Izzy Gresham and Jacob Lovett
the venue. Bowie House
the photos. Laning Photography
The Love Story
Jacob and I met on Bumble, but we actually went to high school together! He was a senior when I was a freshman, so there wasn’t any interaction going on back then, but his younger brother and I were friends in high school, so I always knew who he was. We officially met and started dating when I was 20 and he was 23 after matching on Bumble! We’ve been truly attached at the hip since the day we met, and I can honestly say I knew within 2 weeks of dating that he was the one!
The Proposal
We dated for almost 5 years before Jacob proposed, and in September of 2023, we were doing a little road trip out to West Texas (specifically Lajitas and Terlingua), and he proposed in front of this beautiful mountain in Terlingua. It was perfect, and I was so surprised!
The Wedding Venue
We toured a few different venues once we had decided we wanted to get married in Fort Worth, but we knew as soon as we toured Bowie House that that was it. We actually toured the grounds two months before the hotel even opened, so it wasn’t even finished, but even with plastic still on the walls and paint still drying, we could feel that it was the right space for us. The hotel perfectly mixes western culture with contemporary and modern touches and makes you feel so at home—it is 100% our vibe!
The Vibe
I had a very rough vision going into wedding planning, and I knew I wanted our day to be formal but feel organic and romantic. I wanted our guests to feel at ease and part of the celebration, and most importantly, to have fun! Our reception was a giant party, which was all I could have hoped for!
The Photography
Much like the vibe of the day, I wanted our photography to feel organic, romantic, and natural. I, of course, wanted the classic posed photos, but really wanted to capture the essence of the day—the in-between moments and the candid aspects of a wedding. When doing research into photographers, I found Nick and Hannah Laning, whose work was exactly what I was looking for. They did a phenomenal job, and I couldn’t recommend them enough!
The Dress
I went into dress shopping with a very open mind but knew I didn’t want a ball gown. I knew I would either go very simple with the fabric or very intricate, and ended up leaning towards the latter! My dress was the fourth dress I tried on at Anna Bé Bridal in Dallas, and I ended up picking the Mignon dress by Watters. I had the sleeves custom cut to be gloves rather than sleeves, and it was perfect! The song “Invisible String” was playing when I first tried the dress on in the store, and it was the same song that was playing when I walked back into the store later that day to purchase my dress, so I took it as a sign. I ended up walking down the aisle to “Invisible String” at our wedding!
The Accessories
My favorite accessories that I had on during the day definitely would be the sapphire ring that my mother-in-law had made for me out of stones from a ring that was her mother’s, as well as an embroidered handkerchief from my great-grandmother on my mother’s side that we had wrapped around my bouquet. Her maiden name was Jennings, so it had an embroidered J on it, which was perfect considering my husband’s name is Jacob! Additionally, my mom had a clutch purse made out of the fabric from her wedding dress that I carried on our wedding day. I feel so lucky to have had so many special elements from so many special women in my life incorporated into our day.
The Bridesmaids
I gave my bridesmaids free rein to pick whatever dress they wanted to wear! I gave them rough guidelines as far as shades of green to pick from and requested half of them be in some sort of floral dress, but other than that, they had full autonomy to pick, which I loved and would absolutely do again!
The Groomsmen
With our colors being pretty neutral (mostly black, whites, and greens), it made it pretty easy to just request black tuxes from the groomsmen. Jacob requested a specific tux shirt and color belt, but other than that, they also had autonomy to pick their outfits!
The Wedding Rings
Jacob and I designed both my engagement ring and wedding band, and he also had his band custom-made as well! Jacob had his band made by Chad Barela, who is an amazing jewelry maker out of New Mexico. He also made custom cufflinks for all of his groomsmen and both of our dads!
The Hair and Makeup
I wanted to look like me, but better! Still glam and bridal, but nothing that was going to make me look like someone I wasn’t. I knew I wanted my hair down, so I kept it rather simple with big bouncy curls and stuck to natural tones and pinks for my makeup. My hair and makeup team absolutely killed it!
The Stationery
We kept our stationery selection pretty simple, keeping it in line with our overall neutrals and greens color palette. We actually designed our stationery ourselves, which was a super fun part of the process!
The Florals
I knew I wanted a lot of greenery and to keep florals primarily white and ivory, so our florist helped our vision come to life with a mix of roses, peonies, baby’s breath, orchids, etc., with a ton of greenery elements as well. We had a ton of greenery and florals covering a latticework backdrop behind our band during our reception, which was probably my favorite aspect of the florals on our wedding day!
The Morning Of
My maid of honor and I had booked our wedding suite the night before our wedding as well, so we could sleep there and wake up there on the morning of the wedding. This made for a super stress-free morning of hanging out with my girls, having breakfast, and easing into getting ready together. I sent out letters to Jacob, my parents, both of his parents, and my brother, who officiated our wedding, to read while getting ready, which is something I’m so glad I did! The entire day was so special, but Jacob and I sharing our vows privately before the ceremony, as well as having a moment with just my dad before we walked down the aisle to Jacob, is something I’ll never forget.
The Ceremony
My oldest brother officiated our wedding, which made the ceremony that much more special. We also opted out of having our wedding parties stand up at the altar with us and only had my maid of honor and Jacob’s best man standing with us. It was so beautiful, and I was holding back tears the entire time.
The Reception
Our wedding reception was the best party I’ve ever been to! I know I’m biased, but I truly had so much fun. The flow of things was perfect; I truly feel like I got to at least say hello to every single person there, and once dinner was done, it turned into a giant party, which is exactly what we wanted! Our band was the star of the show and was so interactive and talented. They really created such a fun atmosphere for us!
The Planning
Our wedding planning honestly was something I will look back on with so much fondness. We got engaged at the end of September in 2023 and got married in early October 2024, so our engagement lasted just over one year. I personally feel that was a perfect amount of time for us, as it gave us plenty of time to space out decision-making and alleviated stress due to time crunches. We could not have done it without, of course, our families, but especially Larissa Marple, our wedding planner! Larissa was so easy to work with, kept her head on a swivel, and kept us organized throughout the entire process, and I would recommend her to anyone and everyone!
The Cake
Our cake was made by the talented in-house bakery team at Bowie House! We were able to pick two different flavors for our cake, and the tasting process was definitely one of the highlights of the entire wedding planning process.
The Food
Our food was also done in-house by the Bricks and Horses team at Bowie House. Seriously some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life, and they really pulled out all the stops for our wedding! We offered our guests a couple of different options as far as entrées go, and every single option was delicious; it made it tough for me to decide what I wanted the night of!
The Entertainment
We booked the band Manhattan through the Jordan Kahn production company and could not recommend them enough; they really set the tone for such an amazing party!
The Favorite Moment
It’s so hard to pick a favorite moment throughout the day, but if I had to narrow it down, it would either be exchanging vows with Jacob privately before the ceremony or dancing with all of my best friends on the dance floor during the reception!
The Unexpected
If anything unexpected did happen, I wasn’t told about it! I think that’s such a testament to Larissa and her team, and just how focused she was on making sure we didn’t have to worry about anything during that day! I do recall, however, Jacob’s brother forgetting the wedding rings before he walked down the aisle to the altar. Our planner had to finagle a way to slyly hand them to him before we exchanged them, but other than that, the day truly went off without a hitch!
The Honeymoon
Our honeymoon was truly something out of a dream. We went to Lake Como, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast throughout Italy and ended our trip in Santorini! It was incredible, and I can’t wait to go back.
The Advice
The one piece of advice I would give to brides and grooms planning their wedding is to allow things to roll off your back easily. Not everything will go as planned throughout the process, and not allowing those things to affect you will be the key to keeping stress levels low! Knowing that your wedding will be beautiful and special no matter what was something we kept in the forefront of our minds throughout planning, and it absolutely paid off!
The Vendors
PLANNING AND DESIGN Fête Fort Worth
VENUE, CATERING, DRINK SERVICE, CAKE, GUEST ACCOMMODATIONS Bowie House
PHOTOGRAPHY Laning Photography
VIDEOGRAPHY Northmark Films
FLORAL Blossoms on the Bricks
RENTALS Grand Events, Social Llama Events
CEREMONY MUSICIANS Jonathan Arcangel
LIVE BAND Jordan Kahn Music Company, Manhattan Band
LIVE PAINTING Annie Myers Art
HAIR AND MAKEUP Styles by Vero