At Texas A&M University when you walk underneath The Century Tree with a significant other, it is believed you will spend the rest of your lives together. Audra Smith, took this tradition a step further when she married Jordan Haddock under this very tree on May 10.
Audra and Jordan met three years ago at Hurricane Harry’s on Northgate.
“I was actually on another date with a guy who was really excited about buying ‘cowboy things’ like boots, a hat, things like that,” says Audra. “I told him some places he could find good boots and all things western, but I told him, ‘Whatever you do, don’t buy a sparkly belt like that guy,’ and motioned to Jordan.”
Little did Audra know, this same sparkly belt guy would one day become her other half. Audra says Jordan is her mirror image.
“I call him my missing puzzle piece,” says Audra. Not only do they enjoy a lot of the same things, but they also share the same sense of humor. “Our humor is totally in sync to the point of laughing ’til we cry and making the same joke at the same time.”
Audra says she really knew Jordan was the one when he finally met her son, Peyton.
“They were best buddies, and I saw just how much he loved him like his own, without reservation,” says Audra.
Jordan’s relationship with Audra’s son made saying yes to his proposal that much easier. Jordan proposed at a New Year’s Eve party in 2017 at the stroke of midnight. “We were counting down and when I turned around to give him a New Year’s kiss he was down on one knee.”
It wasn’t long before the couple began planning for their wedding. Audra says since Bryan is her hometown and she’s a third generation Aggie and Jordan also attended Texas A&M, it was fitting to have her wedding at a place that was familiar to both of them.
“We decided we wanted a small ceremony, with just family, so we could have a bigger honeymoon — nothing fancy and no stress of planning a huge wedding,” says Audra. “The Century Tree just seemed like a no-brainer. It’s such a beautiful tradition and we wanted to be a part of it.”
The wedding date was also a no-brainer. Jordan graduated and got his Aggie ring on May 10, so it made sense to have the wedding on the same day. “Since his family had to fly in [for graduation], we decided to pack it all in to one amazing day,” Audra says. “He’ll never have an excuse to forget our anniversary now.”
Audra says she wanted her dress to be simple, since she wanted to take her wedding photos in Paris during their honeymoon. For the wedding ceremony Audra wore a blue dress purchased from Charli in College Station.
“It’s a beautiful, floor-length navy gown, very timeless, but not something you’d typically see a bride wearing on her wedding day,” says Audra. “I wanted to do something totally different from the typical white gown, since I was planning to save my beautiful, white and cream wedding gown for our honeymoon in Paris, France, where we planned to take our wedding portraits.”
Keeping the wedding simple (like hand-making the bouquet to keep costs lower) allowed Jordan and Audra to have their dream honeymoon in Europe.
“We spent two weeks in Europe where we visited Paris, Prague, and Budapest,” says Audra. “It was definitely a once in a lifetime trip.”
What made the honeymoon even more special was taking their wedding portraits in the early morning light while all the Parisians slept. “It was as if we had Paris all to ourselves.”
Haddock Vendors
- Ceremony Photographer Century Tree Productions
- Wedding Portraits L’amour De Paris
- Navy Dress Charli
- Jordan’s Suit Men’s Warehouse
- Celebration Dinner Veritas
