Briana + Jeff
Hello stalkers. I know it has been awhile - and with me travelling for the past three weeks all over the place, I am now sorta back for a bit. :) For the first official "2009" blog post, I wanted to introduce you to Briana and Jeff. If you are a blog stalker, you may remember back in September of 2008, during the entire Hurricane Ike and Tuscany of Garden Oaks fiasco alot of brides were affected by their wedding venue bankruptcy as well as hurricane damage. I remembered talking to my sister about how we can help some of these couples - knowing that they lost so much money - and would have to cut down on items that they may have previously budgeted for. Our thinking was that if we could get some of our colleagues to offer their talent to these couples, we may be able to help out a lot of the brides who were caught in this situation - and to let brides know that yes, there are vendors out there who cares. And much to our surprise - and also delight, we had a ton of local/nonlocal photographers jumping in to help! Yay for an amazing group of compassionate photographers all over Texas and the U.S. who have opened their heart. We were going to announce the couple back in November, but decided to wait until the beginning of the year. What better way to start my official 2009 year right? Even though we are now in March. The way we decided to fairly choose our wedding couple was based solely on loss. We asked only for a copy of the contract with the wedding venue for a couple to be considered. We basically sorted through the contract and selected Briana and Jeff. We then contacted Briana and Jeff and asked them for their story and their picture.
So stalkers...I would like to invite you all to read all about the lovely Briana and her fiance, Jeff. :)
Jeff and I met 5 years ago, while working at the same restaurant during college. We continued to be great friends and began dating a few years later. Jeff proposed in August of 2007 in Cancun, while the sun was setting and the view was picturesque. We were so excited to start planning what would be the most amazing day of our lives. We decided that since we were having our wedding in Houston, but no longer lived there, we would have a long engagement so that we would not be stressed getting everything ready. In April of last year we found the wedding place of our dreams. It was exactly what we were looking for and it was absolutely gorgeous. It was the Tuscany of Garden Oaks, a new place opening in Houston. They offered us a discount if we paid upfront, and anyone that is paying for a wedding knows you need any discount you can get. We paid them $15k and set our date for July 18, 2009. I started dreaming of the way everything would look inside, and my mother and I started planning the wedding in a Tuscan style to match the venue.
September rolled around and Hurricane Ike hit Houston. The following Monday we received a call from a friend who is in the wedding industry, letting us know that the Tuscany of Garden Oaks had shut its doors and was declaring bankruptcy. It felt like a nightmare; this could not really be happening. Since Jeff and I live out of town, my mother drove over to the office of the company, as well as the place to see if this was true. She witnessed a chain across the doors, and companies removing their items from the building. Other brides were also standing around in shock, looking up at the place they had dreamed of. My mother called us to let us know that it was true and we didn’t know what to think. At first we were shocked, sad, and pitied ourselves for our loss and crushed dreams. But that night I volunteered at Ronald McDonald House and a lady had been life flighted in premature labor to Austin during the Hurricane. The baby fit in the palm of her hand and might not make it, and she had lost everything she owned. Then I remembered, this day is going to be special because of the love Jeff and I have for one another, not because of the building we would be celebrating in. The loss of money is hard to cope with, but many people lost their homes and loved ones that same weekend. Although I initially felt hurt, mad and sad, I began to still consider myself lucky.
While this situation did add much stress and heartache to what is already a very hectic time of planning, we were able to regroup and book our wedding at the Crystal Ballroom. We did have to change our date and move some vendors around, but I can’t tell you how fortunate I feel that I have family to help me, a fiancé who loves me more than anything, and that Houston had so many vendors willing to step up and help us. Pink Posh Photography picked Jeff and me as the lucky couple to receive their services on our special day. Not only is their work amazing, but we cannot thank them enough for helping us have a wonderful celebration after this huge loss! Their pictures will be memories we will forever cherish!