Samantha & Andrew

Samantha and Andrew met on a job interview. He didn’t get the job, but he got the girl!

The proposal

Family came to College Station to celebrate the arrival of Andrew’s Aggie ring. “Little did I know, they had replaced his Aggie ring with the engagement ring in the FedEx box. He opened it up and got down on one knee,” says Samantha.

&SAMANTHA GIFFORD

ANDREW WILSON April 9th, 2021

by Laurette Veres

Rehearsal dinner

We wanted to host the rehearsal somewhere close to the venue since we had a ton of family coming in from out of town. The Wave on Lake Conroe was perfect not only for the location but for how stunning the views are! You walk down a staircase to floor to ceiling windows overlooking Lake Conroe and their barbecue dinner was delicious. Everyone kept saying how yummy the brisket was!

Photography by Lauren Parr

Iron Manor “There is truly nothing else like it in the area and you can tell how much thought went into all of the details. I wanted something modern yet classic and Iron Manor definitely made that come true.”

Cake Vernele’s New Orlean’s Bakery and Cafe

Gown Calle Blanch from Coreenas Bridal in College Station

Samantha’s advice

My biggest advice to brides is do not be afraid to ask for help. I wanted everything to be perfect so I tried to do it all myself and ended up just stressing out and not enjoying the small things. Letting go and letting family members and friends help take care of calling vendors or arranging pick up and drop offs for items allowed me to relax especially in the two weeks leading up to the big day. Unless you are wearing flats, pack a pair of comfortable shoes to change in to. I never thought I would be the girl to change shoes but halfway through I ended up putting on my getting ready slippers because my feet hurt so bad. Do the first look!! My groom was very against a first look but it made the day much more relaxed since we got our nerves out ahead of time and got to spend a few moments to ourselves before the ceremony. We read letters to each other and I think the ceremony was still just as special! Spend the money to hire a florist. I had this idea in my head that I could do all of the flowers myself for the wedding and last minute decided to go with a florist. I can’t tell you how relieved I was that we ended up hiring one after watching them set up the day of. There is a lot more that goes into a floral set up than you think and the floral made such a difference in our reception area!