An interfaith Texas wedding showered with roses and brimming with family, cultural customs, and the presence of Our Lady.
On the anniversary of her dad’s passing, hearing his fatherly voice in her ear, Simberly finally agreed to take a leap of faith and go on a date with the cute guy she met online.
While Reese did not share Simberly’s Catholic faith, she could quickly see the Blessed Mother working in his life.
Once engaged, Simberly and Reese were able to find a Catholic parish that filled both their spiritual needs.
Their wedding day incorporated beautiful cultural traditions and even a surprise performance from the bride herself.
From the Bride:
I wanted to try out online dating but was hesitant about actually going out with any of the guys. Reese stood out to me from the beginning, and we went back and forth through messages and phone calls.
After a few weeks, I kept making excuses as to why I could not meet him in person, just out of nerves. On July 17, 2015 he texted me to see if we could go out for drinks, but the day happened to fall on my father’s death anniversary.
As I was getting ready to make up another excuse, a recollection came to mind. A few months before my father passed, I asked to go out with friends, and he said I could go as long as I promised that there would be boys present.
I laughed it off and thought how sad that my dad was pushing me to go out and date. Looking back, I wondered: If dad knew this cute guy wanted to go out with me tonight, what would he say?
He would probably look at me and say, “What are you still doing at home? Go.” I then responded, “yes,'' and went out on my first date with Reese that day, and a few years later he proposed to me on the same date.
I felt like my father played huge a part in our meeting, and God found a way to turn such a tragic date into a bittersweet date.
Reese grew up non-denominational, but has always respected my Catholic faith. So during our engagement, I prayed for us to find a parish that would meet both our needs. I was so worried he would never feel comfortable attending a Catholic church.
After trying out a few, I thought we could try out a charismatic parish and halfway through the homily he leaned over and whispered that he wouldn’t mind making this our parish. I was so ecstatic and just remember praising Our Lord for working through him.
Since then, he’s started picking up the Sign of the Cross and other little practices in the Catholic faith. Our Lady has been the biggest intercessor and she’s been present in our relationship since before we even met.
When Reese and I were first dating, he showed me a rosary that he kept. I was intrigued, but also confused because I knew he was not Catholic.
I asked him about it and he told me that he found it on the side of the road one day while riding his bike. He picked it up and saw the cross at the end of the rosary and knew he couldn’t leave it there.
It was a beautiful black wooden rosary with a heart in the middle. It was a little tattered and withered, but I had never seen a rosary like it. I smiled to myself and thought, wow. She’s already close to him, and he has no idea.
I knew then that there was hope. His heart was so good that he personally chose to hold onto that rosary. Although the rosary didn’t align with his faith, it meant his faith was strong, and I could see myself with someone like that.
There were of course times when we ran into rough patches, but I always tucked him and our relationship into my rosaries and our relationship strengthened year after year.
Many of my close friends and family members that have been with us from the beginning have said that he’s changed so much since the day we met, and they are certain that the sacrament we received on our wedding day has only increased that.
Reese has gifted me with rosaries, candles, and a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe. To this day, her images can be found throughout our home, and I look forward to the day when I can tell my children all about her and how she played a huge role in our lives.
The day of our wedding went by so fast it felt like a blur. The morning of, I got ready with my bridesmaids in the hotel room that was down the street from the church.
Thirty minutes before the service, we all went over to change into our dresses, but after getting ready I realized I forgot my veil. I was so nervous, but luckily my mom was able to turn around and pick it up from the house.
I was worried she wasn’t going to make it in time, that I was getting ready to walk down the aisle without my veil, but right before I was supposed to head out they called and said she just arrived.
At the end of the ceremony, I was expecting the traditional, “You may now kiss the bride,” but it never came. I then realized that the service was over and that was the moment, so I quietly had to whisper to Reese that he could kiss me. It was definitely not how I expected that moment, but we were able to laugh about it after the fact.
I was also very fortunate enough to have my great grandmother present at my wedding at 99 years old. She flew in from Mexico City and had never been on a plane before.
When they were applying for her visa, the consulate asked why a woman of her age was requesting a visa. My aunts pulled out my save-the-date and said, “to see her great granddaughter get married in Houston.”
The night before my wedding, she gifted me a beautiful white shawl known as a rebozo. She said it is customary for the bride to wear this on her wedding day and to use it as a swaddle when she has her first baby.
When she placed it around me, she kissed me, and blessed me. It was one of the most beautiful and thoughtful gifts I had ever received. I was so grateful to have her there on my special day and will always treasure that memory.
At the reception we had Mariachis, which is the norm at Hispanic weddings. I took classes when I was younger and used to sing at events, but stopped as I got older.
The last time I sang with Mariachis was actually at my father’s funeral, so I wasn’t certain if I would sing to my husband that day.
After thinking about it, I decided to sing one song so that I wouldn’t look back at that moment and regret it. He had never heard me sing before, so he was completely surprised when he saw me go up with the Mariachis. It was definitely one of my favorite moments.
After the Mariachis, we shared our first dance. When Reese and I met, he was not a dancer. My family and I are avid dancers, so throughout the years I took the time to practice with him.
We started with salsa and worked our way backwards, so our first dance was a simple waltz, and he was absolutely perfect. After our first dance, I spent the majority of the night dancing with him and our guests.
At one point we paused the dancing for the maid-of-honor and best-man speeches. We also took a moment to say a prayer for deceased family members, especially the recent passing of my grandparents. We had a table set up with photos of them to know that they would be there with us if they could.
Three days before my wedding, both of my grandparents passed away. My grandfather had passed first, and my grandmother followed shortly after.
It came so suddenly, and since it was in El Salvador, they scheduled the funeral right away which fell on the same day as my wedding. Throughout the entire day I was receiving messages of consolation from some and congratulations from others on my marriage.
I really did not know how to react to it happening so suddenly. Unfortunately, many of my family members from my father’s side were so heartbroken with their passing and some flew out to El Salvador for the funeral.
Others just couldn’t muster up the energy to attend my wedding because they were in mourning, and I had to respect that decision. I know some people actually expected me to cancel or postpone the wedding, but it was too late.
Everything had been finalized so we had to move forward knowing that half of my family would not be present that day.
Despite the tragic news, it was comforting to know that my grandparents love for one another was strong and that they were both resting in peace.
My spiritual takeaway from the day was the more you let go and let God, the less disappointments you will have.
