From the start, Lindsey and Chad, who met at a bar, had something very special in common—the name Leona. It’s the name of Lindsey’s horse and Chad’s grandmother, whose funeral Chad had attended just hours before he met Lindsey. The couple hit it off and dated for the next four years.
They got engaged during the Christmas season, which is Lindsey’s favorite time of year. The couple had been caring for their puppies that had been sick, and at the same time they’d been decorating for Christmas. Chad told her to get ready to go out to dinner to celebrate the dogs’ improving health. When she went outside, she got a big surprise. “He had all the new lights on in our backyard winter wonderland and proposed to me in front of our giant inflatable Santa by our big oak tree,” she says.
That same oak tree was the backdrop for their wedding nearly a year later, when the couple exchanged I Do’s at their ranch in Valley Springs, surrounded by 150 guests. “We just knew it had to be there, so we spent the entire spring and summer doing a backyard overhaul,” says Lindsey, whose father and brothers built a walkway for guests to enter the back yard.
Chad hung mason jars in the oak tree to surprise his bride. “He did it to match the invitation I had chosen, and he put little tea lights in them so they were like fireflies,” says Lindsey.
Lindsey got ready at a nearby bed and breakfast. Her bouquet had a “Walk by Faith” charm to represent her grandparents in heaven. Chad made a unity piece with three pieces of rope attached to a horseshoe to represent a chord of three strands.
The fall nuptials featured a burgundy and teal color scheme. “I was worried it wouldn’t go together, but my biggest challenge was not drowning everything with browns and tans, so I knew I needed something to set things apart,” she explains. The couple’s short and to-the-point ceremony, surrounded by family and friends, was exactly what they wanted. Their friend served as officiant and offered both humor and sincerity during the ceremony.
Chad originally planned to have his brother as a groomsman, but when his brother was deployed overseas, that brother’s son stepped in. “He did a great job,” says Lindsey.
While it rained a little on the wedding day, it didn’t last long. “We even got a rainbow during dinner,” says Lindsey. The menu included barbeque tri-tip and chicken. Lindsey’s friend made the cake, as well as country fall desserts, including mini pies.
Lindsey and Chad are still savoring memories of the big day: “The whole night was amazing,” she says.
—Kristen Castillo
