Jonathan and Grace: wedding!! :D {avalon legacy ranch, mckinny, tx wedding photographer}

After several busy months of work, traveling, and visiting friends (yay!!), I finally have time to share Jonathan and Grace’s WONderful January wedding day with y’all!! 😀 😀

One of the many awesome things about Texas is, more often than not, an outdoor wedding in January is a valid option! And even though these sweethearts call Oklahoma home, the Avalon Legacy Ranch in McKinney, TX was a great central location for their closest friends and family to come witness and celebrate their marriage :).

Jonathan and Grace are one of the most adorable, fun, and caring couples I’ve ever worked with; I didn’t want the day to end :D. The sun shone brightly. She wore her mother’s veil. He happy danced down the aisle. Laughter abounded. Cake was smushed. Dancing galore. It was all so beautiful and most of all because of their love and joy in the Lord :). I hope y’all enjoy Jonathan and Grace’s delightful day!! 😀

Their love story 🙂

We first met in early November 2014 because one of Grace’s friends was dating Jonathan’s roommate, and so we got invited out to lunch with a group of mutual friends. After that lunch, the group of friends went over to Jonathan and his roommate’s apartment to watch movies. This was the first time that we got to hang out, and we discovered that we had similar tastes in movies and that we both enjoyed cooking. We still laugh when we remember that first time we cooked together because we had to search through all of the expired and moldy food before we finally found some edible ingredients in Jonathan’s apartment kitchen. The next time we hung out was several weeks later at the end of November. Jonathan invited me (Grace) to go with him and his family out on their boat at Lake Texoma. That was a fun trip, but it also put us in a funny predicament because at the time
we were still just good friends, but Jonathan’s family clearly thought we were already a couple.

Throughout the rest of that semester, we spent a lot of time talking, doing homework together, bouncing ideas off each other for our school projects, and just enjoying the process of getting to know each other. Over winter break, Jonathan invited me to spend New Year’s Eve with his family. We had so much fun that night playing card games and Just Dance with his cousins. I (Grace) was nervous at the beginning because this was my first time to meet all of his relatives, but his his family was so welcoming and made sure I felt included and comfortable. When the New Year officially started, we both realized that we wanted to start our New Year together by officially dating. Over the next three semesters, we continued to date and help each other through the daily challenges that life
threw our way. In our free time we continued cooking and experimenting with new recipes together for fun, and we also developed our shared love for finding local restaurants that serve good bubble tea.

In April 2016, Jonathan graduated from college. It was time for him to move out of his school apartment, so the two of us were packing up his belongings. As we were packing, Jonathan secretly slipped the engagement ring onto the straw of Grace’s bubble tea. After packing for what Jonathan calls “the most brutal hour of his life”, Grace finally noticed the ring and was completely surprised and speechless. Once my mind processed what had happened, I excitedly said yes. Sometimes we still laugh about how Grace was caught off guard because she didn’t even suspect that he had bought a ring yet!

Grace in Jonathan’s words 🙂

Grace is the sunshine to my day, just being around her makes me smile and cheers me up. She always tries to help out with everything, and we always end up doing everything together instead of divvying up the work. Some of the things that I love the most about her is the love and care that she gives to everyone and to me. With her, life always seems to be an adventure, and I could not imagine trying to go through life without her. I love how she puts the needs of others first and is willing to try new things. She always pushes me out of my comfort zone, which is another way that keeps me on my toes and keeps life exciting. I love her sweet personality and stubbornness, and I love the look on her face
when I try to spoil her with something she wants but she doesn’t want me to spoil her, and so it
turns into a cute argument where she is happy but sassy at the same time. Another thing I love about her is when I get to look into her dark brown eyes. They captivate me and almost make me melt. Just the smell of her hair and the feeling of her hands make me crazy for her. I cannot wait to find out what life will be like living with and for her and to see all of the adventures life will throw our way. I count my blessings every day and thank God for bringing us together.

Jonathan in Grace’s words 🙂

Jonathan’s personality is the perfect balance of fun and practicality. He understands me when I’m in
one of my goofy, playful moods, and he shares my love for Disney and other animated movies. At the same time, he’s also extremely loyal, strong, and dependable. If I ever need anything, whether it’s car maintenance or someone to listen to me, he is so supportive and willing to do whatever he can to help me. I love our long conversations, and I enjoy how comfortable we are talking to each other about anything and everything. Jonathan gives the best hugs, and he has a talent for knowing how to cheer me up when I’ve had a rough day. I look up to the way he puts God and his family before himself. His example of love for others keeps me accountable and reminds me of how I should care for the interests of others. I also appreciate how Jonathan accepts me and loves me exactly as I am while also encouraging and supporting me through the ongoing process of becoming more like the person that God calls me to be.

Their favorite things to do together 🙂

We enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes (or improvisations with whatever ingredients
we have on hand), going on long walks and talking about life, watching and the discussing
our favorite TV shows and movies, searching for good locally owned restaurants,
window shopping at thrift stores for good deals and DIY projects, making funny/silly faces
in our pictures for our adventure book, and going to pet stores and playing with all the cute
puppies and kittens that we wish we could take home with us.