Sally Ann + Alex | Wintry Texas Garden Wedding

Despite a light fall of early-morning snow flurries, Sally Ann and Alex’s January Texas wedding was sunny and green. It was a day of family, friends, garden scenery, and butterflies. It was also an occasion of grace and evangelization, as they celebrated the sacrament in the context of the Mass, a new and beautiful experience for many of their guests. 

From the Bride: Alex and I are converts to Catholicism. Both of us were baptized Catholic but grew up Protestant. Shortly after we started dating, we began attending Mass together and found peace in the liturgy. So we went through RCIA and joined the Church at the Easter Vigil in 2018. We were confirmed one week after we got engaged, and chose Sts. Zelie and Louis Martin, the first married couple to be canonized together, as our confirmation saints.

I had always dreamed of a January wedding; a reason for celebration after most Christmas lights have dimmed and all the leaves have fallen from the trees. 

In Texas, it is also a great excuse for relatives to come experience our mild winters. I was expecting a 70-degree sunny day, but we had rare snow flurries the morning of our wedding. 

Alex is originally from Honduras, and Spanish is his first language, so we incorporated his heritage into our ceremony. My father proclaimed the first reading in English, and his father read the second reading in Spanish, with translations in our wedding program. My godparents were the gift bearers, and our two oldest nephews were altar-servers.

We had many non-Catholics joining us for our ceremony, and we wanted to use our nuptial Mass as a chance to evangelize. In fact, it would be the first time some of our friends had ever attended any sort of Catholic Mass. As converts, Alex and I understood the foreign-feeling of the liturgy for those not familiar with it. So we worked with our priest to provide cues and explanations to help everyone feel comfortable and more fully experience the richness of the Mass. 

Alex has two children from a previous relationship, so we wanted to make them feel included in the ceremony as well. My stepdaughter was a junior bridesmaid, and we gave my stepson the title of junior groomsman. It was important for them to see not just Alex and I joining as one, but all of us becoming one family. 

I wore my mother's veil and late grandmother's pearls, which my mother also wore on her wedding day. We strove to make our wedding “child-friendly” so all families would feel welcome. This meant including lawn games in the outdoor gardens of our reception venue, which also included a playground. Inside, guests of all ages could enjoy the butterfly pavilion. And instead of the traditional bouquet toss, I did a "Baylor bear toss" for the children with a teddy bear from Baylor University, my alma mater and the place where Alex proposed.

Our priest's homily included a reminder never to take each other for granted. While the wedding is one day, marriage is for life, and it is important to recognize beauty in the daily grind of life. 

Alex and I are reminded of our wedding every time we receive the Eucharist together. We chose the Miracle at Cana as our Gospel reading for that same reminder: that we need to invite Jesus into our marriage every day.

Photography: Lightly Photography | Church: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church (Dallas, Texas) | Wedding Reception Venue : Texas Discovery Gardens (Dallas, Texas) | Dress: Morilee from Mockingbird Bridal | Invitations/Stationery/Wedding Website: Minted.com | Veil: my mother's from 1986 | Shoes: Kate Spade for Keds | Jewelry: Kendra Scott | Bridesmaid Dresses: Tulle & Chantilly | Ring: Tiffany & Co (bride's) | Makeup artist: Before the Veil Beauty | Hair: Willie & Coote Salon Willie & Coote | Catering and Floral: Sugar City Celebrations | Groom's Tux and Groomsmen: Men's Wearhouse