Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

Coming straight from the couple themselves, Erin and Brad share their in-depth love story, “Although both Brad and Erin lived in Austin, they first crossed paths at an educational conference in San Diego. Out of hundreds of different vendors from all over the world, their two company’s booths happened to end up next to each other. During the lulls at the conference, they would chit chat and in doing so, found out they both lived in Austin… small world! That made things more intriguing. After the conference ended, they both knew this would likely not be the last time they saw each other. To ensure that, they and their colleagues decided to coordinate Happy Hours back in Austin every quarter to reconnect, talk industry and swap leads… But, let’s be honest, these were more opportunities for Brad and Erin to see each other and pretend it was ‘networking.’ And so things began…

Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

About 6 months after they first met in San Diego, another conference came up, but this time in Austin. Brad had chatted with Erin over Facebook and asked if she and her company would also be there, which was, in fact, the case. The flirtation was becoming more obvious as Erin and Brad kept ‘wandering’ by each other’s booths (they were not next to each other this time) to say ‘Hi’ and see how the day was going. After a long day, Erin went out to grab drinks and some food on the infamous 6th Street in Austin with colleagues. She invited Brad to join (the drinks were on Erin’s boss!) when he was done with his company dinner, which he did. After the night was through, Brad offered to walk Erin back to her car. The parking garage Erin parked in happened to be next to Austin’s infamous Esther’s Follies… an SNL type theater show whose stage had a giant glass window that looked out onto 6th Street. As they walked by, a performance was taking place… it was a full house! Erin looked at Brad and said ‘I bet you won’t go up to that window and do something.’ Brad smirked and turned to Erin and said ‘Watch me.’ He started to walk up to the window, and Erin stood back watching in anticipation. Brad was wearing a button down shirt, and as he was walking up to the window, started to unbutton it and put the moves on the audience. When Brad’s shirt was completely unbuttoned, you could tell the audience was going crazy, and the actors on the stage stopped in the middle of their performance to turn around, and as they did, they saw a shirtless Brad at the window making his belly roll in a wave and moved his hips like Shakira. In the meantime, Erin is dying laughing in the background and knew she found her person.

Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

It wasn’t long after the belly roll at Esther’s Follies that Brad and Erin decided to go on an actual date. Brad lived downtown, so Erin met there, and they hit the town. They first grabbed drinks at a secret speakeasy bar called, the Midnight Cowboy, that required a password to get in. They had bartenders table side with old-fashioned carts that hand crafted your cocktails. You felt like you were in the 1920’s. From there, they went and grabbed dinner at a cute little Neopolitan pizza place called, The Backspace. It was a quaint and intimate (only seats about 30 people) little spot, and probably some of the best pizza Erin and Brad ever had. They talked over candlelight, drinking wine, and discussed their lives, aspirations, families and travel goals. The conversation couldn’t have gone any better, and there was a definite connection. After an amazing first date, Erin’s friend Ann asked: “How did it go?!” Erin responded ‘I really like him’ Ann asked: “What do you like about him?” Erin laughed as she responded “He tells me no and doesn’t let me get away with anything… I like that in a weird way!” Ann then replied: “I like him. He sounds like a keeper. You guys are going to be together for awhile” (Credit to Ann for her prediction!)”

Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

The engagement story is even better than how Erin and Brad met, “Brad very, fortunately, manages Hawaii as one of his sales territories, and therefore makes an annual trip to visit customers. Erin and Brad had been dating about 5 months at this point, and Brad asked Erin to come with him. It didn’t take much convincing for Erin to say ‘YES,’ especially since she hadn’t ever been to Hawaii. They splurged and decided to stay in a private ocean front villa at the renowned Turtle Bay resort in the North Shore of Oahu. There were so many amazing details to the villa, including a cute little sound machine that played calming instrumental music. There was a particular tune Brad and Erin liked right away and played it on repeat. One night, after Erin was done getting ready for dinner, she walked out, and Brad was sitting in the lounge with their new favorite song on, back doors open to the ocean with sun about to set. Super romantical. Brad stood up and said ‘you look beautiful.’ He then reached out his hand to Erin and said ‘Dance with me.’ With the music box playing, the ocean breeze and waves adding the perfect ambiance, they danced. It was at that moment Erin knew this guy was something special, and in that very moment was when he swept her off her feet. She was hooked and pretty sure Brad was too 🙂

Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

Erin’s sales territory at the time included Virginia and Washington D.C. (which is where Brad grew up). She traveled there frequently visiting with school districts in the area and started working with a large school district in Northern VA on a big deal. Upon returning to Austin, Brad had asked how the meeting went and asked which school district it was. Erin told him it was with Arlington Public Schools in VA. He said ‘Oh that’s funny, that’s where my mom works.’ If the world didn’t seem small enough, this funny coincidence just proved that the world really is that small. Erin had apparently been meeting in the very building Brad’s mom also worked, just a floor or two difference. The next time Erin had a meeting there, she decided to introduce herself to Brad’s mom, Kelly, and venture up a couple floors. She brought in some Starbucks and Kelly came around the corner with open arms and a smile. They had a coffee date in Kelly’s office, and Erin couldn’t have enjoyed Kelly’s company more… she is the sweetest woman! A few months later the rest of the Mountain clan ventured to Austin to spend Thanksgiving there, where Erin then met the rest of the fam, and loved them all.

Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

Erin’s parent’s, Rod and Maureen, had come to visit Austin in the Fall. They first met Brad over a friendly game of Top Golf (a really cool driving range). Definitely, a way to size the guy up, and also for Erin’s dad to determine how lousy or how good his golf game was and if he would be able to hang!Erin’s long time friend Traci and her husband also attended to join in on the fun and the ‘initiation.’ The boys threw their ‘tests’ at Brad and grilled him with silly questions, but he survived and passed with flying colors. A few months later Brad traveled back to Santa Cruz and met the rest of Erin’s crazy family over a big family BBQ. He fit right in 🙂

Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

They were on their 3rd tour of Hawaii in August 2015. Brad and Erin decided to try and recreate their first trip by staying at the lovely Turtle Bay Resort in the North Shore of Oahu in their favorite beach front villa. Upon arriving at Turtle Bay, Erin’s friend and former college roomie, Sam, texted her and asked ‘Is this THE trip?’ Erin was pretty confident this was not going to be THE trip due, but little did she know. They settled into their cottage, dipped their toes in the water just outside their patio door and took it all in. That night, Brad had made a reservation at the beachfront restaurant on the resort. They had a table right on the sand, got a nice bottle of wine, and ate some of the best butter fish, shrimp and lobster you could imagine! After dinner, they headed back to the cottage and relaxed on the patio listening to the calm ocean waves. Brad went inside for a few minutes and then called to Erin to come inside. Erin came in, and he had music playing in the background and held out his hand and said: “We haven’t had a dance yet.” He grabbed Erin’s hand and swept her away with his slick dance moves, twirling and dipping just like an old Hollywood movie. In the middle of a spin, Brad let go of Erin’s hand, so her back was facing him. Confused as to why he let go, she turned around and low and behold there was Brad down on one knee pulling a ring out of his pocket. He asked, “Will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?” Erin was utterly shocked and surprised, but couldn’t have been happier and of course said YES! Such a sneaky guy Brad was! He had also mentioned to Erin that he called her parents the week before to ask their permission. To Erin, the biggest accomplishment was that her Mom held onto this secret and didn’t spill the beans! The next day they jet set to Maui and spent the next few days celebrating their engagement, sharing the news with friends and loved ones, and picturing their future of lifelong happiness with one another.”

Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

While the two were dating, they shared an interesting memory …..“…there was this one time we went to the Dominican Republic to a 5 star, all-inclusive resort…. and both ended up with food poisoning and felt like we were both dying…. but Brad held my hair back when I was sick, and we both took care of each other…. needless to say, we grew really close that trip, but even at our worst, made the best of it and laugh about it now. I just feel bad for that plant in the lobby I got sick in because I couldn’t make it to a bathroom in time. Whoops!”

Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

Some of the activities that Erin and Brad participate include, “…with a last name like ‘Mountain,’ it would be an injustice not to love the outdoors. With that being said, we love to hike, camp and ski. Brad’s brother lives in CO, and we visit often and get our mountain fixes in. We love to be active and run, paddleboard, kayak, etc. Adventure awaits for this couple!”

Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

Being outdoors and traveling are some of the engaged couple’s hobbies but what they also love is Christmas; which was why a Christmas-themed wedding felt right. Christmas chic decorations incorporating pine cones and barriers with colors of black, white, red, and gold completed the festive décor.  To top it off, Erin and Brad had a real Christmas tree brought in, decorated, and used as the backdrop for their photo booth. A play on the married couple’s last name, mountain ornaments adorned every place setting as the guests wedding favor from the Mountain wedding!  Rather than having a traditional sparkler exit, the Mountains ran through Christmas “caroling” guests jingling bells and holding LED candles.

Photo Credit: Bloom Photography Photo Credit: Bloom Photography Photo Credit: Bloom Photography Photo Credit: Bloom Photography Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

The advice Erin had for wedding planning brides was, “Don’t let people rush you into figuring out a date or a place or when you will have kids!! Enjoy the moment. Don’t compare yourself or your engagement on anyone else’s… it is meant to be between you and your fiancé and should be super personal.”

Photo Credit: Bloom Photography

Once Mr. and Mrs. Brad and Erin Mountain were off and married, they left the following morning to their honeymoon in Dubai and the Maldives.

Coordinator: Randig Management
DJ: Esson Entertainment
Florist: Revel Wilde
Gelato: Venezia Italian Gelato
Photographer: Bloom Entertainment
Transportation: Clark Travel
Venue: Ma Maison