Lovebird Spotting: Murray and Laken

One of the best things about my job is meeting and getting to know each bride/couple. Today's post features Laken and Murray. I have had the privilege of knowing Laken for about five years now. She became my sorority sister and I have loved getting to know her. Laken has one of the best smiles and a contagious laugh. She is beautiful inside and out.  

1. Tell me how you two met.  

Funny story…. Murray will go to the grave saying I added him on Facebook, three short years ago. I know that this isn’t true. Murray tells the story of seeing me for the first time in the College of Business at ASU, sitting on a bench, waiting for class to start. He remembers me smiling at him, and then somehow we all of the sudden became Facebook friends. Thank goodness we did, because that got Murray interested in me, and even led him to ask a fellow friend from my hometown about me. When the time was right, he had his friend tell me that he would like to meet me. I agreed and went to a cookout at their house. We started dating the next day.

2. How was your first date? What did you do?

Our first date was a double date. It was with some of our great friends. We went to dinner and a movie. Pretty simple first date! 

3 & 4. Favorite memory as a couple and how did he propose?

Questions 3 and 4 definitely go together. Our favorite memory together was the night Murray proposed. He orchestrated quite a plan, involving all of the people closest to us. He made an arrangement with my boss to send me on an errand to start off the night. When I got to where the “errand” was, my friends Noland and Kelsey were there waiting for me. Kelsey had her camera to take pictures and Noland greeted me with a clue. This clue started my scavenger hunt to find a treasure. From there, a series of clues led me all around Jonesboro to all the places that were special to us. One of my last stops was at my house where Morgan, Kimberly and Brittany were there waiting for me. Morgan and Kimberly had outfits picked out for me to wear and were ready to start in on doing my hair and makeup. From there, our friends Brittany and JR Baker took me to our church. In front of the big, wooden double doors is where I finally found Murray and my “treasure.” I don’t even think I let him get the big question out before I was screaming, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” After this, I was sure the scavenger hunt was over, but Murray insisted that we had one more stop to make. That stop was at his parent’s house where both of our families and all of our friends involved in the night were waiting for us! We had a big party to celebrate the night. It was one of the most special nights of my life! 

5. Details about your wedding. Date, color scheme, theme, location… 

Wedding deets: Bridesmaid’s dresses are royal blue chiffon and are floor length. My accent colors are silvers, light blues and purples. We will be getting married October 8th, 2011 at 5:00 in the evening at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Our reception will follow at the home of Paul and Melinda McNeill of Jonesboro. I’m so excited about our reception. Our food for the night will be completely homemade by several women in the community. Most of the recipes being served are inspired by the women themselves. The night will be so sweet because of the efforts of these women. We want the feel of the night to feel “homey” with all of our closest friends celebrating the life we’ve chosen to live together.

And lastly, Laken's advice:

It’s YOUR wedding! You’re only doing this once. Don’t worry about the small things. They will all fall into place. Get a wedding planner! Or at least someone who knows what they are doing! I am so blessed to have a TEAM of women who are so helpful to me. I am humbled daily by how much they do. Let people do things for you. You can’t do it all on your own. 

The last thing is at the end of the night, what matters most is what happens in that ceremony, and that is the fact that you are getting to spend the rest of your life with your best friend and soul mate. For better or worse, health and sickness and for richer or poorer, you are given a friendship that surpasses all other relationships in your life. You are given someone to encourage you, stand by you and most of all to love you. 

Did I mention what a beauty Laken is? Murray and Laken truly are a one-of-a-kind couple. I want to show you all their amazing engagement photos but had the hardest time choosing just one or two so I choose a lot of them! Your welcome friends. What I love about their photos are that they show their personalities like showing off her gorgeous ring with a baseball glove (Murray plays professional baseball.) Their pictures were taken by the very talented Lindsey Little Photography. Prepare to be wowed!

I am so lucky to have these two as clients and cannot wait to be a part of their big day!