I know, I know, you’re probably wondering why I’m still rambling on and on about our wedding festivities. Frankly, I think I’m still living on cloud nine. Being married is such a blessing and as the photos and videos continue to roll in, I get to relive our special day over and over again. I just can’t help myself, really – everything was so perfect that it needs to be documented and shared.

One thing I especially loved about our wedding weekend was that everyone got to spend so much quality time together. Though our wedding wasn’t until Sunday, I headed down to Austin on Wednesday to be with my parents and brother for a few days before everyone else arrived. We had so much fun eating delicious meals (at places like Hopdoddy, Bufalina, and La Condesa), exploring the city, and resting and relaxing together. If you’re getting married soon and you have the luxury of taking a few extra days off, I would highly encourage you to spend some down time with your family – it created such an irreplaceable memory for me.

Since Austin is only three hours from Dallas, it didn’t strike me as a typical destination wedding, but at its core, it was – not one person on our guest list was from Austin, making it a destination for literally everyone. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that many of our wedding guests had never been to Austin and wanted to carve out time during our wedding weekend to have fun in the city – I loved that it could serve as an opportunity for a new experience for them. Because of that, people arrived early and stayed late, making plenty of time for my whole family to catch up with loved ones who had traveled to join us for our special day. Nothing felt rushed or condensed – we got to laugh and talk and enjoy one another for as long as we liked.

My two favorite memories, aside from the wedding, of course, took place on Saturday afternoon after our rehearsal lunch and on Sunday morning on the big day itself. On Saturday, everyone was free to rest and relax after we rehearsed and had a great home-cooked lunch together. Organically, everyone (including friends who we love but weren’t members of the wedding party) congregated at the courtyard bar at my beloved Hotel San José. We sipped on delicious cocktails, munched on cheese & hummus platters, and had the absolute best time being all together. At one point, I looked around and felt myself getting emotional (for the zillionth time that weekend) – everyone I loved, from all different walks of life, was in the same place at the same time. It was so surreal. I wanted time to stand still so I could soak it all in. Erin Pommer snuck away to our courtyard suite so she could capture a group photo from the balcony, and she probably doesn’t realize what a gift that picture would be to me – it is truly one of my most favorite images from the whole weekend. As the evening progressed, my bridesmaids, Mom, and I made our way upstairs to order pizza, drink wine, and have a slumber party. Throw an impromptu ice cream run (adorned in our gorgeous hotel robes, of course) into the mix and you’ve got yourself the most fantastic conclusion to a perfect day.

The next morning, my brother and I went for our daily run, which is really the best way to start any day. When we got back to the hotel, we found nearly the entire wedding party (minus James, of course – we didn’t want to see each other until I walked down the aisle!), several of our relatives, and tons of friends from our hometown of Wheaton having breakfast and enjoying the beautiful morning weather at Jo’s Coffee. Once again, organically, people had congregated at a fun spot in town, ending up all together to mingle and eat and relax. While I had listed Jo’s on our wedding website as a place to go, it still amazed me that so many people were there all at the same time. I love the fact that Austin is big enough to offer so many things to do while still being small enough to allow you to run into people you know wherever you go. I had the best time snacking on breakfast burritos, drinking green juice & coffee, and chatting with so many of my favorite people before I got ready to become Mrs. Brown. In fact, I was having so much fun that I was a little late for my hair appointment – oops. Patrick was at Jo’s that morning, too, shooting so much great footage of everyone having a blast together. I love that that footage was showcased in our wedding video – it is so special for me to have that morning captured on film.

Reflecting on these memories just reminds me of how grateful I am for community, and also of how consciously I need to continue pursuing it for the rest of my days. Community is life-giving to me – making memories with people I love is sustaining and soul-filling in a way I can’t really describe. I’m so thankful for the incredible people that walk with me through life’s ups and downs. I could go on and on about them and our memories and experiences but I think I’ll stop here, pausing for one more moment to give a slow clap for the most perfect wedding weekend of all time…