place in Nashville, Dicey’s Pizza, set up a pizza buffet.

Tell us about any special moments or traditions.

One detail I loved that I would highly recommend to other couples was having our own private dinner. We did first-look photos and bridal party photos before the ceremony; then we were able to do family photos after the ceremony. While our guests enjoyed a cocktail hour in the reception space, we were secluded in our own space and got to eat dinner and have drinks together, just the two of us. This was pretty much the only time we got to be alone together, and it was really fun. Then, when we entered the reception and our guests started eating, we were able to visit tables and chat with friends and family without worrying about getting food.

My dad and I chose to do our father-daughter dance to LeeAnn Womack’s I Hope You Dance. I’m a singer, and my parents have always been my biggest fans and supporters, so I wanted to do something special for my dad. I tapped a couple of talented producer friends of mine, and they helped me record a cover of the song. I surprised my dad at the reception with my recorded version of I Hope You Dance, and he loved it. The moment couldn’t have been more special. My friends and family enjoyed it so much that I ended up releasing it under my artist name for streaming.

We ordered a Funfetti cake from Publix and ate it on red heart-shaped plates. We also had a champagne tower (thank you for the inspo Pinterest) that was actually made of plastic but looked amazing.

My dad surprised us with a wedding tradition that my parents did at their wedding reception. There is something called a Nuremberg bridal cup that has a cup on the top and bottom, and the goal is for the bride and groom to drink out of both ends at the same time without spilling. My dad brought out the cup, and my husband and I drank champagne out of either end simultaneously, and as the story goes, we’ll have a long, happy life together, as we did not spill a drop.

One tough thing about our day was that Matthew’s best friend was unable to be there in person. I was able to sneakily get him to record a best man’s toast and have friends bring in a projector and screen to play his toast at the reception as a surprise. It was really special for us to get to have him be a part of the celebration even though he wasn’t able to attend.

And we were lucky enough to have so much of our day carried out by our friends and family. This made everything even more special and, in all honesty, helped keep the overall cost down.