Bailey Brinkman was 18 years old when she and Jaxton McNair began their relationship. However, Jaxton didn’t ask Bailey to marry him until after dating for four years.
Bailey is from Caldwell and Jaxton is from Snook, but their families were close before they met, sending each other holiday cards every year. The two did not know they would be more than faces on a card until they met each other for the first time at Hurricane Harry’s.
“You’re a Brinkman girl,” Jaxton said. “And you’re Jaxton,” Bailey replied, remembering Jaxton from Christmas cards that hung on her family’s refrigerator, and they started talking from there.
The story gets sweeter when Jaxton proposed during a family picture day for 2017’s holiday cards.
“I did not expect it, but my mom told me that year that Jaxton could be in our Christmas card,” Bailey says.
This took Bailey aback because her parents have a rule about being featured in her family’s holiday cards.
“If you don’t have a ring, you don’t get to be in the picture,” says Bailey.
Bailey says her mom dispelled suspicion by saying it was okay because they had been together for four years. Jaxton’s mom asked to join Bailey’s family on the day they were taking pictures, explaining it was because they wanted to do Christmas cards as well.
On Nov. 12, 2017, both families took the pictures behind Bailey’s grandparents’ house in the pasture. Once the family pictures were taken, it came down to her and Jaxton in their own shots.
“He was whispering something in my ear, and I could not hear him, so I turned to read his lips and he was getting down on one knee,” says Bailey. “My face was like, ‘Oh my God,’ and I started crying.”
For Bailey and Jaxton, choosing a wedding date was an act of narrowing down the best date. They are big hunters and Texas A&M University fans, which effectively did the date selection for them.
“We couldn’t do it during hunting season,” says Bailey. “We couldn’t do it on any Saturdays on a football game, and I was in school, and in my hardest semester ever, so I just found the week we happened to be on spring break and so it just became the day.”
When the day came, her entourage included her two sisters as her matrons of honor, eight of her friends, a junior bridesmaid, and a flower girl. On her groom’s side, there were 10 groomsmen and a ring bearer, her nephew.
“He called rings ‘knuckles’, so we called him ‘Knuckle Bear,’” Bailey says.
When choosing vendors, Bailey wanted to stay local to her small town.
“I wanted to be traditional, so I knew I wanted to get married in my church,” says Bailey. “That was something that I had set since when I was a little girl.”
For her dress, Bailey went in saying she wanted a Cinderella type, but she was encouraged to try on others.
“[The bridal gown retailer] said usually when you come in and say that is what you want, it isn’t what you really want so, I was open to try on anything,” says Bailey.
After trying on the few dresses she knew she did not want, Bailey finally tried on the Cinderella dress she saw when she first walked in, and it was the one.
“I went out to my mother and mother-in-law and they just knew that that was the one,” she says.
Bailey chose the biggest expo center to have their reception and fit the 500 guests and more than 800 people who were fed. The Burleson County Expo was perfect after decorating it how she wanted.
The couple chose Texas Unlimited Band, one of their favorite bands, to be their entertainment for their special day.
“Oh, it was beyond what I thought it was going to be; it was the best day ever,” says Bailey. “I know everyone says that, but it really was. Everything just seemed magical to me. It was our type of wedding; it was just perfect.”
McNair Vendors Church Elizabeth Lutheran Church, Caldwell Reception Burleson County Expo Photographer Grace Photography Videographer Smart Video Services Hair The Cottage (Sonja Brinkman, Ashlee Telschow, Mariah Sandner, and Brooke O’Brien) Makeup Mariah Sandner Bride Dress Georgio’s Bridal Bridesmaid Dresses David’s Bridal Florals Postoak Florist Cakes Sandee’s Sweets Band Texas Unlimited Band Caterer Jacob Beran Wedding Coordinator Amy Fritcher & Ashley & Company