“As I began to plan a wedding I began to curate this vision of a wedding where vintage meets modern glam. I love colour, the fun of disco balls, and eclectic florals, but also wanted to incorporate elements that would stand the test of time.”
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Bailey: I am originally from a small town in Missouri and come from a big family being one of six kids! Postgrad I moved to Texas and have lived here for almost three years now (not sure how long I have to live here to officially become a “Texan”…) Living in Texas I’ve met the love of my life and some of the most genuine friendships that I will cherish forever. I am extroverted to the core and find so much joy in being with people. I currently work as a High School Girl’s Director at a Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas and it’s the absolute best getting to do life alongside younger girls as they grow and mature. I teach yoga sculpt on the side, love cooking and exploring new restaurants as I am a major foodie and health nut. Something about me is I love creating and curating design through clothing and home interior, may have to turn it into a profession one day!
Grayson: I was born and raised in Texas and grew up with two older sisters, a Mom and Dad. Upon graduating High School, I studied Advertising at the University of Texas at Austin, with the intention to pursue a career in Advertising. Post-college, God brought me back to a passion for people and His church. Currently, I work as a Junior High Minister at a church in Prosper, Texas getting to walk in that calling. It is a dream getting to meet people where they are at, and share the hope of Jesus with them. I am a total extrovert and love doing anything with people. Making coffee is a favourite hobby of mine, along with goofing around, reading, and taking photos. I am a learner at heart and find so much joy digging into books, podcasts, and classes!
Together our favourite moments are slow mornings, hosting our friends and exploring new places. We love people and anything that involves being active and travelling!
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
Bailey: My understanding of Grayson began when I saw him at a coffee shop in October of 2021. I was passing through a small town that both of us were visiting. When I saw Grayson I thought two things, one he looked super familiar and two he was so incredibly attractive! A few days later I realized we had mutual friends which is why he looked so familiar! Of course, I had to follow him on Instagram. Grayson followed me back and from there it was a bit of radio silence. I wasn’t going to waste any time trying to chase a boy so I decided to pray every day until I would leave to go home for Thanksgiving. My prayer? Grayson would make the first move and ask me on a date. Fast forward almost a whole month (a few days before I was about to leave to go home for Thanksgiving). I had gotten a message from Grayson Frank asking me to go on a date. About this time I was in the middle of Free People shopping with friends and thought I was going to have a heart attack, I was so excited and definitely in shock! For a moment I actually thought someone was playing a joke on me because it seemed so surreal. We went on a date two days later and my first impression of Grayson was that He was disarming, dynamic (had so many different interests and I loved that about him), compassionate, strong, unapologetically himself, loved his people and loved God! He was and is hands down the coolest person that I know!
Grayson: After Bailey followed me on Instagram I thought “Wow”, but I also thought about the male stereotype of messaging random followers to go on dates. I didn’t want that to be me. I felt like I needed more info to go off of the outside of an attraction to an online page. Months later, I received a dm from a mutual follower that Bailey and I have, talking up a storm about how amazing this Bailey person is. I had to know. After drinking coffee and sharing our lives for a few hours, I was “in” on Bailey. I had never interacted with someone as strong (and attractive) as her. The first thing I did when I got back into my car after the date was call my mom to tell her I met the one.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Bailey: This was a pretty quick and easy realization for me. Upon the first date, I knew that something was different. Grayson was strong in his convictions, soft towards people, the most fun had interest of his own and made me feel at home. I was always a little head over heels for Grayson, but dating him only confirmed that all the amazing qualities I saw in him were true to who he really is. We began dating in mid-December of 2021 and when I had gone home to spend Christmas with my family, I told my parents that Grayson would be the one I would spend the rest of my life with!
Grayson: Initially, it was there the first date. Seven months into dating though was the actual time I came to this conclusion. I didn’t want to just marry her eventually, I wanted to marry her as soon as I could. This feeling enveloped me, driving up Pacific 1. Bailey and I had just gone to dinner in Venice Beach, and we decided to go up P1 to Malibu! It was in the car that I saw Bailey open up about her insecurities, a thing I had never expected from such a strong, kind woman. She had everything. I couldn’t imagine a single insecurity of hers if I tried, yet there she was, more vulnerable than anyone else I had known to be in my entire life. It was that exact moment when my stomach sank, and I was driven to assurance that she would be the one.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
Grayson:Yes! The proposal happened in June of 2022. The middle of the summer in Texas is hot. It was not going to be fun to propose outside, so I decided to stage the proposal in a beautiful art museum in the heart of Fort Worth, Texas! I had two dear friends hide in a room to the left at the top of the stairs in the Art Museum. Luckily for me, I had made friends with the security guard. This came in handy when I had to help Bailey with some things around the house last minute as I picked her up to take her to the museum. Five minutes to go before the museum closed, I pulled up with my (future) bride-to-be. Security guard in check we were allowed to walk into the museum as the doors were already being locked. Nervous, I make a b-line to the staircase, raced up them and make a left. I had a bouquet waiting for us on the bench in front of the primary art installation. A note, a bible, and a ring, I was so nervous but I uttered out those three words somehow and Bailey said yes! The Museum team that was trying to close down the building erupted from around the corner along with two of my close friends. It wouldn’t be preferred by everyone, but it was perfect for us.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
I had never been the girl who had her wedding Pinterest boards and visions all nailed out long before I would need to be planning a wedding. It helped me live in the reality of each day. As I began to plan a wedding I began to curate this vision of a wedding where vintage meets modern glam. I love colour, the fun of disco balls, and eclectic florals, but also wanted to incorporate elements that would stand the test of time. I decided to keep the ceremony primarily white to represent purity and beauty, and then brought in all of the colours as our people walked into the reception. We wanted to invite all of our people, yet create an environment that felt intentional and intimate! The aim was for people to feel like they were at an intimate gathering with all of their favourite people too. We wanted all of our people to join us in the celebration of the most important covenant we would ever get to make. The two most important elements of our wedding day were the ceremony where were would commit our lives to one another forever, and of course, the reception because nothing is complete without the most hype dance party ever.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
This one was easy! Grayson is definitely more creative when it comes to photography and videography, so we were so incredibly happy to splurge on both our photographer and videographer. Grayson and I knew that the day would come and go and that the memories we would have to keep forever would be the photos and videos from our day. We wanted to work with people who created timeless images and film, and captured the day as it was, as well as all the moments that we missed in the midst of our day. Our desire was always to be able to look back at photos and videos and feel the emotion captured in each photo. Having Gracie and Ruby capture our day was the best decision – they were present, intentional, hype girls, creative, kind and loving people!
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
The need for a rain plan never felt necessary throughout the planning process until a few days before the wedding when the forecast decided to change a bit. Truthfully I was at the point where as long as Grayson and I were married by the end of the day, rain or shine, nothing else mattered! Mid-ceremony it began to lightly rain and Grayson and I were just waiting for the clouds to break and the rain to pour. It rained lightly as we got to worship with all of our friends and family and once the worship had come to an end, so did the rain! Not how we would have planned the ceremony, but a little good luck on your wedding day never hurts!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
Bailey: The dress was such a unique and fun find! Grayson and I had decided on a shorter engagement which meant that we had less time to pan out the details, including our attire, which for a dress was a bit of a time crunch! It didn’t take me long to realize that most dresses take 4-6 month minimum to get in, not including the time needed for alterations. I had been to multiple dress shops and once I picked my dress I never turned back. I had always wanted something that had a clean look and would be unique amongst the sea of dresses. It was timeless, comfortable (so I could dance which was very important) and unlike any wedding dress I had seen. I loved how the dress tied in the overall vision of the wedding theme being unique and modern, yet vintage and timeless. Choosing the dress I did, was such a gamble as they were discontinuing the dress in that same month and the dress was supposed to get in 3 weeks before our wedding day. I knew this was the dress and just went for it no matter the risk. The dress came in an entire week early and my alterations team was so amazing in making the short timeframe work. To this day I wouldn’t have picked another dress!
As for Grayson, well I think he can pull just about anything off, but being his laid-back self we began to bring together his look a couple of months out. We wanted to find a look that was clean, timeless, sleek and masculine. Grayson chose a more traditional and clean black tux with eclectic details like a velvet bow tie to match my shoes. My favourite part of Grayson’s look was the Tissot watch that had a leather band and clean vintage watch face as well as the replica of his grandfather’s ring that we used the same diamonds from.
Ceremony & Reception Location: The Grand Lady, @grandladyaustin / Photographer: Ruby Olivia Photography, @rubyolivia.photography / Videographer: Boettcher Films, @boettcherfilms / Celebrant: Hixon Frank, @hixonfrank / Sound and Lighting: CFE Productions and @cfeproductions / DJ: Kyle Holliman “HOLLYBEATZ” / Styling: Bride / Planner: Event Julep; @eventjulep / Flora: @grandladyfloral / Catering + Beverages: Soho Catering & Consulting; @sohocateringandconsulting / Cake: Feathers & Frosting; @feathers.and.frosting / Invitation Suite: @sarahposeycreative / Day of Stationery: East Rose Studio; @eastrosestudio / Registry: The Knot; @theknot / Groom + Groomsmen’s Attire: The Black Tux; @theblacktux / Bride’s Gown: Rita Vinieris; @ritavinieris / Bridal Shop: Lovely Bride; @lovelybridedallas / Ring/s: Diamonds Direct; @diamondsdirect / Shoes: Manolo Blahnik; @manoloblahnik / Other jewellery & accessories: Kendra Scott; @kendrascott / Groom’s Watch: Tissot; @tissot.us / Makeup + Hair: Etoilly Artistry; @etoillyartistry / Fragrance: Gucci; @gucci / Bridesmaid: All of my bridesmaids had dresses from different designers – Caroline Constas, @carolineconstas; Sabina Musayev, @sabinamusayev; Halston, @halston; Significant Other, @the.significant.other; Revolve, @revolve; Mumu Weddings, @mumuweddings; Azazie, @azazieofficial; Fame and Partners, @fameandpartners; BHLDN Weddings, @bhldn; Mac Duggal, @macduggal; Solace London, @solacelondon
