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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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There is no person better to describe Amanda and Randy’s love story better than Randy himself! We do love when grooms give us their perspective which we find doesn’t happen as often as we would like. Here is how the future Mr. and Mrs. White met, fell in love, and got engaged. “Go back to November 2010. Amanda is on a flight from Durham to Orange County, and I’m driving my black Chevy Tahoe down from SLO for an on-site interview at Edwards Lifesciences in Irvine, CA. There is a group of about 30 college seniors and grad students, and we’re all staying at the Surf and Sand Resort in Laguna Beach, getting ready to compete against each other for only 6 spots as TDP engineers. The weekend goes by in a blur, and neither Amanda nor myself can say with 100% confidence that we met (or didn’t meet) each other over this weekend. But one thing is true – this is the exact moment where the stars began to align, and our paths would begin to converge.

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Jump to July 2011. Amanda is returning from a trip to South America, and I’m flying into Irvine at the last possible moment after a 4th of July weekend in Tahoe. The newly instated engineers of Edwards are meeting for a pre-first day of work happy hour at JT Schmidt’s in Tustin. This is when things begin to really heat up – we say “Hello, nice to meet you” to each other. This short but sweet interaction planted the seed that would eventually break down my absolute to never date someone at my same company and Amanda’s stronghold to not have a boyfriend for “at least a few years”.

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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The months that followed were the foundation. Amanda was over at my apartment more often than I had ever expected a girl to be at my apartment – it was almost as if I had signed up for an additional 4th roommate. “Who is this girl? And how does she have so many stories? I like these stories. Hmmm. She’s traveled internationally, and she can speak Spanish, and she LOVES salsa dancing, and she’s super excited to tell me all these stories. I think I like this girl”, I thought to myself after a few weeks of getting to know Amanda.

On August 30, 2011, I decided to make a move. I invited Amanda to dinner at Las Brisas in Laguna Beach, where the two of us shared a jalapeño-stuffed pepper and I learned how much Amanda could eat. Our first date was in the books. Later dates would include a boat dinner cruise around Newport Harbor and a tasty waffle sandwich at Bruxie in Orange. Then on October 10th, Amanda finally had enough and told me to make it official – we were boyfriend and girlfriend.

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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Less than 2 months later, Amanda packed up and moved to Utah for a work rotation. Despite the distance, this is where we really began to grow closer to each other. We kept the Skype call on throughout the night just so we could each feel closer to one another while we slept. We snowshoed together. We wrote to each other. Amanda even secretly left a birthday present for me under my bed without me even knowing. We spent New Years together at Amanda’s house in Dallas. And we began to fall in love.

The first part of this story is critical – it’s pretty much the only time where Amanda gave me any hint of what she wanted in an engagement ring (at least one of the only times I was mentally taking notes on the subject). We were going through airport security at SFO, and putting back on our shoes and belts, and Amanda says out loud, “In case you would ever need to know, I’m just putting back on my size 5.5 Duke class ring, you know, in case that would be something you are interested in”. Mental note logged. Size 5.5.

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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It was October 30th. Amanda was in Seattle visiting a friend and I was on a mission. A mission I had been researching for a few months and one I felt confident embracing. After a drive up to LA and a phone call with Mom to let her know my plans, I stepped foot into the LA Diamond Factory. I spent a few hours in the shop, left some money with a guy named Mervyn, and walked out of the store with nothing to show for it. It wasn’t until 3 weeks later, and a FaceTime call where I designed Amanda’s ring from scratch, when I finally got to pick up the ring. I stored it in my sock drawer, pulling it out every day and staring at it, sometimes even putting it on and using the flashlight on my phone to see how it sparkled. It was perfect – I just needed to devise my plan to take it from my finger, to Amanda’s.

Before I could ask Amanda the big question, I needed to ask the even more intimidating question to Amanda’s parents. I had thought about asking her parents back in June at their family reunion at Garner State Park, but “the opportunity never really presented itself”. Of course it didn’t! I learned it’s a conversation that doesn’t just magically happen, I had to make it happen. So over Thanksgiving, I visited Amanda’s house in Dallas and got the blessing I was hoping for. Now there was just one more thing to do!

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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Have you ever heard of the name Courchevel? It’s a ski resort in France. It’s also a ski run on Park City mountain in Utah. Why is this important? Because this is where I felt like the time was right. Not in France, but on the mountain in Park City. I had the ring inside my jacket pocket, and it felt like it weighed 100 pounds. Even though it was only the 3rd run on the first day of the New Year’s Eve trip, I knew this was the moment. I stopped in the middle of the run, took off my snowboard, gloves, goggles, and helmet and tried to convince Amanda I was just tired and needed a rest. “You’re tired after 3 runs? And why did you take off all your gear”, Amanda asked suspiciously. That’s when I reached into my pocket, got down on one knee, and looked straight into Amanda’s reflective goggles. I asked her to marry me on December 31st, 2015, and Amanda said yes!”

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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With over a year of wedding planning behind them, May 6th had arrived. As an outdoorsy couple, Amanda and Randy were looking for a Festive, intimate, and active style to fit their personalities. The two wanted vibrant florals for the wedding day but one of the most important aspects they wanted was for all their friends and family to enjoy the party and join them on the dance floor! The ceremony took place at Emmaus Catholic Church in Lakeway, cocktail hour was placed at the Lakeview site, dinner on the Trellis, and dancing in the Great Hall. They truly utilized all of the space Ma Maison has to offer! For being a couple that loves the outdoors, a smores station was a must, Reese’s was even offered as a Hershey’s chocolate alternative.

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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Sparklers and a vintage car were the sendoff that the new Mr. and Mrs. White chose to end their wedding night with while Fiji and New Zealand was the destination location for the honeymoon after a relaxing day to catch up after the wedding.

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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Photo Credit: The Bird and the Bear

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Band: Icehouse Band
Cake: Bride’s Table
Caterer: Crave Catering
Rentals: Whim
Photographer: The Bird and the Bear
Coordinator: Frills
Floral: Petal Pushers
Ice Cream Sandwiches: Moojo
Venue: Ma Maison
Videographer: Adam Grumbo

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