It was a weekend to remember celebrating Mr. and Mrs. Porras in Dallas in late April! Grace and Win first met through Win’s brother. They bonded over their mutual love for their alma mater, University of Texas. During college, they knew of one another, but didn’t meet until an introduction at a party. Grace shared “Win was a year older than me. His brother actually ended up introducing us in Dallas several years after college. We first met at a Christmas party at his brother’s house at the end of 2020, then saw each other again a couple months later at a birthday dinner. We hit it off pretty quickly and the rest was history! His brother had had us in mind for each other but wanted us to meet naturally as opposed to a set up.”
In August of 2022, Grace and Win took a trip to her parent’s lake house on Lake Athens. Win knew that this was the perfect place to pop the question to Grace because of the many memories they shared there. “It’s a place that’s really special to me, and he and I have great memories of spending time there together while we were dating. He proposed in the yard facing the lake, and then we took the boat out for celebratory champagne. From there we took the boat to a restaurant on the lake where our immediate families were waiting to celebrate with us.”
A little less than a year later, Grace and Win tied the knot at Park Cities Presbyterian Church with the reception to follow at the Dallas Country Club. Grace worked with Haylie Paige Events to bring to life a classic wedding with a modern twist. Grace’s favorite part of the planning process was working with her mom and Haley to design her wedding day. “Working with Haylie Paige was amazing and she made the process so fun and seamless. One thing that was especially fun was designing the invitations! We worked with Katherine Jezek and she did a great job helping bring our vision to life.” For the decor, Grace wanted beautiful flowers that weren’t too over the top. She opted for a grand floral arch at the entrance to the DCC ballroom and a floral structure composed of pink and peach flowers over the bar. For the cake, Grace worked with Fancy Cakes by Lauren to create a gold foil inspired cake. The groom’s cake was a surprise for Win, and paid homage to their days in college at UT. “Win and I both graduated from UT and are big time football fans. He was in an organization called Texas Cowboys, they shoot off the cannon at games. We wanted to incorporate the cannon somehow. As we talked through we liked the idea of showing the cannon on the field and we could be there too. The south end zone is a new part of the stadium that has a longhorn built into the seat opening design and we loved seeing that be part of it.”
An incredible surprise at the reception was the performance by Earth, Wind and Fire! “My parents, Win, and myself were the only ones who knew. It was my dad’s idea to bring in a fun surprise musical guest, and Win and I loved the idea. We really wanted to get the right group so that we could keep the right vibe going at the wedding. We loved the idea of Earth, Wind, and Fire because they have so many memorable songs that you can dance to. “September” is probably the best wedding song of all time! It was so hard to keep the secret, but so fun and worth it for the big reveal. Everyone was shocked!” Grace and Win’s main goal for their wedding was to have the dance floor packed all night. Earth, Wind and Fire had everyone on their feet celebrating with the newlyweds out on the floor. “I loved being on the dance floor. We also got pulled up on stage several times and that was so much fun! And I can’t believe I ended up crowd surfing – that was definitely a highlight. I loved when our dance floor props came out, and I loved seeing everyone have a great time.”
A big congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Porras!! We loved every minute of your wedding weekend!
