rivercrest country club | Tracy Autem Photography

Lauren and Richard have huge hearts! Not just for each other but their friends, family and community! I love that this couple spends there free time with friends but also being active in their community. From volunteering with Make a Wish and the Union Gospel Mission these two care about people and that makes them even more special as a couple. You can see that they get a huge return on how they love by the love given to them. At their reception there was not doubt that everyone in their lives was excited to celebrate them! They had friends travel in from all over the US and abroad to party with us!

Their roots are deep in community and it’s no surprise because these two have known one another since high school! They began as good friends then best friends before it grew into a beautiful romance. Here is a little bit about there beginning!

“We officially met in freshman geometry class, but our story didn’t progress into a high school sweetheart-type of story. We did, however, become best friends. We went to prom together junior year of high school, but not with the intention as going as more than friends. In fact, if you told either one of us in high school that we’d be getting married one day, we probably would have told you that you were crazy.
We remained friends throughout college and post-grad, both graduating from different colleges in 2012 and moving back to Fort Worth shortly thereafter. We began hanging out almost instantaneously, again, just as friends.
In November 2013, one of my (Lauren’s) colleagues was celebrating her last day at work before moving to Portland, Oregon, and we decided to go to Billy Bob’s that night to see Cory Morrow play so she could check a concert off her Fort Worth-themed bucket list. Richard and one of our other friends ended up joining us and meeting that group of my friends for the first time. Jessica, the girl who was moving, was the one who pulled him aside and said she could tell he had feelings for me and encouraged him to tell me. He did, in fact, share those feelings that night, and even though my initial response was, “oh,” it didn’t take long for me to come around, and I’m so thankful I did. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

Their weddings was one of my favorites this year because I had the rare chance to have 6 Tracy Autem Photography couples in one place. Lauren and Richard have great friends and I have been so lucky to get to know all of them and their precious families. Of course we had to grab a photo all together! Check out toward the end of the post for a pic with all 13 of us! Thanks Lauren & Richard for inviting me to be a part of your day, it was one fun night I will never forget!

Shout out to all the wedding vendors who made this Fort Worth Wedding fun filled and beautiful!

Rivercrest Country Club

St Patrick’s Cathedral

Emerald City Band

Creme de la Creme Cakes (check out those dog cakes!!!)

Grand Events – Rentals

Mir Mir – Photo Booth

Flowers on the Square

Regan Haggerty – Planner

De Ma Fille Bridal Salon

Bliss Bridal Salon

Pretty on Premises

Jos. A. Banks

Lauren & Richard are a super special couple to me – they are the 6th among their friend group to tie the knot that I have been able to photograph! It’s so fun to go on these journeys with my couples and to be reunited all together to celebrate another one of their friends getting married. These two have amazing friends, family and a love for each other that is beautiful to watch. They selected Rivercrest Country Club in Fort Worth for their wedding reception because they spend allot of time there, live nearby and it is where Richard proposed! It’s also where we chose to have their first look so that we could capture images on the golf course on their wedding day. I loved that when we headed outside for their big reveal that there was so few people around, it was so private and perfect for them! Here is their Rivercrest Country Club proposal story:

“One of our favorite things to do is take our dog, Echo, on walks, especially in places where he doesn’t have to be on a leash because he loves to chase tennis balls and squirrels. For that reason, and because the River Crest golf course is such a short distance away, we generally take him there on Mondays when the club is closed or when it’s getting dark and golfers are finished playing. This particular walk after work didn’t seem out-of-the-ordinary because the weather was nice, and it was a Monday. I think I had even asked Richard the day before if we could take Echo for a walk the next day.
He called me around 5 p.m. Monday to let me know he was leaving work and to come over when I was ready. That’s generally earlier than he usually leaves work, but work had been particularly stressful for him the few weeks prior, so when he phrased it as just being a long day and he needed to go home, I didn’t think anything of it. I was so not suspicious, in fact, that I took my time getting there and even tried helping him with laundry when I got there. After rushing me out the door because “Echo had been waiting for so long and was so excited,” I told him every detail about my day and didn’t let him get in any of the sweet words he had planned to say on the walk over. It even took me a few seconds to realize he was actually on his knee asking me to marry him, not just tying his shoe. It turns out that he was rushing me out the door because his mom had been hiding behind a tree in someone’s yard for about 30 or 40 minutes so she could capture photos of that moment.”

She said yes at the country club and then they celebrated their I do there! It was perfect! They said their I Do at St. Patricks Cathedral in downtown Fort Worth. The church has a special place in their hearts, they attend there together and have grown spiritually as a couple there. It is also their family church, Richard’s Grandfather attended there as a child and was an altar boy almost 90 years ago!

Thank you to everyone who made their wedding so special!