You’re not sick of the whole rustic, country chic wedding style, are you? What’s that you say? You love weddings like this one just as much as I do? Oh, good! Because you are in for a real treat today! ;)

Lush, organic floral arrangements and succulents accompany a pretty olive (green), plum (purple), and charcoal color scheme. A truly magnificent lace wedding dress with an incredible back, fern-colored bridesmaid dresses each in a style of the bridesmaids’ choosing, an array of pretty shoes for the ceremony, comfy cowboy boots (the bride’s embossed with her new monogram) for the reception. Burlap, lace, and twine, mason jars and stripy straws, a “mac and mash” martini bar, a favorite family recipe cookie bar, and quite possible the sweetest ever bride and groom. Wait until you see the heartfelt messages from the bride to her daddy (a personalized handkerchief) and groom (his tie). I guarantee they will leave a smile on your heart for the rest of the day. All of this (and so much more) exquisitely captured by the fabulous gals of Bend the Light Photography!

Lyn and Rygh met in the Fall of 2007. Having been invited to the College Life House (a dance club at Tarleton State University in Stephenville), Lyn and her college roommate, Rebecca, decided to make the drive down from Ft. Worth one Saturday night. While there, a guy in a light blue polo (named Rygh) asked her to dance. And even though they quickly determined they were terrible dancers, their relationship did not end there.

Lyn and her roommate were invited to join a group from College Life on their annual ski trip to Copper Mountain, Colorado. She snowboarded and hung out with the others who boarded, while Rygh skied, and as he puts it, “almost died a few times”. They played Jenga together every night around the dining room table. And then, on the ride home, Rygh chose the seat next to Lyn and held her hand the whole way home.

Lyn and Rebecca made frequent trips to Stephenville after that. One day after church, Rygh pulled Lyn away from the football game they were watching to help him “feed”, which basically meant round hay bales, John Deere Tractors, and lots of cows.

They fed the cows and then went for a walk in one of the fields. After a few more occasions like this, they officially began dating on March 1, 2009. The rest, as they say, is history.

Rygh proposed to Lyn on August 4, 2011. The night before leaving for Jackson Hole, Wyoming, they stopped for dinner at Babe’s, the best chicken place in town, before heading back to Lyn’s so she could finish packing. As she was doing so, Rygh kept pestering her to come over to him. When she finally did, he simply got down on one knee, showed her the ring and she said YES!

Rygh admits that while it was nothing fancy, the ring was burning a hole in his pocket and he just couldn’t wait another second to ask her to be his forever. What a way to start a vacation, eh?

{From the Bride} We chose to have our wedding in the Hill Country at the Riven Rock Ranch as a reflection of our mutual love for the area. Ever since going to dinner there a few years ago, I knew it was the place I wanted to get married.

We wanted a visually stunning event. Both our ceremony and reception took place in outdoor pavilions with beautiful scenic views of the Guadalupe River Valley. Many of the elements, like the wine served at the reception, were regional. We went with a beautiful “country chic” design scheme using plum, olive and charcoal in our color palette. Lush, organic florals and succulents were showcased in rustic, natural wood boxes, reclaimed stumps, and on “vintage” candle stands. Burlap, lace, and twine accented our personal flowers. Rich olive silk napkins stood out against the natural “burlap” linens we chose for the tables at the reception.

We chose to serve sweet tea and lemonade in mason jars with fun straws at our cocktail hour. Riven Rock Ranch did an amazing job putting together a creative, catered spread of Southern comfort foods at our reception in stations. We had wine from one of Lyn’s favorite wineries, a cookie bar of favorite family recipes, chocolate cake balls with Rygh’s brand on them, a “Mac and Mash” Bar, beef and pork tenderloin, caesar salad, sweet potato fries, and green beans. Our wedding cake had a peach and cream cheese filling, and resembled the lace of my wedding dress.

My dress was designed by Sue Wong for Nordstrom. I wore olive green pumps from Anthropologie for the ceremony and custom-made cowboy boots for the reception. My bridesmaids wore fern colored dresses in a style of their choosing from David’s Bridal. They changed from the pewter heels they wore for the ceremony to cowboy boots (like me) for the reception. The boys all wore charcoal suits from Target and custom-made ties from Etsy.

We chose traditional vows because there is something sacred about repeating vows that have been made for many decades by so many people committing themselves to marriage.

{Advice for Couples} Marriage is a commitment to each other. Everyday, commit to love, forgive, laugh, and have fun. Enjoy your wedding day! You work so hard to make it happen and it goes by quick, so enjoy every moment!

From the moment this wedding arrived in my inbox, I’ve been swooning over it. Have been for weeks, probably will still for days. It’s one of my very favorite weddings ever and I cannot thank the lovely ladies of Bend the Light Photography for the opportunity to share it with you today! And thank you, Lyn and Rygh, for sharing your love story with us today! We wish you so much love and luck in the years to come! Congratulations and the very best of wishes from all of us at Heart Love Weddings! xoxo