Real Bride: Tiffany Hyatt

Tiffany and Kade had an absolutely stunning wedding at The Chapel at Ana Villa in Texas. The beautiful light pink and merlot color story here is truly a great inspiration! Did I mention how absolutely stunning the brides dress was?! Lets jump right in!

Your name: Tiffany Hyatt

Partner’s name: Kade Hyatt

Wedding date: August 6, 2017

City, State: The Colony, TX

Tell us more about you!

How long have you been together? 1 ½ years

How did he propose? (Or how did you propose!) He was so worried about planning something I would like and actually surprising me, but once he had the ring for a couple of days he decided he just couldn’t wait anymore! He got down on one knee in his apartment while we were getting ready to go somewhere and told me he just couldn’t wait anymore! It was so sweet and he actually did surprise me! And I loved that it was a moment between just the two of us.

What was your favorite part of the wedding? That’s hard to pick! Probably walking down the aisle. I adored my dress, and I felt so beautiful walking down in it and seeing all my loved ones as I walked! I also loved walking with my dad (I’m such a daddy’s girl) and seeing Kade at the end of the aisle (crying) waiting for me! I also LOVED having a photobooth. It makes for great and fun wedding favors!

What went wrong with your wedding? The only thing that kind of went wrong was actually right after the wedding. We were halfway to our hotel in Dallas when one of my bridesmaids (who was in charge of taking our gifts to our apartment) called me to see if someone had accidentally put her car keys (including the apartment key!) in my bag, which of course someone had. We didn’t turn around though, she had to come pick them up from the front desk of our hotel! So a few people had to stay at the venue an extra hour to wait for her to get back so she could take the gifts.

Did you find any tricks to save you money? Venues are almost always a lot cheaper on Sundays and in the afternoon, so that’s what we did. We built our own archway, which turned out beautiful and cost way less than renting/buying one! We also used silk flowers on the archway so we could have bigger flowers without paying more for real ones. I asked family and friends for things like lanterns, chalkboards, wood decor, etc., and they all let me borrow them for free! You’d be surprised what all people have just laying around! I also asked a friend who does floral work often to do my flowers, and she did amazing for way less than regular florists. Supporting local business and friends definitely pays off!

If you could go back and redo it, would you change anything; and if so, what would you change? The only thing I would change is that I would have danced more! I spent so much time going around talking to everyone that I barely even touched the dance floor, and I’m still really sad about it.

Do you have any advice for new brides? Try not to let all the people asking you a million questions about the day stress you out. It’s going to come together and be everything you want it to be because you get to marry your best friend! Just enjoy the day as it comes and do whatever you want on your day regardless of things you might feel like you should do!

Did you over-plan or under-plan, or was it just right? I think it was just right, it was exactly what I envisioned.

Did any of your vendors knock your socks off? Oh my goodness, yes! My photographer was incredible and hilarious. He made the day less and all the family pictures less stressful for me because he was able to keep everyone under control and his sense of humor helped me relax! My videographers also did an awesome job, I swear they were everywhere capturing everything!

Did any of your vendors disappoint? Nope, they were all great!

What was one (or more!) special element in your wedding that isn’t in most? We did a cord braiding ceremony for our unity ceremony instead of sand or candles. I know braids are becoming more popular now, but it was special to us because our faith is at the center of our lives and our marriage, and the cord is a biblical symbol of marriage between two people and God. “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” -Ecclesiastes 4:12 I also sewed a piece of two blue shirts that belonged to my Nana and Pa who passed away last year into my dress.

What do you wish you’d spent more on (whether you were able to or not)? I wish we could’ve had the funds to have a sit down dinner. Our wedding was at 1:30pm so it was okay to just do little horderves and a candy bar, but I would’ve loved to have an evening wedding with a dinner. But realistically, we were inviting so many people that it was just way too much to pay for that much food!

Where do you feel like you could have saved money or overspent? I think maybe we could’ve saved on stationary for things like RSVPs and programs. Several people didn’t send them back even though we didn’t send RSVP cards to alot of younger people (because, you know, internet and texting) and alot of people left their programs there.

How many guests did you invite vs how many RSVP’ed vs how many actually came? We invited about 370 and about 250 RSVP’d yes, and I think about 260 or so came!