Villa Luisa

Wedding Day

 WELCOME DRINK 

Ceremony

Cocktails & Tapas

Dinner, Reception, Open Bar

Fall

Our Wedding

After a brief initial introduction, Forrest and I carried on a long distance friendship with one another for about a year. Our weekly check in conversations quickly turned into daily ones. Looking back, it was hard for them not to. Our sense of humor and personalities bounced off of each other in such an entertaining and hilarious way that it felt for both of us like we had known each other and been best friends for our entire lives.   At some point, fate decided to change our path as friends. I was working for a brand in Georgia when the designer asked if I would be willing to fly out the next day for a two day bridal shoot in Houston. It just so happened to be the last two days that Forrest was there too - before he was departing for Spring Training in West Palm Beach, Florida. I remember I sent him a picture of my flight to HOU and he said, You're kidding! Well, I'll see you tomorrow then! We made plans to grab dinner once I got checked in to my hotel.   My flight ended up landing later than expected that Sunday, which kind of screwed us in the dinner plan department. Everything around where I was staying was closing at nine. That didn't stop Forrest, he was determined for us to see each other that evening. He pulled up to pick me up from my hotel and we ended up sitting across from one another at a Pappadeaux down the street, thirty minutes before they were closing. We panic bought just a bread cheese dip appetizer to share (we both HATE walking into restaurants so close to closing) and got out of there quickly.   All the while, our conversation never hit any dry points and was filled with laugher. He was bringing me back to my hotel, and although neither one of us wanted to stop our conversation, I was not going to invite him into my room. I asked him if he wanted to pull off into a parking spot and chat for a while more. We ended up staying in that parking spot talking, laughing, and sharing stories with one another until three am that morning.   Three freaking AM.   I had to force myself to go inside, I had to be up for my job in two hours. He told me he wanted to see me the next day before he left and that he would pick me up from the studio after work.   I texted my best friend, Nicolette, as soon as I got into my room and said, He's the one. I also told my makeup artist the same thing that morning when I arrived to set with dark bags under my eyes. I'm sorry, I was up late, but I am pretty positive I just met my husband.   It was confirmed for me later on that following day that he felt the same after he had picked me up from my job. We both were completely crazy about each other and he even said, I hope this isn't too soon to say this, but I think you're her, you're the one.   We both agreed though, to continue our friendship for a bit longer, we didn't want to rush into anything romantic in long distance and risk ruining something that could really be something. Maybe it's better to wait, we both said.   A week later, fate arrived for us, again, when I was set to move to Miami for two months for modeling - the same period as his Spring Training camp. After several road trips back and forth from Miami to West Palm Beach, we decided we couldn't wait. We officially started dating. Forrest also making it absolutely clear from the moment he asked me to be his girlfriend, that he planned for me to be his wife one day.   And guess what, we did a long distance relationship for two years and we realized we were pretty great at it.   Since then, life and the years have flown by, and we've been such a solid base for one another - through all of the ups and downs of life in general. I packed my car full of everything I owned, moved to Texas, and lived in a hotel with Forrest during baseball season. We bought a house and a puppy. And then, in 2021, our strength was put to the ultimate test. My father passed away and then a month later, Forrest found out that he would need to get Tommy John Surgery. We managed to lift each other up, during our very different times of grieving that year. It pulled us even closer together, making us both even more confident in our ability to be each others foundation when the other felt like their's was crumbling down. He then took a seemingly awful year and changed its tone completely - when he decided to propose to me.   Our proposal story?   Very on brand for Forrest Whitley. He had just picked up my ring that morning, jumped into our neighborhood pool later that day when we both had drank one too many margaritas, and said Do you wanna get married? It's a real ring! I joked with him later that day and said, Really, the COMMUNITY POOL? and he said, Well, there was no dark alleyway nearby.   All jokes aside, it was perfectly us     Now, Why Sevilla?   For those of you that maybe don't know, I was absurdly close to my father. Losing him and then getting engaged right after, I started to think of ways that I could include his memory into our special day. Forrest and I agreed to ask his best friend and pastor, Patrick Malphrus, if he would marry us. We met Patrick at my father's favorite Indian restaurant and struck up the conversation about where we wanted to get married, we really had no idea.   When my father had passed, he had left behind a list of places that he wanted his ashes to be scattered. That wasn't surprising considering my father was the ultimate wanderlust of a traveler. What about Europe?, Patrick asked. That hadn't even occurred to us. He continued on and said Sevilla, Spain was one on your father's list. Right then, Forrest caught me off guard when he looked at me and said, That's a sign, that is where we will be married.   A year after that, we traveled to Sevilla together to look at wedding venues. The first one (and only) that we walked into was a beautifully designed Spanish Morrocan venue...it reminded me so much of my father that I teared up when I walked in. We booked it that same day.   We hope that our wedding will be a beautiful reminder of life's little joys and an adventure for all that are able and choose to make the long trip to celebrate with us.   - Courtney

Our Story and "Why Sevilla?"

Photos

Q + A

Radisson Collection Hotel, Magdalena Plaza Sevilla

Meliá Sevilla

Royal Mint of Seville

Hotel Alfonso XIII, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Seville

Seville Airport

Sevilla Transportation 

EME Catedral Mercer Hotel

Travel and Stay

This is a must see! Make online reservation in advance &amp; go early in the morning if you want to avoid bigger crowds!

Courtney & Forrest

Courtney & Forrest

Photos