This week's #WCW is amazing! Mr. & Mrs. Wilson seem like a couple you want to meet and befriend. I had the best conversation with the gorgeous bride, Missy Wilson about her and her husband's (Craig Wilson) wedding experience. Unfortunately the Mr. was under the weather and we had to communicate via email, but these two are amazing. Missy, a Graphic Designer for AIG and Craig, an Internal Auditor for Exxon Mobil; the two reside in Houston, Texas living as happy newlyweds. I appreciate them so much for taking the time to share their wedding experience with me. I hope you enjoy seeing how these two, destined to meet, tied the knot; Wilson style.
How and where did you two meet?
"We went to school in the same college town and we never met. We both left the area and he went to business school and I was actually ill and had returned to Atlanta. We came back to visit our best friends in 2012 and we met that weekend. They were dating, and are now married, and he was kind of like all the guys are coming up this weekend so everyone should come up and hang out. It was funny because I lived down the street from where he worked and worked with some of his friends, but we never knew each other. God was pretty much like that's not when I want you two to meet. When he wanted us to, we met and we started dating and Face Timing after that weekend because he lived in New York and I lived in Atlanta. We dated long distance for a little while." -Missy
How long were you dating before you got engaged?
"I would say about a year and a half. Our time line is that we started Face Timing, talking on the phone, and texting and then we had our first date 3 months later. After that he got a job offer in Houston. I was actually ending my contract with the job I had at the time, for a non-profit organization. He was kind of like put some 'feelers' out for jobs in Houston. I was kind of like 'Okay if that's where you want to take this relationship'. I kind of had a feeling that he was the one; I just didn't let him know that. We lived in Houston together for about another year before we got engaged." -Missy
How did you know she was the one?
"I could be myself around her immediately! We both had a similar sense of humor and personality. Unlike anyone else I had been with before." -Craig
How long were you engaged?
"We got engaged on Christmas Eve of 2013 and were engaged for 22 months." -Missy
Wedding Date: October 3, 2015
Inside Ceremony & Reception (Foxhall Resort & Sporting Club Douglasville, Ga)
**The couple explained that the original plan was to have the ceremony and dancing outdoors and have the dining portion indoors, but due to weather conditions they were forced to change their plans and host everything indoors**
Approximate expense: $26K+
Wedding Theme: 'Natural Romance'
Color Scheme: Cranberry, Navy, and Tan
Where did you get inspiration from for your color scheme?
"I originally wanted a plum or maroon color. I saw a picture on Pinterest where the bride had shades of plum and purple for each bridesmaid and I loved the 'mix match' look for the bridesmaids. My husband was like he didn't think he could pull off purple. His favorite color is actually 'Baby Blue' and I hate baby blue and there was absolutely no way I was incorporating it into a fall wedding. We agreed that I could pick a shade of blue. I went to design-seeds.com and it helped me build a board off the color pallet (pictured above) and we went from there." -Missy
Did Craig help with the planning or did he just say 'you do it all and I'll just show up'?
"I would say he had more input than most grooms. He was definitely not that 'hands-on-groom' but he had his say in certain things. He was definitely the 'I don't like that' type of groom. When it came to the groomsmen and our first dance song he was on it. We collaborated with music and he definitely had his input." -Missy
What caused the most stress while planning?
"The budget! We had a very stressful year in 2015. I was laid off from my job, Craig was still on the road traveling, his father passed away and there was just so many things happening that I was ready to give it all up and go to the courthouse. I felt like I had been with him all this time and I love him and that's all that matters to me, so I was ready to just say forget it. He was not feeling that. He wanted a wedding and I'm glad I listened to him. Budget was definitely huge though because I could not imagine spending so much money for just one day." -Missy
"I would say the most stressful part was trying to keep up with all the different vendor's due dates." -Craig
What was the most helpful while planning?
"I feel like Pinterest is a gift and a curse. I was very focused on detail because I wanted a certain look and feel captured in my pictures. You look back and realize that most of those details are forgotten or aren't even captured. I would say on the flip side Pinterest was a humongous help. It definitely helped me narrow down my vision. I also had a wedding planner and she was amazing. I feel like if even if you get a 'Day-Of' planner; the bride should be as carefree as possible." -Missy
"I think that between my wife and Shannon Dawson, our wedding planner, they were the biggest help and played the biggest roles with planning the wedding." -Craig
What was your best memory of the day?
"That's a hard one. Can I do two? I really really enjoyed when we did our first dance. We danced to Musiq Soulchild, 'Don't Change'. At first I was like, 'I do not want to dance to Musiq Soulchild; everybody dances to Musiq Soulchild.' I have a little different taste in music. My taste is a little more eclectic and I had some other things in mind, but we agreed on that and I'm so glad I did. My second favorite moment or memory was when my brother and I danced. We did a 'Brother-Sister' dance instead of a traditional 'Father-Daughter' dance. My dad hasn't always really been in my life and my brother has always been there to kind of step up and be my 'father figure'. Prior to the day, I was totally agonizing over it and not wanting to do it because I didn't want all eyes on me and I didn't want questions. Maybe two weeks before the wedding I decided that we were going to dance to 'Stand By Me' by Ben E. King and it was just so awesome. I'll forever cherish that moment. He's like 7-8 years older than me and he lives in California. We've always been super close and to have him walk me down the aisle, give me away, and dance with me was such a great memory." -Missy
"Seeing Missy walk down the aisle was my best memory." -Craig
What was your worst memory of the day?
"I would have to say sitting in a room waiting for the wedding to begin. We had to delay the wedding because the shuttle with some of our guests was late." -Craig
"Our venue was about 20 or so minutes away in the woods with very little lighting and it was raining so we had arranged for a shuttle to pick up our guests. The shuttle was an hour late for our second group of guests. We had to delay the wedding by an hour. Everyone was fine and happy because we opened up the cocktail hour early so people got to drink and eat, but I was the one stressed out about it." -Missy
If you could, would you get married all over again and if so, would you do it the same way?
"Yes I would do it all over again, but I don't know if I would have as long of an engagement as we did." -Craig
"I feel like our wedding was the best ever, but I would probably do more of a Destination Wedding. At the end of the day we ended up spending that kind of money and that wasn't my goal. I totally didn't want to spend that much money. The main reason why we didn't do one is because both of our grandparents are getting older and just traveling to Atlanta was a lot. I would have had to include our family because we are both very 'family-oriented'." -Missy
Do you want or plan to renew your vows?
"I think because it is so fresh we haven't really discussed that yet. If we get to twenty or twenty-five years, I think we may have more of a huge celebration instead of actually renewing our vows. I also feel like we are very frugal so I don't think we'll every have anything on the scale of our wedding." -Missy
Was you wedding day everything you expected?
"I was a tomboy growing up so I was never the one to think about growing up and getting married. I don't think I ever really thought about getting married until I met him. Within the 22 months, nothing went the way it was planned so it was not what I expected, but it turned out to be more."
-Missy
"I would say that it was pretty even. I had high expectations going into that day and I feel they were met." -Craig
What is the best advice you would give to someone else planning their wedding?
"Don't sweat the small stuff and remember to focus on what the day is truly about; you and your husband. In twenty years it's not going to matter if you left the garter or anything else. None of that is going to matter. It's all about you and that person becoming one flesh and keeping God in your marriage." -Missy
"It's important that you have an opinion, but your opinion is not important." -Craig
I hope you all enjoyed the interview as much as I did. She is an awesome gal and I am sure that Craig is just as awesome. I wish this beautiful couple nothing but happiness and success on their marriage and with their future career goals and endeavors. Please continue to tune in every Wednesday for a new Wedding Crush Wednesday couple.
See Below For Wedding Credits:
Wedding Venue | Foxhall Resort & Sporting Club | Douglasville, Georgia
Wedding Planner & Decor | Elevation Events & Design | Shannon Dawson
Photographer | Sterling Graves Photography | Atlanta, Georgia
Wedding Stationery | Mickey Estelle Creative | Missy Wilson (The Bride)
HAPPY PLANNING!!!