“Swipe right on the nerds,” or at least that’s what Claire McCullough recommends. She met her husband, Patrick, on Bumble, a dating app, in January 2017. What started as a friendship grew quickly into a relationship, surprising Claire.
“Patrick’s profile was not good at all,” she says. “Give people a chance. They surprise you. They stun you.”
Patrick surprised Claire again with a proposal on a trip to New York City during the winter. The couple united with Patrick’s sisters and went around the city, stopping at every major Christmas tree. At one stop, both of their families waited for the big moment, but before Claire could answer they broke out into celebration. This close family dynamic explains the lengthy guest list for the wedding, with more than 300 people invited.
“I have a huge family,” says Patrick. “It was pretty quickly realized there were only two or three places that could handle the amount of people we were thinking about inviting.”
The couple decided on The Stella Hotel because it was most accommodating to people flying in from out of town. For their wedding, the McCulloughs stuck to a traditional style with simple white and green flowers. But, the parts that really made it special, Claire says, were the personal touches.
“We got married at St. Joseph Catholic Church,” says Claire. “I went to school there for 12 years and that’s where Patrick’s parents got married.”
The couple had a lot of special details at their wedding, like their photographer, florist, coordinator, and rehearsal dinner caterer being close family friends. Claire and Patrick also hung six photos at their reception of grandparents and parents.
“They’ve all been married a long time,” says Claire. “We wanted their tradition to carry on at our wedding.”
Claire says those were the personalized touches she cared about, not bothering with the “something borrowed, something blue” tradition or others like it. The couple couldn’t decide on one song for their first dance, so they did a first and last dance instead. Their country roots led them to choose One I Want by Flatland Calvary and Millionaire by Chris Stapleton. The only other time in planning she had trouble was in her hunt for a wedding dress.
“We went to a few places over Christmas break and I couldn’t find anything I wanted so I just started ordering things online,” says Claire. “I was living in Midland at this time, so I had to make a special trip to Houston.”
Claire’s parents helped her pick out her dress, keeping in mind she wanted something clean and sleek. Every other detail they left to their planner, Kelly Markwood. Claire emphasizes how easy having a planner made her special day.
“We stuck to the timeline given to us by Kelly really well and were on time to everything,” says Claire.
After one year of marriage, the McCulloughs are settled in Houston with their goldendoodle. Claire says quarantine has been great for them, being able to spend lots of time together. Looking to the future, the McCulloughs are excited.
“We’re going to seek out every opportunity we can while we’re young and don’t have kids,” Claire says.
McCullough Vendors: Ceremony Venue: St. Joseph Catholic Church Reception Venue: The Stella Hotel Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Downtown 202 Hair and Makeup: Naturally Flawless Rentals and Coordination: Ashley & Co Florist: Postoak Florist Photo Booth: Oh Snap Photo Booth DJ: Downtown Event Services Transportation: Aggieland Limo Photographer: Jules Photo & Design Ceremony Music: Brazos Valley String Quartet
