From Rhinestones to Diamonds Part III
By Kay Gerfers

When Sandra Hagee looks back over the year since she and Ryan Parker became engaged, she is stunned that it has gone by so fast. “We felt like the day would never come. And now it’s gone by really fast.” Ryan, who will graduate soon from the University of Texas at San Antonio, realizes that he is distracted with school now. “When this semester is over, it will hit me,” he says. Sandra, eyes twinkling, reminds him, “You won’t have a choice; it will be two weeks and it’s here.”

The bride and her mother, Diana Hagee, are planning everything themselves; there is no professional wedding coordinator involved. However, Mrs. Hagee has enlisted several assistants to help on the day of the wedding. They will keep in touch with walkie-talkies and cell phones. “Everything is delegated out,” explains Sandra. “I don’t want to think about anything; I don’t want to do anything.” Ryan laughs. “She tells you that, but she would love to do everything. She would like to be right there with a walkie-talkie saying ‘All right, boys, what are y'all doing? No breaks.’ ” He makes decisions on things that affect him, attire for the groomsmen, for example. “She’s been thinking about this her whole life. I’ve only been thinking about it for a year, as long as we’ve known each other. She has full autonomy. I just say go for it.”

And go for it she does. Fear of the unpredictable south Texas weather dashed her dream of an outdoor wedding. So she came up with the idea of a tent inside a hotel ballroom. However, she wasn’t sure it was feasible until her friend, Terry Willis of Freeman Decorating, suggested draping the ballroom at the Westin La Cantera with rose colored vinyl creating a tent within the space. The vinyl drapes like fabric and will allow the chandeliers to peek through which will cast a pink glow over the entire room.

The table settings will exemplify Sandra’s design sense. “I think when you do all the tables the exact same way you loose the effect. You just don’t see it anymore because it’s all the same.” To avoid this, the guests’ dining tables will be dressed in off-white linens topped with rose moiré runners. The head table will be adorned with a rose silk moiré tablecloth and strewn with vines trimmed with celadon beads. Gold chargers and celadon stemware will define individual place settings.

However, each table will be adorned with identical centerpieces. Tall, tubular glass vases will hold round arrangements of antique blush pink hydrangeas. Strands of snow berries and decorative celadon berries tucked in here and there will add whimsy. The arrangements, elevated over three feet above the table tops, will create a lush canopy of color. Votive candles placed around the centerpieces will send light dancing over the china and silver.

During the cocktail hour, guests will be served lemonade and peach tea while they are entertained by the lively, soulful Mexican tunes of the mariachi group, Las Capan?as. The dinner menu, inspired by flavors of the south, will include a choice of fried chicken—not on the bone—or steak accompanied by mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, and honey. In keeping with the comfortable atmosphere of the wedding events, these dishes will be served family-style.

In sweet salute to Ryan’s southern roots, the groom’s cake will be made of Krispy Kreme donuts. The couple had already decided on the cake before they learned that the pastry chef at the Westin won the Krispy Kreme wedding cake contest. “I thought I was really being original,” says the bride, “and then I find out there’s a whole contest.” Donut holes remind Ryan of one thing: golf. So, even though Sandra isn’t enthusiastic about sports equipment on the table, white chocolate golf balls will adorn the groom’s cake.

The bride’s cake will be created in square tiers wrapped in chocolate fudge fondant. (Remember the no white rule?) Over this, a design, reminiscent of a Faberge? egg, will be worked in rose pink icing. Inside, the cake will be pink and brown marble. The tiers will be lifted apart so antique blush pink hydrangeas can be tucked between the layers. More flowers will embellish the top.

Ryan and Sandra have considered their guests’ comfort in every aspect of planning. For instance, garden benches will be placed around the dance floor, so people who do not want to dance will not feel relegated to their tables for the night. “The goal of the whole event is to keep it from being too stuffy,” explains Ryan. “We don’t want people to say, ‘Let’s go home.’”

With the reception well in hand, Ryan and Sandra turned their attention to more personal items: the rings. On a trip to Houston to finalize the men’s attire with Bachrach, the couple visited their jeweler, Mr. Zadok. Ryan’s ring is a platinum band detailed with intertwining rope and satin textures. Sandra chose a platinum Tacori eternity band with a vintage setting.

Choosing the rings caused Sandra to remember a diamond ring given to her by her godparents, country music star, Randy Travis and his wife, Elizabeth. She suggested to Ryan that the diamonds be used in her wedding band. From San Antonio, Ryan called Mr. Zadok to ask if this could be done. It took some convincing, but finally Mr. Zadok called Tacori to see if they would agree to this request. Although the designer has never done this before, Sandra got her wish.

“What’s funny,” Sandra remembers, “is that when I was about eleven or twelve, I tore a picture out of a magazine of the wedding ring that I wanted. I used to always do that, this is my wedding dress, this is my wedding ring. I was looking through some of the things that I had given my parents and I came across the picture. It was a Tacori ad for wedding rings and at the bottom of the page was Mr. Zadok’s name.”

One detail that Sandra has been nervous about is her gown. She had only seen a sample. “It’s like when you see a shoe that’s size 4. It’s really cute, but will it be as cute when the clerk brings the shoe in your size.” Her worries were groundless. Her dress arrived, and it fit; it was even a little big—“Hallelujah!” After the alterations are complete it will be off for one last personalized touch. While Ryan held his ears “real tight” she described…oops. It’s a secret. Let’s not spoil it.

However, the groom has a little surprise of his own. “I’m planning something that she doesn’t know about.” Three long months to keep a secret. Can he do it? “Oh, yes, I do believe I can keep this one.” He has a good track record so far, if the proposal is any indication. What will he try this time, the zip lock bag again or some other sneaky scheme?

As their story unfolds, Sandra and Ryan have been true to their initial plot to blend Texas and Tennessee in laid back, casual wedding events. Hints of surprises here and there increase the anticipation of their special day. Just a couple of chapters left to write, a few more pages, and it will be complete. May twenty-ninth, it’s almost here.