The Story
“Leo and Raul met at Lakewood Church in 2012, where both their families attended at the time. On a Sunday, March 4th, they were each chitchatting with their group of friends when Leo glazed at Raul from afar and noticed that his friend and he were wearing the exact same outfit. Leo then approached them and shared her discovery with them. They stated that it wasn’t planned and that it was really silly they hadn’t noticed. That service, both Leo’s friends and Raul’s sat down together to get to know one another. Leo noticed how funny Raul was and by the end of the day and they all exchanged phone numbers. They continued talking for a couple of months and Leo had noticed that she stated to like him more than usual. On Thursday night April 26, after church service they chitchatted. Raul seemed a little nervous. He then went on to explain that that he wanted to ask for Leo’s advice about something he was thinking of doing. He explained to me that he was having a hard time telling “a girl” how he felt about her. Leo then went on to tell him to not be nervous and to share his feeling with this girl (P.S that girl was Leo and she didn’t even have a clue). He went on to tell Leo how he felt about me and how he wanted them to be more than friends and wanted to officially date Leo. In complete shock, Leo told him she felt the same way and that she was more than happy to start dating him. At the time Leo was 17 years old, and Raul was 19. Leo went on to graduating high school and then moved to college. He was always very supportive in all the life milestones Leo has set for herself. ”
The Proposal
“Leo would often drive on the weekends back to Houston and on Thursday, March 1st, Raul had asked Leo to come and visit because a very important family member has going to be in town and he wanted Leo to meet her. Leo agreed and drove back to Houston right after my class. As she arrived at their home, he was waiting for Leo with our living room filled with LED candle light path, hung pictures they took when we first started dating to most recent pictures. Raul had a church bench that they were working on as a DIY finished and had the letters “Marry Me” seating right on top of the bench with flowers all around it. He was waiting for Leo with her engagement ring between his two hands and kneeled down on one knee. Leo cried, laughed, and cried again, and finally said yes.”
The Wedding Day
Even it was the last few days of December, the weather was extremely nice. Beautiful deep blue sky, no wind, and the temperature was around 65. I had never worked at the Bridal Oaks before but I looked it up before I arrived. And boy, the place was even more beautiful in person. Great entrance leading to a wide open reception hall. The back is the ceremony area filled with huge oak trees. Leo greeted me as she was finishing up the decoration. When I first met Leo and Raul, I had a feeling that they were really approachable and kind humans. And I was right! Seeing how Leo treated her friends and her vendors on the day of really made me adore her even more. They then started gathering in the bridal suite to get ready. Her bridesmaids were so much fun to talk to. They help themselves and Leo to wear her dress, get her make-up done.
Raul arrived just a few moments later. After he finished putting on his suit, he came straight to the table. He sat down and start writing his vow. Oh no, he did not wait until the last minute to write the vow. He told me he had worked on it for days but just then officially wrote into the vow book. I could sense the tense through his eyes and his hands. But when I asked him “Are you nervous, are you ready?”, he replied “As ready as I can be! Not nervous at all.”
But then as soon as Leo walked down the aisle with her Dad, Raul could not hold his tears. Leo was beautiful! They had a meaningful ceremony under the oak trees surrounded by friends and families. The sun couldn’t be brighter, the smiles couldn’t be happier. They ended the night with a lot of dancing and laughters.
Talented Vendors:
Hair & Make up: Leslie Peña
Venue: Bridal Oaks Wedding & Event
Florist: Jenna Lynn Events
Wedding Dress: Parvani Vida
Tuxedo: Men’s Warehouse
Cake: Heather’s Peace of Cake
DJ: Houston DJ Latinos
Invitation: Etsy & CatPrint
Rings: JCPenney & Zales
Calligraphy: PinklettersCalligraphy
Bartender: Bartending2U
Photography: Half A Rice Studios
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© Half a Rice Studios 2020
Houston, TX Wedding Photograper
I started my photography business purely with my passion for photography. A friend of mine asked me to do his wedding when I was in college and I fell in love. I love the emotions, the laughter, the tears, the chemistry between people in weddings.