Michelle & Brian

Married on October 29, 2011

Photography by RM Photography | Written by Roy Groat Jr.

    Life’s path is such an unknown.  Without even so much as the opportunity to discover one another, fate tends to lend a hand.  Sometimes when two people meet, they do not realize that even if at first one is annoyed by the other, the quirks that got your attention are often the ones that bring you together.

    That first chance meeting was brought about by the simplest of happenings.  Being classmates at UCO, Michelle and Brian had never laid eyes on each other.  But fate was stepping in.  While Brian thought she was “pretty and smart,” Michelle simply “wished Brian would shut up and stop disrupting class.”  But then and there, fate had started something.  But it wasn’t until they both worked together that the “ice between the two” had been broken and both discovered a great friendship and joy working together.

    Life however, seemingly likes to test us as what was considered a “dark day,” Michelle was accepted to go to school in Boston and Brian couldn’t help feeling he was losing a friend.  But life loves a good romance and one “Hap, Hap, Happy Christmas,” she returned to Oklahoma for Christmas break.  The two reunited and, during one of the year’s most magical times, love was born.  A strong love that made them both feel “as happy as goldfish in the sea!”

    Michelle is not your typical bride; in fact she will tell you she is atypical and she “despised traditional weddings.”  So how do you have an atypical wedding and still be respectful to your families?  Then, inspiration struck in October, 2010 during a discussion about the wedding.  Michelle and Brian came to the realization that both of them “LOVE” Halloween.  So, after double checking dates to avoid any football game competition, the date was set, October 29, 2011 and a theme was born.  But how do you theme a wedding on Halloween and it not be too creepy and dark?  Focus on the brighter side of course.  “We wanted to keep the “kid” Halloween tradition with costumes, candy and fun.”

    Having just bought a house, it was felt this would be a good location for the reception at least.  However, with starting to realize the details involved, Michelle and Brian thought it a good idea to check out some venues.  Churches were ruled out due to the fact that the families follow different denominations and they wanted to avoid any awkward situations.  Knowing that the ceremony was going to be quite short, they decided that it didn’t make sense for them to go anywhere else, so in the end, it was decided to have the wedding at home. 

    The day of the wedding was harried as you might expect.  Even though the wedding started at 6pm, both Michelle and Brian were up at 8am.  After all, there is a lot to be done…there is a wedding going on today; not just any wedding, but OUR wedding.  This day would be filled with hectic excitement as it was pulled together.  But through all the craziness, when Brian looked up and saw Michelle walking down the aisle toward him, time seemed to slow down.  It was the moment “glowing in her beautiful dress and “diva big” hair…, she was breathtaking.”  For Michelle, while seeing Brian was important, this was the first time she was able to see their backyard fully decorated.  Plus there were a few other things going on as well.  When Michelle started that walk, she saw Brian, but there was a great deal more to see and ended up looking at everyone else too.  For they were decked out in their Halloween best, a sea of costumes; it was a sight to behold.  But when Michelle arrived and took her place alongside Brian, she recalls “I felt so happy and warm when I got to hold hands with Brian during the entire ceremony.”  “It’s a moment I would not forget because we were allowed just to think and talk about us only.”  “I felt incredibly happy to experience every bit of it.”  These are the moments every couple dreams of. 

    Michelle and Brian wish they could relive it all over again and even with all of the fury, wouldn’t change a thing.  After all, when the moment comes and you look into each other’s eyes and declare you will spend your lives together, the craziness just melts away to reveal what this is all about, it was about Michelle and Brian.