Wedding Day

Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France

Ceremony

Live! by Loews St. Louis

Cocktail Hour

Reception

Fall

Our Wedding

At the time, I was in college at Texas Christian University. Over the summer of 2018, I did a fellowship with Texas Right to Life in Houston, Texas. One night, our group went to dinner at the Armadillo, where I credit the reason for meeting Austin. My friends Mary and JeanMarie went up to a couple of cowboy-looking guys (Austin, Tristen, and Paul) and asked them if they had heard of a place called Wild West (a country dance hall in Houston). They had responded that they were familiar with it. Little did we know, they were frequent fliers there. My girlfriends told them we were headed there after dinner if they wanted to meet up. Wild West is where our story begins. The girls and I walked in and immediately spotted the boys playing pool. The second Austin and I introduced ourselves and shook hands, as cheesy as it sounds, there were instant sparks. We talked and danced for hours, and we exchanged numbers at the end of the night. The next day, I convinced the same two girls to sneak out with me, so I could see Austin again (Wild West part 2). After closing the bar down and getting some late night food at House of Pies, it was time for us to head back to the college dorms we were supposed to be at. Our goodbye was not like a typical one. It was like saying goodbye to someone I felt like I shouldn’t be letting go. I went back to St. Louis for the summer and returned to TCU in the fall. Austin and I kept in touch, FaceTiming every day for months. Preoccupied by the stress of nursing school and Austin beginning his firefighter career, the constant communication slowly faded. Over the years, we occasionally messaged each other on social media. At one point, Austin even DM’d me, asking if I was taking husband applications yet. It was not until October 5, 2023, that Augustine Michael Zepeda popped back into my mind, which I know was a God-moment. I thought to myself, how can I text Austin in a subtle way that also shows, hey, I’m interested? I searched through my iPhone camera roll to find the one photo we took together at House of Pies in 2018. I found Austin’s contact and texted something along the lines of, “Hey, look at the this photo I found of us! We were so young. Hope you’re happy and doing well!” And yes, I knew EXACTLY what I was doing when I sent that. Fast forward to now, and we are planning our wedding! Long-distance for the first year and a half of our relationship was nothing but easy, but it proved to us how much we wanted this. It showed us the importance of communication and trust. It showed us how to care and love from a distance. It made our moments together that much more meaningful. Now, don’t ask us how much money we both spent on flights lol. And if you know Austin, you know he HATES flying, so I guess he must really like me or something… Well that’s the not-so-short version, but I hope it lets you see a glimpse of our love for each other. We are so excited to get married, and we cannot wait to see God’s plans for our future together! Thank you for being a part of our story❤️ Let the countdown begin!

How We Met (Rachel’s POV)

Our Story

Photos

Wedding Party

Q + A

Below is the link to the hotel room block for Live! By Loews—the location of the wedding reception. The discounted hotel rate is available from 10/8-11, 2026. Please book before 9/11/26 for the discounted rate! There are many hotels in downtown STL if you choose to select another option! https://www.loewshotels.com/live-by-loews-st-louis-missouri/federer-zepeda-wedding-room-block

Rachel & Austin

Rachel & Austin

Q + A

Is there a hotel room block?

Are children allowed?

Is parking free at the reception venue?

If the wedding ceremony concludes around 3:00 PM, and the cocktail hour begins at 6:00 PM, what am I supposed to do during the gap between the ceremony and reception?

Can I bring a guest?