Brooke was an absolute delight to work with and we loved that she chose to be a Verde bride!

Before the "I Do"s

How they met :

"Caleb and I first met at STRIPES, which was right before our freshman year of college. We stayed friends throughout college, but we had different friend circles, so we only saw each other when we randomly ran into each other on campus. After I graduated, I used to always see Caleb at tailgates, and I remember thinking, "Oh... he's really cute," but I never thought more than that. When Caleb was leaving for the Air Force, he had a going away party that he invited me to. I was shocked he invited me, and I didn't really want to go. I had a really long day, but my roommates said, "You won't regret going, but you'll regret not going." So, I reluctantly went, and I remember staying for about an hour and a half and talking to Caleb for a good part of that time. From prior experiences, I knew that receiving letters during basic was important, so I wrote Caleb a few letters while he was gone. From that, we wrote letters back and forth for about a year. When he came back to Baton Rouge to visit after that first year, we decided to get dinner at Street Breads. I had a blast and wasn't ready to tell hi, bye, so the next day we grabbed lunch at Magpie. I was sad to see him go …. sadder than I thought I should be. We stayed in touch and talked about once a month. He called me one day to catch up, and we talked for almost 2 hours, and he told me he was being deployed. When we got off the phone, I cried and cried and cried some more. I kept asking myself, "What in the world?! Why am I so sad?" I knew at that point it was because I liked him, but I wanted to wait and see how I felt when he got home from deployment because a long distance relationship didn't sound practical. While he was deployed, he mailed me flowers when I was really bummed out after my hip surgery. I was totally shocked but so tickled! Well .. God has a funny sense of humor, and I met a guy while Caleb was deployed. I texted Caleb and let him know that when he came home, I was kind of seeing someone, so just an FYI. When I did that, Caleb didn't answer for 3 days, and I felt like I had just crushed his heart. My roommate said, "Well, he is overseas and deployed and has a lot going on. He may just need some time." I was crushed because the last thing I wanted to do was hurt him. Finally, he replied, and he said the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. I prayed and prayed and prayed that one of those guys would leave my life, and exactly that happened. God made it very clear that the other guy was no longer supposed to be in my life. So, Caleb it was. There was no looking back from there. Long distance is hard and was hard, but he is worth it. I'm excited to see where our next adventure takes us!"

The Proposal :

"He was not supposed to be able to leave base for the month of December, but they let him off. He proposed in front of the LSU Christmas tree!"

Wedding Day Prep :

Prep Location :

Holiday Inn, Downtown Alexandria

Did you do gifts for your parties? If so, what/ from where? :

"Etsy! Caleb bought them a bottle opener that was a grenade, and my girls got robes."

Bride's Style :

Dress :

By Justin Alexander, Purchased from Bustle

Accessories :

"Veil from Bustle, Grandmother's wedding ring, Mom's pearl bracelet, and earrings from Etsy"

Groom's Style :

Suit :

Purchased from Men's Wearhouse

Accessories :

Fossil Watch

Wedding Details :

What made you choose where you got married?

"It's where I'm from, and I knew I would need help from my mom."

What were your special details or parts of the wedding that were specific to you?

"Caleb and I really wanted it to be a time where people could experience the peace and love of Jesus."

What did you choose to do as your favors?

"Sunglasses - "Don't let our love blind you."

Did you rock a #hashtag?

"#TheStephensTakeFlight"

Advice from the Bride :

"No matter what happens, you're still getting married at the end of the day, so just go with the flow and let it happen. If things mess up, it's okay because you're still getting married to the love of your life!"