A day earlier than I predicted, here are Taylor and Ariel’s wedding photos!! :DThe picture below perfectly encapsulates what the day was like: sweet, romantic, and happy :D. But  before you see more of Taylor and Ariel Walls as husband and wife, we’ll start at the beginning :).

We girls arrived at the Louisiana College campus at 7:00 a.m. on June 7 and discovered the pretty house we were going to get ready in was locked when it should have been opened an hour before! The older security officer kindly responded to our call for help and let us in. Thus the preparation commenced :).This is Ariel’s older sister! Miranda Quartemont 😀 (yeah, they have cool names; their younger sister is named Madeline who you’ll meet in a minute. I’ve known them since childhood and I was always fascinated with their names :D. Couldn’t always remember them though. Haha).

Before they really started preparing, there was consumption of donuts and Kolache’s that surprised them with jalapeno seasoning. Hahaha.

Man, why didn’t I eat a donut? Ariel said you could have one! I guess I was in the zone.

Here’s Ariel and her brunette best friend/maid of honor: Rebekah Magee :D. These girls looked so adorable in the morning! Their laughter and smiles were a great start to the day :D.

Speaking of smiles, this smiley girl in the mirror is Ariel’s younger sister I mentioned earlier: Madeline 😀 (also known as +Allix Ruby ‘s young twin. IT’S CRAZY HOW TRUE IT IS!).

That pretty lady in blue is my mom :D. She was decorator, gopher, assistant to everyone extraordinaire.

And this beautiful goofball is Ariel’s longtime friend Rachel Wilkins :D.

And lastly, we have this laughing girl who wasn’t a bridesmaid, but pretty much was. Haha. Rachel’s younger sister Leah :D.

Also, Leah is Madeline’s best best friend :D. Their friendship reminds me of what I have with +Allix 
and +Amanda Webb :D. People think we’re weird, but we know what we have is awesome and such a joyous blessing in our lives :D. Hooray for those God knits our hearts with! And aren’t they just the cutest?!

Taylor and Ariel’s rings in a Magnolia blossom 😀 :D. This was hard. Haha.

Ariel looking gorgeous :D.

And here is Ariel’s lovely, perfect for her, wedding dress :D. After she heard +Allix
had gotten her wedding dress from Simply Bridal (I hosted a giveaway from them a while back!), she thought “I trust her taste” :D. So, she checked out their website and when she saw this, she knew it was the one :D.

David’s Bridal for the win! 😀

Me: “Ariel, show me your excited to get married face.”

Hehe :D.

😀

Lovely, lovely, lovely.

Aaaaaah, Ariel, you looked so pretty.

Time to get dressed!!

Yaaaay! 😀

And here’s Taylor! Getting ready :D.

And here’s one of Taylor’s good friends: Mickey McCall :D. “Like the mouse”, he told me. Haha.

And this is Ariel’s younger brother Micah :).

I later discovered this book was the groomsmen gift :). I thought they were all just reading the same book they found in the room. Haha.

This is Taylor’s dad and best man: Tommy Walls :).

Taylor waving at the camera. Hehe.

This was his excited to get married face. Hehe :D.

Time for Ariel’s mom, Mrs. Michele, to button up the dress :D.

😀

Hehe :D.

These girls are great :D. Thoroughly enjoyed hanging with them :D.

Cutie. Hehe :D.

Ariel, you were the most precious bride :D.

So beautiful 😀 :D.

…and hilarious. Haha.

Favorite :D.

Haha :D.

Beautiful mother and daughter :D.

😀

Precious :D.

Time for the guys!

The one groomsman I didn’t get to introduce earlier was Taylor’s older brother Trent.

Oh, and the little guys are the rest of Ariel’s brothers; they were ushers and ring bearer, but got to join in on most of the fun :D. From left to right: Mason, Aaron, and Andrew :). By the way, don’t you like the guys’ outfits?

See little Mason? He loooves Taylor. He’s always as by his side. Hehe :D.

Selfie! Haha.

Then they brought out the hats and they all looked like golfers. Haha. In Micah’s case, a gangster golfer. Haha.

Good one :D. Happy hatted guys. Hehe :D.

Portraits done; time to get this show on the road!

Ariel’s grandmothers came to see her before the ceremony :D.

The violinist, Emma Griffing, tuning her violin with her phone :D.

Some last minute chill time.

Can you see me? Hehe :).

Taylor’s niece was the flower girl :).

That’s the house we got ready in!

Taylor’s mom, Mrs. Dianne, wanted to see Ariel too :D.

Then her dad, Mr. Alan, came :D.

‘Bout time!

Taylor’s pastor (now Ariel’s pastor too :D) and great friend Jeff Johnson married them :D.

Here they come! :D.

😀

It was a lovely morning ceremony 🙂 (10:00).

By the way, it made me very happy that the bridesmaid dresses were in my favorite color :D. They looked lovely :D.

And hooray for rolled up sleeves :D.

Struggle. Hehe :D.

😀

They’re now man and wife!! It’s time to kiss!!

😀

Who needs flowers when you have your husband’s hand? Hehe :D.

Yay!! 😀

Time to go out back for pictures :D.

Ariel’s family :D.

Taylor’s family :D.

And zee wedding party :D.

Nice, y’all :D.

Haha, Rebekah :D.

Free to go to the reception! Haha 😀

One excited bride :D.

And it was finally time for THEM! 😀

Two weeks before, when I saw them at Grace Family Camp in Arkansas, she told me “we want a LOT of kissing pictures!” Hahaha. I told her I’d just follow them around while they did whatever they wanted :D. It was their time to relax and enjoy each other :D. And, yes, I got a LOT of kissing pictures. Hehe :D.

The most precious and romantic couple award goes tooooo these two! Seriously, y’all were great :D.

And now I think it’s time to share how God brought them together in the words of Ariel :D.


“Our love story is my absolute favorite!! It began before we were even born. God in His infinite love and grace made us for Himself and for one another even before the foundation of the world! Ephesians 1! Taylor is from Arkansas and I’m from a little Louisiana town named Bentley. We were both 14 when the Lord really began working in our hearts and giving us a desire for Him and His Word and mission work. With plans for future mission work ablaze in our minds, we both came to the conclusion that we should devote all time to that and never marry. Ever! I felt more strongly about this then Taylor, but we both thought we would have to give up on marriage in order to be more devoted. And nothing of course could change my mind! Silly us… :). Well, a couple years late, I attended the Bentley Bible Camp in, well, Bentley, LA. I had always gone and this time was no exception! Meanwhile, over in Arkansas, God was working in the lives of Taylor and his dad and saved them and brought them to the true Gospel. They met Bro. Jeff Johnson who suggested that they go tot he Bentley Conference with him. And of course they did! (Praise the LORD 🙂 ). One day of the conference, we were both on a walk (go figure) and I overheard him talking to a friend about the Lord and missions. I quietly began to listen. They noticed of course and so we began talking. And we didn’t stop! We always say we fell in love at first theological discussion because, well, we truly did! I was so captivated at how much he loved the Lord. I couldn’t stop talking to him. He began to pray about me after that first day. I was devastated that previous plans made me leave the camp early, even though I was not getting married. My best friend Rebekah Magee was there and told me “Y’all are too much alike! Y’all are so getting married someday.” I hated to be teased about him because I really did like him. We saw each other at more conferences and became best friends. He even gave me his beloved Hebrew Bible from Israel! We brought over books all the time which I loved and we began to talk more through text. We prayed hard about one another, and sought the LORD and wisdom. He showed us the glory of the Gospel in marriage and we rejoiced at how it would be in missions and its glorifying God. He confirmed to us that we should marry. December 2012, Taylor came down and asked my dad if we could begin a courtship. That next summer, June 21,2013, we went on a walk back where we met and he asked me to marry him! At the time we were both 17, about to start college. How crazy! :). God has blessed us and been faithful and good ever since! We’re so thankful to Him!”

Yes, they’re 18 almost 19, but the Lord has prepared them and matured them for this and it’s such an encouragement to see :). The Lord’s timing is perfect.

Taylor wrote me what he loves about Ariel :).

“Ariel is sweet and compassionate. Everyone she meets loves her. She always thinks of others above herself and is saddened more over the thought of her hurting someone else than someone hurting her. She is great at talking to people and comforting them when they have troubles. She is going to be a great encourager, supporter, and helper. She is great around the house and with kids and she is so excited to serve me and cook me meals and help raise our children. She is so Godly and smart and always listens to sermons and tells me what she reads in the Bible each day. She is so theologically in-tuned loves talking about it, but yet she still loves to submit to me and have me explain things to her. [here’s the part where I almost cried, which is a big deal for me] She is the most beautiful woman I have ever been blessed to see and her beauty and grace blesses my way each day just as the sun fulfills the flower’s greatest desire. [POETRY!] By describing what she is like, I tell you what I love about her. I love everything about her. And as long as she is mine, and even if time ages her lovely face and sweet disposition, still my love is all hers.”

<3

Me: “Hey! Can you dip her?”

Taylor: “Yeah, we’ve done this before!…hey! We can kiss this time!”

Yes 😀

They are just the sweetest things :D.

Hehe :D.

Love <3

Then of course Ariel wrote me what she loves about Taylor :D.

“What do I love about Taylor? Oh, where to begin! :). I knew he was incredible from the first day we met. I know the LORD will use him in amazing ways (He already has) for His glory. Taylor is so passionate about God. He’s always teaching me about the Bible and what God has been teaching him. He leads us in prayer every night and he has so since our courtship began. He’s a wonderful spiritual leader and a best friend. I always feel loved and accepted by him. He is so intelligent! He excels in math and science and language! He can always answer my questions! He loves to protect me and he always holds me close. There’s no one else I’d rather marry because there’s no one else like my Taylor. He’s patient with me and my faults. He doesn’t get angry, he just loves like Christ. I don’t know why God wanted to be so gracious to me, but the He has been and I’m so so so elated! Taylor is everything to me 🙂 <3”

Again <3 :D!

Taylor and Ariel are husband and wife and I am so glad :D.

😀 😀

A favorite :D.

I asked them what are some of their favorite things to do together. They gave me a little list :D.

1. Read the Bible together or go through a book together.

2. When I’m not busy wedding planning and Taylor isn’t busy working, we
love to just enjoy talking to each other and go on walks together. We go
on walks all the time! :). They’re also great for holding hands,

which is another favorite :).

3. We love to study languages together! Taylor is amazing at it.


4. Watch movies and cuddle :). This one is always fun!

5. Kiss Taylor on his cute little cheeks! <3

Kiss Ariel on her pretty cheeks and forehead.

6. Laugh! Taylor has a hilarious Arkansas Redneck fake accent, which I love!

7. Well, we haven’t even done this together. but we plant to…kayaking! That would be such a fun thing to do.

This was SO fun and enjoyable, but my work was done and it was time to join everybody!

One thing you will notice…

…ALL of the children LOVE Ariel :D.

Their cake was so pretty!!

Dr. Pepper is their favorite drink :D.

Everything looked so wonderful!

Isn’t this the most lovely, simply grooms cake you’ve ever seen?! I love the design! So precious!

Hey, y’all :D.

Adorable Laura :D.

LOVED this punch.

One of the main reasons everything looked so wonderful is because Ariel made most ALL of the decorations!! She put so much thought and effort into it and it paid off.

Leah’s fantastic calligraphy work was to be found around the reception :D.

Great job to those who hung the lights and the fun lanterns!! Have I mentioned how much I love these colors? Because I do.

The children also very much love these two :D.

Mom and the fabulous Ranell Bryant who was one of the incredible light and lantern hangers :D.

They LOVED doing this. Hehe :D.

Then it was time to break out those Dr. Peppers!

…but it was all fiz that came out. Hahahaha.

But they’re great for pictures! Hehe :D.

😀 😀 😀

They finally got to drink them. Hehe.

Joy looks good on you, Ariel :D.

Then Rachel got Ariel’s Dr. Pepper. Hehe :D.

And this is Rachel’s kind and fun boyfriend Nathan Benton :D. They’re a riot :D.

The stunning Bethany Rodrigue serving the cake 😀 (who also is getting married in September!).

Happy Laura with her twin brother Steven :D.

I love this picture so much!! Bro. David Gatch and his granddaughter Emma Axsom :).

There’s my parents to the right! 😀

This bouquet toss set up was so fun :D.

Yaaay!

Mom told her to wave like a princess. Haha.

Time to get ready to leave!

The happy bouquet catcher :D. Loved her rainbow highlights, by the way!

Susie, you’re such a beautiful and awesome momma :D.

I’m sorry, this is Susie Lemoine and her son Seth :D.

While we waited, Patience Deloach went over to the piano in the room and played MAGNIFICENTLY! I never knew she could play like that until the rehearsal the night before. It was incredible to listen to :D.

Ready to go! 😀

So, the exit line didn’t really happen. It kinda already happened inside, so then everyone just came outside and gave hugs while blowing bubbles. Hehe :D.

Ariel’s going away dress was the most wonderful in all the land. I LOOOOVED IT! You looked like a blonde, Spanish, summer, fairy princess. Where did you get that, Ariel?

Taylor was prepared for the saran wrapped car. Haha. Just look at that game face!

He also knew exactly what to do when the car wouldn’t start.

Woohoo!! 😀

Those happy, excited faces 😀 :D.

😀

Hooray for the day :D.

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }