Friday, November 11th, 2016 | George Ranch Historical Park | Richmond, TX

"You've been my 11:11 wish for a very long time"

Erica and Gabe's intimate wedding is one of my all-time favorite weddings that I've ever had the pleasure of photographing. In addition to everything about their wedding day being breathtakingly beautiful, their love story is incredibly special. I would really like to share a small piece of Erica and Gabe's story as told by Erica,

"11:11 is a signal that you are on the right path and that whatever you are doing is meant to be. It is also considered a sign that you have found your soul's other half. Since the day that I met Gabe I saw 11:11 everywhere I looked, and when I mentioned this to Gabe, he said that the same thing had been happening to him. Neither of us had ever had this happen before, and it was happening at a ridiculous rate. I didn't know the meaning at the time, but I knew that it was not a coincidence, especially since it was happening to both of us! It felt as though our souls had instantly connected since the day we met, and I felt as if I had known him for many lifetimes and that I had finally found him again in this one.

Gabe proposed on 11.11.15 in Park City, Utah. It was 12:45 am and I caught him slipping a very shiny ring on my finger, while I was sleeping. He was hoping that I would wake up the next morning with a surprise on my finger, but since I am a very light sleeper, I caught him in the act! He said that he had thought about waiting until 11:11am to propose, but he was so excited that he could not wait until then. I love that I woke up and caught him, it just shows that nothing goes as planned and it can still turn out perfect!

When planning our wedding, we went back and forth on many different decisions. We knew that 11.11.16 was without a doubt our date. This day fell on a Friday, which meant that many of our family members would not be able to make it. We debated on having the wedding and reception on 11.12.16, but then we realized that we were doing that for everyone else, and this particular date had been so special to us from the very beginning. Although family is very special and we would have loved to have had everyone there to celebrate with us, the only person that I was concerned with being there was Gabe. I knew that the people whom this moment meant the most to would be there no matter what day it fell on, so we stayed true to us and chose Friday, November 11, 2016 as our wedding date."

One of the many things that made Erica and Gabe's wedding so special, was their dedication to a minimalistic approach where everything that they chose to include in their wedding plans was meaningful and specific to them. I love intimate weddings like this for this very reason. Weddings like this also show that you can have an elegant and bespoke wedding without spending an arm and a leg. This won't be the last you'll see of Erica and Gabe, as I have plans to include them and their wedding in a future blog post about cultivating a meaningful wedding on a budget.

Congratulations, Erica and Gabe. Thank you for making photography a priority on your wedding day and inviting me into your lives to be your photographer. 

Wedding Dress: BHLDN

Flowers: Whole Foods