H + J
Meet Hannah + Jake! It didn’t take long for us to fall in love with this precious couple. Their hearts are so rich + their love for one another was so obvious. Getting to be a part of their best day ever was such a “pinch me” moment for our team!
Here’s their story - “In the summer of 2019, Hannah decided to attend a Relic & Duncan Fellows concert at the Grand Stafford in College Station, TX. One of her Dallas friends just so happened to know the lead singer of Relic (Jake) and made the connection for them to meet after the show. They remained friends from a distance as Jake went back to New York for school. After finishing up undergrad, Jake moved back to Texas the next summer. That December, he invited Hannah to his birthday party, where they have one of those long conversations you don't want to end. Hannah knew she wanted to be more than friends at this point and waited on Jake to catch up. Over the next few months, they spent a lot of time together, hanging with a tight knit crew. She keeps up with him on Guitar Hero and accidentally slams a door in his face, he realizes she is the coolest girl on earth, schemes to sit next to her any chance he gets, and has late night pillow talk with his roommates about how he's going to ask her out. He worked up the nerve to ask her on a date—she responds with a few words he'll never forget: "I would love that!" On March 8th, 2021, they went on their first date. Jake showed up to her house in a black t-shirt, black jeans, and a blue denim jacket. Hannah coincidentally walked out wearing the exact same thing. At dinner, they wasted no time getting beyond the surface and into the details of each others' lives. The conversation was so good Jake hardly touched his favorite meal. They went on two more dates that same week before Jake officially asked her to be his girlfriend. In May 2021, Jake suddenly learned he'd been accepted to medical school in Houston. Because acceptance came after the reported deadlines, this is a huge shock to Hannah and Jake. A lot of hard work was celebrated, a lot of tears were shed. They decide to continue dating, and Hannah explains, "If the Lord wants me to marry you, and He wants you in Houston, then I guess He wants me in Houston too." They set out to figure out if that was true. When Jake moved to Houston in July, they spent the next few months making every effort to see each other, having many FaceTime dates, and learning how to date over distance. They begin to make incredible friends in a new city, start attending a thriving church, and even find a sick climbing gym. Over time, they start to see the writing on the wall: maybe God really did intend for their stories to take them to Houston together. Jake started to put it all together—he's dating a godly, kind, caring, humble, and honest woman. He knows all the good and all the bad about Hannah, and at this point, he loves every part of it. He set a date, bought a ring, made a plan, and got all the right people together. On December 18th, Hannah and Jake drive into Dallas from Houston to celebrate Jake's birthday. Hannah thought she was planning a party for Jake at her house—little did she know she had actually been planning her own engagement party. Jake faked Hannah out with dinner plans and instead took her to a beautiful rooftop terrace where he hit one knee and asked her to marry him (exactly one year after his previous birthday party where she realized she had feelings for him!)”
What drew H + J to choosing The Emerson for their best day - “It was genuinely the first and only place we looked. We were so excited when we finally got to see it in person and realized it was exactly what we hoped for: a quaint yet beautiful place that feels like we can call it our own for the evening. A place that can serve as a home for us to honor and host the communities of friends and family that have walked with us throughout our loves and throughout our relationship. A place where we are all able to worship and celebrate the God who has ordained our marriage as a reflection of His love for us.”
Looking through H + J’s gallery has us reliving all the magic that unfolded throughout their entire wedding day! We loved hearing from them which moments were the most memorable! Here’s what H said, “During the ceremony, we had two of Jake’s best friends lead the whole wedding in worship. Mine and Jake’s vision for our ceremony all boiled down to that very moment: being able to worship God and give him the honor and glory He deserves. While yes our wedding was to celebrate us becoming one, and we loved every second of it, more importantly, it was to point everyone to the greatest love story ever written and that is that God loved us so much that He gave us His Son. And that one day the Church, Christ’s bride, will be with him again. Ultimately, we didn’t want eyes to be on us in that moment, rather we wanted everyone in attendance to feel the love of God, to know the freedom found in Jesus, and to understand that marriage is not about Jake and Hannah. Hearing the love for our Creator (and for us!) declared through song by all of our favorite people echoing throughout the chapel was a moment that I could live in over and over again. (It was actually so loud that we couldn’t hear ourselves as we were doing communion Hearing it almost felt almost like an out of body experience!) So many people, especially people who don’t have a relationship with Jesus, came up to us at dinner and told us they were sobbing during worship and that our wedding was their favorite one they had ever been to. I don’t say that to brag, but rather to say it meant so much to us that it felt like the whole point of our wedding, the one thing we wanted people to take away from it, was accomplished. Also, our dance party was HELLA fun and literally everyone said so 🤪”
H’s advice to everyone who is currently planning was so thoughtful + we couldn’t agree more with her! “Don’t get caught up in the idea that your wedding has to be the most Instagram-worthy thing in order for it to be special. Don’t stretch yourself (or your loved ones) beyond your margin to create the most aesthetically pleasing wedding ever. Don’t get caught up in comparison!! Seriously, I’m speaking from experience. The only thing it will do is steal your joy. There will always be things you wish you did differently, but at the end of the day those tiny little details you are stressing yourself out over really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things (and likely won’t even be remembered.) Being a graphic and web designer, I am ALL FOR creative freedom and expression as well as all things beautiful and trendy. But you really don’t need to go over the top just so your wedding will be featured. Make it a memorable and enjoyable evening for your guests, stay true to yourself and your partner, and remember that your wedding day does not have to be flashy to be meaningful. Plus, if you choose the Emerson, it quite literally is already so beautiful on its own that it really doesn’t need much to elevate it. IF YOU ARE DOING THE FOOD TRUCK ROUTE YOU HAVE TO HIRE FIREOVA PIZZA. To this day, people talk about the pizza from our wedding and honestly it was our most favorite thing! Plus the staff is SO wonderful and helpful, literally from first point of contact to the end of the wedding day!! They sent a huge box of pizza with us in our getaway car to enjoy at the hotel!”
Congratulations again to The Bakers! We adore you two so much + we are just so grateful that we got to be a part of celebrating your love! We hope that marriage has been more than you even dreamed of + that it only gets better! We’re always in your corner rooting for you! A big thank you goes to all the vendors who made this day happen so seamlessly! We feel insanely fortunate to meet + work alongside so many generous, talented, lovely vendors week after week! H + J’s vendor line up was amazing!
Be sure to check out the whole vendor team below along with H + J’s rental picks!
