CONVERSATION STARTER

He didn't think she would ever talk to him, but she married him in the end

STORY BY BETSY ILER & PHOTOS BY SARAH MARIE PHOTOS

Michael called his family to bring him the engagement ring at the beach The couple knew instantly that Tangarray was the perfect venue for their day

When Ashleigh Taylor married Michael Murphy last October, the bride knew an outdoor event was the only option. The first venue they visited was Eclectic’s Tangarray, and they loved it so much that they didn’t even look anywhere else.

“He is very outdoorsy. He hunts every single day of hunting season, and he fishes. He is outside every possible day, and he stays outside until he has to come in. Our wedding had to be outside,” Taylor said of the man she has known longer than she can remember. “He is five years older than me, but we knew each other for a long time. We saw each other around, but we never really talked to each other.”

The conversation started eight years ago when Taylor was attending Auburn University. She had gone to a friend’s house to watch a football game, and Murphy was there. To her surprise, he spoke to her, and to his, she con-

Wtinued the exchange. “He said he didn’t think I would ever talk to him,” Taylor laughed. She knew it was love a couple of months after they started dating. They were snacking on Oreo cookies while watching a movie, and Murphy speared a cookie with a fork to dip it in the milk. “I asked him, ‘What in the world are you doing?’ and he said, ‘It’s the only way to eat an Oreo.’ I thought, ‘I think I love him!’” The rest is history. Murphy planned to propose while on a trip to Destin with the group of friends they both had known for 20 years, but he changed his mind when he learned another couple on the trip would announce that they were having a baby. He left the engagement ring at home, but later, he changed his mind and decided to go through with his original plan. He called his family and asked them to

Hydrangea blossoms surround the wedding cake

They made their getaway in a 1970 Chevelle Super Sport that belonged to Michael's uncle The venue offers a variety of romantic photo ops

The sparkle of the day extended to the farewell Ashleigh chose gold sequins for her bridesmaids

bring the ring to the beach. They were keeping Taylor’s dog for her, so they brought the pup along when they brought the ring.

“We all had taken the boat out and had been taking sunset pictures on the beach. Everyone else had gotten back in the boat, but Michael was still hanging out. I told him we had to get back in the boat, that everyone was waiting on us. The next thing I knew, my dog was running across the beach to me. I thought, ‘What is my dog doing here?’ and there was Michael, kneeling down in the sand,” she said.

Taylor was thrilled that Tangarray owner, Rita Falk, would act as day-of coordinator for the wedding under the big oak tree.

“What I really wanted was the flowers wrapping around the tree, and the champagne-gold sequined bridesmaid dresses. I had always told my friends that is what they would wear at my wedding. She took care of everything else, putting it up and taking it down,” Taylor said.

Murphy chose the black-on-black tuxedoes for himself and his groomsmen. Murphy’s uncle, Larry Scroggins, officiated at the ceremony and provided the getaway car, an orange and black 1970 Chevelle Super Sport. Another friend’s mother, the owner of Carol’s Cakes in Alexander City, made the four-tiered wedding cake, which was surrounded with fresh white hydrangea blossoms.

The couple honeymooned in Jamaica and live in Alexander City, where Murphy works for an HVAC contractor on large installations and Taylor is the administrator at Chapman’s Healthcare.