Jenna and Joe might not have had the smoothest path to the altar thanks to our best friend covid, but with some patience, laughter, and our help through it all, they finally made it. It took three tries before the date finally stuck, and in the end their final date was exactly one year from their original choice. It was clearly meant to be an April affair! Their wedding weekend was all about celebrating their favorite things; their family, their friends, their ADORABLE dog Scout, Jenna’s love of NOLA, Joe’s love of baseball, having fun, and of course, each other.

The couple selected Galveston, and the Hotel Galvez, to get some of the feeling of New Orleans while still staying close to Houston. Since everyone was coming from out of town they made it a weekend celebration and held their welcome reception in the beautiful conservatory at the nearby Bryan Museum. In order to fully enjoy the events, they also had us assist with the planning of the welcome reception and had Dana of Dana & Josh Fernandez Photography there to capture all the memories.

Guests dined on mini cold canapés, chicken and sausage gumbo shooters, Brazilian chicken, bistro filet, lemon rice, and assorted mini desserts as they enjoyed an open microphone for toasts. One of the best toasts came from the father of the groom, who had a wonderful surprise for his son and new daughter. Joe’s best friend was not able to make it to the wedding, but that just didn’t sit well for his dad, so he had a life size cardboard cut out made and presented it to the couple at the welcome reception. If that doesn’t set the scene for a fun wedding, I don’t know what does!!

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Wedding day finally came and they were ready to walk down that aisle! They decided to forgo a traditional wedding party and instead focused on their parents and siblings, and the cutest wedding party member EVER, their dog Scout!! Hang in there when you get to the photos, because I might have posted a few too many of him, but there was so much happiness that even Scout was smiling. It was just too cute!!!

Jenna got ready in her sleek Sarah Seven gown with her mother by her side, while Joe spent the morning with his buddies before putting on his stylist suit from Suit Supply. With her bridal gown belt, and his colored jacket, these two made quite the couple, and their pictures with the white Hotel Galvez in the background really made their outfits stand out even more!

After a touching first look, it was time to finally get married, and not surprisingly, Scout stole the show. Jenna looked beautiful walking down the aisle with an elegant bouquet of white peonies by Last Petal Floral Studio, but even her eyes were on Scout. As they were FINALLY pronounced husband and wife, their closest family and friends cheered with approval, and Scout joined in with an affectionate howl as well :) And now, it was time to party!

The happy couple was welcomed into the Terrace Ballroom with music from IN10CITY after guests had spent the past hour feasting on a crab claws, oysters on the half shell, and shrimp, all served with mini bottles of hot sauce; and six other hot passed hors d’oeuvres like lamb, beef, brie, and even more shrimp! Guests dined on a delicious plated dinner of surf and turf, while sitting at tables with mis-matched linens from EB Inc Event Rentals (one of our favorite current trends) and centerpieces of candles, mixed greenery, roses, hydrangea, ranunculus, and succulents from Last Petal. After the meal was over and guests had time to chat with the happy couple, then the dancing kicked off with the couple’s first dance and the parent dances.

You can’t have a wedding without wedding cake, and Jenna’s cake did not disappoint! The always amazing Cakes by Gina blended Jenna’s love of NOLA into her cake by combining it with a King’s Cake and matching macarons. Isn’t it a thing of beauty! But don’t you worry, Joe was covered too. His love of baseball was incorporated with a custom built concession stand and vanilla ice cream, served in little baseball hats, with his favorite ice cream topping, Dutch Treat Twinkle Nut Crunch. If you thought those baseballs were just for decor, well, that might have been the intention, but with this lively crowd, it turned into a game of toss between Joe’s parents.

After all those formalities, it was finally time kick off their shoes and have some fun!! The guests packed the dance floor, wearing the custom Mardi Gras beads from the wedding, and danced and danced and danced. They also broke out into song with “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” and enjoyed the photo booth by Lucky Shots when they needed a breather. To make sure their guests had enough energy to last the entire night, the Texas staple Whataburger was brought in for a late night snack, but with enough time to eat it before the final nod to NOLA to wrap up the evening.

The band members of IN10CITY lead the guests to the hotel bar for an unofficial after party in a Second Line to “When The Saints Go Marching In” with Jenna and Joe leading the way. It was the perfect end to a wedding that was 100% worth the wait!!

Congrats Jenna + Joe, it was an honor and pleasure being part of your celebration!

Wedding Hashtags: #CalhounDat