Photo by Raw Images

Emily Crow + Zach Roberson

June 26, 2021

How we met:

Zach and I officially met at Hartselle High School as juniors, when we had AP chemistry together. By senior year I had developed a major crush. I remember about eight months before we started dating, someone asked me to describe my dream guy. Straight out of my mouth came “Zach Roberson.” I knew I wanted my future husband to have the same caring and gentle nature as Zach.

We were studying for our AP calculus exam, and I began to make an effort to text Zach once in a while to ask him about some sort of calculus question; once he answered, I would start up a conversation. After about a month of doing this, he asked if I would like to see a movie with him. We met there, and he paid only for himself, and I was stumped. I kept thinking, “Is this not a date? Am I being friend-zoned?” We ended the night with me thinking it went great, but I didn’t hear from him. I was so confused. We continued to text every once in a while, but a couple weeks later, we decided to go together with friends to eat after an AP exam. It was after this that he told me he wanted to take me on a real date. I was so excited. He came and picked me up, took me to the movies and to dinner – he even paid this time! A couple days later, he officially asked me to be his girlfriend.

The wedding dress:

Wedding dress shopping is meant to be the most magical and beautiful experience during your wedding planning – unless you are me and overthink everything. I have watched “Say Yes to the Dress” since about the sixth grade, and I have seen girls “get jacked up” by Randy and have their “bridal moment.” Throughout the many, many shops my mom and I visited, I continued to wait for that bridal moment.

On a whim, we decided to take a trip to Hoover to go to David’s Bridal, both thinking we would try a couple dresses and head out. That was when I tried on a beautiful, ivory satin ballgown with dainty off-the-shoulder sleeves. I mentioned to the consultant that the only thing I didn’t like was that it was a little plain. She brought out the most perfect jeweled belt and earrings to match. It was perfect, and I finally had that bridal moment. Oh, did I mention it had pockets? Perfect for hiding my tissues for waterworks on wedding day! My alterations were with the amazing Urban Altered. Julie helped me to add some lace to my dress that matched the lace on my veil perfectly. With the veil, earrings and ice blue heels, I felt like a princess.

Favorite moment from the big day:

My favorite memory from our wedding day was our first look. I am absolutely terrible about keeping secrets, and it was so hard not to accidentally tell Zach all about my dress. I was so excited to get his genuine reaction to seeing me all dressed up. My favorite thing about the first look was how giggly Zach was. He couldn’t stop this infectious, school-boy giggle. I loved that we were able to have that moment together and just enjoy each other’s company for a quick few minutes before we started taking pictures with everyone else. I also loved that because we did the first look, I actually got to spend all day with him. Zach’s favorite moment was when we ate together before the reception. I can get behind that as well because it really was great to get to sit down, eat a meal – I had not eaten all day – and spend a quick 20 minutes together before going inside to talk and visit with everyone who came to celebrate with us.

Overall, our entire wedding day was such an undreamed-of event. I never could have expected the day to go as well as it did. I never thought I would make as many memories as I did. I regularly will look at Zach and ask him if he wants to go back and do it all over again. It was just a day filled with joy, excitement and, of course, love.

Favorite wedding details:

My favorite detail of our day was the beautiful cross with flowers that paired perfectly with my vision. Karissa Lang, our florist and Crestline Elementary School’s principal, took my idea and ran with it. From the beginning of wedding planning, I had loved the idea of a cross with beautiful flowers cascading down. To execute this vision, I consulted my favorite carpenter – my pappaw. A family friend donated the wood to us, and Pappaw had it stained and built for me in less than a week. It was beautiful. I loved that as soon as you opened the door to the church building, you saw the cross with a mix of light pink, white and green. I also loved the little details throughout the reception that were the perfect little touches to make my vision come to life. We rented real glasses from Something Vintage – dark blue, clear and light blue. These glasses gave the perfect touch of class I was looking for in my reception. Not only did they add a little touch of class, I also made sure to add a little touch of my personality to each table. I am in pharmacy school, so about half of our tables had clear medicine bottles with flowers in them, as a tribute to my future career. Zach was able to add a touch of his favorite things with his groom’s table. He had cheesecake – his favorite – adorned in a hand-built shelf that looked like a boat. His mom added fishing net, lures and more to give an absolute tribute to his favorite activity – sitting in a boat, fishing. All the little details could not have happened without the help of so many loved ones. My mom’s best friends were all at the wedding helping. We are so very blessed to have such amazing people in our lives who care so much about us.

What you’re doing now:

Zach and I now live in LaGrange, Ga. I have two more years at Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy. Zach is the pulpit minister at the Middle Fayette Church of Christ in Fayetteville, Ga.

VENDORS

Wedding Venue: Flint Church of Christ

Florist: Karissa Lang

Caterer: Apple Lane Farms

Cake: Sweet Cravings by Mel, Melonee White

Videographer: Michael Raymond Productions

Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal, alterations by Urban Altered

Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal

Hair and Makeup: Kristy Jones (hair) and Keri Aycock (makeup), POSH Salon

Groom/Groomsmen Attire: Jos. A. Bank

Rentals/Decorations: Something Vintage Event Rentals and Karissa Lang