Rachel Kendall felt an immediate connection to the man of her dreams at a typical college house party. In fact, she says that she instantly thought, “That’s the man I’m going to marry!” “I’m not normally so cliché, but it’s funny that it actually came true,” she laughs. Rachel is a recent graduate from the University of Texas and now teaches fourth grade in Del Valle ISD, and Ian is a graduate from UT and works at an Austin Geology consulting firm. After the two met, they knew they would always be together. Rachel and Ian dated throughout their college years, and knew they would marry sometime soon.

Rachel began to contemplate a wedding ring. After days and days of browsing, she finally found a perfect ring at Krueger’s Jewelers. She chose a one-of-a-kind ring made by a man in Asia by the name of Sam Wong. The ring was a collection of diamonds with yellow gold and platinum designs. The instant she saw it, she knew that she would love it forever. However, she was unaware that Ian had actually purchased the ring.

Rachel and Ian became engaged on the luckiest of days, Friday the 13th, October 2006. They had been talking about getting married for sometime. In fact, Rachel jokes, “It seems like we had been talking about getting married, and how we would raise our kids from the first day we met.” Rachel and Ian had been to a Michael Jackson sing-along at the Alamo Drafthouse downtown and returned about midnight.

It was a perfect October night; the beautiful half moon had a yellowish orange glow. As the two strolled in the moonlight, Ian surprised Rachel with the beautiful ring and the words, “Rachel will you marry me?” Although Rachel knew he would propose sometime, she still was surprised and tears formed in her eyes. As she looked at Ian, clapped her hands like a child, she says “Yes!” After taking the ring from the box, Rachel noticed that there were four letters on the inside of the band “ETMG,” and for a few minutes, she was puzzled about the letters. Ian told her that they stood for four different things. She immediately knew, “elephant, tiger, monkey, giraffe!” “It is without a doubt the most romantic thing he could have thought of,” says Rachel. She explains that the four animals are part of a poem that Ian wrote for her. It goes like this:

Hello wonderful, Hello my sweetheart,
The feeling I’m feeling is total completeness.
t’s been a while since you’ve received a note
I’ve been thinking of cats, children and boat.
And one thing I’m good at is making you laugh
Elephant, tiger, monkey, giraffe.

The newly engaged couple started planning the wedding. Immediately, they sent out “save the date magnets” that they found online. They wanted to be married before the following August before Rachel started teaching. They were lucky enough to secure their two favorite venues, Central Christian Church and the Texas Women’s Federation. Both were very helpful in the planning process. Rachel said, “Planning a wedding was the most difficult thing, because you probably won’t do it again and you don’t get the chance to learn from your mistakes.” “Having helpful and knowledgeable professionals with you is very important.”

Ian and Rachel were lucky to find their vendors quickly, which gave them plenty of planning time for the little details.

They decided on Alisa Marrow as their photographer. Rachel and Ian loved her online photo gallery, and when they met with her in person, they knew that her unique artistic style was exactly what they wanted for their wedding pictures.

The area of planning that Rachel allowed herself to splurge the most was in the wedding dress, hair and make-up. She and her mom found the most beautiful Paloma Blanca wedding gown at Serendipity Bridal. They were actually looking for bridesmaids’ dresses, but then realized that those dresses were supposed to compliment the bride’s dress. Once she began to try on bridal gowns, it was such fun, and she finally found her perfect gown.

Rachel enlisted the help of Rochelle Rae from Rochelle’s studio on 3rd street for the bridesmaid’s and her make-up. She had used her in the past, and loved her style so much that she knew she wanted to use her again.

The wedding took place at 5:30, with 220 guests at Central Christian Church on Guadalupe and 11th. Rachel jokes, “I don’t remember much of the day to tell you the truth!” “I know I was nervous, but the only time I cried was when my mom gave me a handkerchief that her mom had given her on her wedding day.”

They had four bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen, and this was by plan. Rachel said, “Isn’t symmetry less pleasing to the eye?” The bridal party took pictures at the church while their guests enjoyed a cocktail hour with shrimp shooters.

At the reception, they were introduced by Rachel’s father, Thomas, with the song Silly Love Songs, playing in the background. Their first dance was to Songbird by Eva Cassidy. Rachel and Ian feel that one of the best things that they did in preparation for their wedding was to take multiple dance lessons. They felt so comfortable during their first dance. They still find themselves dancing to their song, and feel that it’s because they took lessons and seem to know what they’re doing.

Rachel laughs, “The rest of the wedding went by in a blur!” “I made an effort to say hello to family that had traveled from far away, but mostly, I just wanted to dance and celebrate the fact that all the planning was over.” She says. At 11:00 the couple left in a rented Town Car and drove themselves to The Driskill Hotel.

The next morning, the newlyweds walked to the Omni and had a small breakfast with family, and later that day, they boarded a plane for their honeymoon. They honeymooned on a very small island called Petit St. Vincent. This tiny, exquisite island houses a resort with only 22 private cottages. This was exactly the seclusion and relaxation they had been looking for. The island had the most intriguing form of communication with the staff. If the occupants need anything, they just hoisted a yellow flag from their cottage. No telephones! Rachel and Ian stayed on this amazing island for one week, and by the end of the week they felt as though they were home.

Rachel can look back on her courtship and marriage and sense that she was right! When she uttered the cliché, “That’s the man I’m going to marry,” she was exactly right…she did!

Austin Resources

Cake:
Tony Sansalone

Florist:
Flower Creations

Caterer:
Primizie

Reception:
Littlefield Hospitality – Gina Stevens

Church:
Central Christian Church

Honeymoon:
Julie @ info@psvresort.com

Photographer:
Alisa Marrow Photography

Invitations:
The Inviting Pear

Hair and Make-up:
Rochelle Rae

DJ:
Tunes Across Texas – Linda Davies-Smith

Coffee:
Kenny’s Coffee Co.

Wedding Party Breakfast:
Omni Hotel