What do you do when you can’t fit everyone you want to invite to your wedding inside your hometown’s tiny church? You take the church (and its window) and have a Strawberry Pines wedding instead. Well, theoretically speaking anyway.  

Jordan is a third-generation Bowen family member from Christine, Texas. The Bowen family has been attending this church for as long as she can remember and even well before that. The Christine Baptist Church is where her parents were married. It’s where some of her aunts and uncles were married. It’s where her late grandmother attended church. This is the place Jordan always envisioned her own wedding taking place.

unique, one-of-a-kind replica of a stained glass window from bride's family church in Christine, TX by San Antonio TX Wedding Photographer Tammy Blalock, Ata-Girl Photography Co.

So when Shelby surprise proposed to Jordan and the two families began putting their guest list together, it quickly became evident that Jordan would not be able to marry here. The church simply was not large enough. Jordan was saddened that she would not be saying her wedding day vows in front of those beautiful stained glass windows she had become accustomed to seeing every Sunday her whole life. Cindy, her mom, jokingly suggested remaking the stained glass window and moving it to a venue. Well, that’s just what they did. It took a lot of research, planning, and logistics and maybe a bit of hair pulling to make a replica of the church window, but they made it happen. And beautifully I might add.

One important note about this church window, actually a very significant one, is that Jordan’s great-grandmother was instrumental in having this stained glass installed in the Christine Baptist Church in the early 1980’s. Jordan wasn’t even born yet; her parents were not even married. Actually, the original window is 16+ years older than Jordan and exceeds her parents’ marriage by 13 years. I wished I could ask her great-grandmother what it meant to her to have Jordan and Cindy replicate this window for the wedding day.

Shelby & Jordan’s Strawberry Pines Wedding

But, wait. Let’s back up and tell Shelby and Jordan’s love story. 

The two met on August 7, 2016. Jordan first only thought that Shelby was cute. Neither imagined that 447 days later they’d be married. 

Soon after the initial meeting, the two would be forced to begin a long-distance romance. Shelby was serving in the US Army and training in Georgia. Jordan was going to school AND working. They were 944 miles apart. Shelby and Jordan went over two months without seeing each other in real life. Shelby left for basic training on December 26, 2016 and they didn’t see each other again face-to-face until March 3, 2017. It wasn’t easy being so far apart from someone you wanted to be so close to. But, they made the intrigue work to their advantage and fell deeply in love with each other.

bride and military groom first look by San Antonio TX Wedding Photographer Tammy Blalock, Ata-Girl Photography Co.

They were able to steal away short visits during military graduations/celebrations and short leave of absence. They would plan visits back and forth and Facetime® as often as they could. They also would text, write letters, and Snapchat® anytime they missed each other—though letter writing was officially (mandatorily) reserved for the time Shelby was in basic training.  

Finally, on June 30th, Shelby surprised Jordan with a proposal. He “white lied” and told Jordan that he would be on a field training exercise for the weekend. Jordan was only expecting dinner with his parents who were visiting from Thailand, and her parents. When Shelby’s parents arrived for dinner, his younger brother, Jon, rang Jordan’s doorbell to let them know they were ready to leave. When she exited the house and walked down the sidewalk, Shelby was waiting in front of the garage. He immediately got down on one knee and opened a ring box. Also inside the ring box was a $20 bribe from her future brother-in-law, Ethan. The entire two families had dinner in San Antonio to celebrate the engagement.

Who can say no to a $20 bribe?

On the wedding day, Jordan decided to have first looks with both her dad and her husband-to-be. I’d say that each was very emotional. 

first look with young bride and dad at strawberry pines wedding venue in poteet texas by San Antonio TX Wedding Photographer Tammy Blalock, Ata-Girl Photography Co.

The look on Shelby’s face was priceless when he saw his bride for the first time.

The first looks allowed us to have the creative session and family formals before the ceremony. Not only is this less stressful on everyone (bride, groom and photographer), it gave Shelby and Jordan a few minutes of complete private time to enjoy each other’s company. And, we were able to do this in better light without moving the ceremony time up to early afternoon. The added bonus is that everyone got to the reception a lot sooner!

first look with military groom and his bride on the pier at strawberry pines wedding venue in poteet texas by San Antonio TX Wedding Photographer Tammy Blalock, Ata-Girl Photography Co.

Jordan got her dream fulfilled of kissing in front of that stained glass window.

bride and groom sharing the first kiss in front of a replica of a stained glass church window at strawberry pines wedding venue by San Antonio TX Wedding Photographer Tammy Blalock, Ata-Girl Photography Co.

Here are a few of my favorite image captures of the day:

If you’d like to see more images from this wedding, please enjoy this video. For the best quality, be sure to change the video player settings to 1080 HD.

The team of professionals Shelby and Jordan selected for their special day were:

Wedding & Reception Venue – Strawberry Pines, Poteet, TX
Officiant – Mike Bender
Cake Designer – Creations Cakes, Pleasanton, TX
Flowers – Lesley’s Flowers & Gifts, Jourdanton, TX
Caterer – Lunker’s Grill, Uvalde, TX
Linens/Furniture — Party Rentals, Etc., Devine, TX
DJ — Bring It Productions, San Antonio, TX
My Second Shooters – Fred Jimenez, Frederick Lopez

Be sure to check out all the details about Strawberry Pines in my favorite San Antonio Wedding Venues section.

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About Ata-Girl

I am a San Antonio-based wedding photographer and I cater to outdoor-loving couples who prefer to have all the realness captured on their wedding days. I am the wedding photographer for the outdoor adventurers, the romantics, the laid back, the snugglers, and those who wish to capture all their realness.

I am absolutely in love with capturing the kinds of weddings where there are more hugs than handshakes, the dance floor rumbles all night long, and chairs are pretty much rendered useless after dinner. Whiskey bottles are passed around, most of the wedding party has been best-best friends since kindergarten, Grams is likely to lose her shoes and your partner is much more emotional than you are. These kinds of weddings are my jam!

You can always call or text, but if you really want to get to know me, schedule a meetup!

I started Ata-Girl Photography Co., LLC in 2010. I firmly believe that the unique set of circumstances I have faced in life has prepared me to take a personal and genuine interest in my photography clients. I enjoy documenting the important milestones and captivating moments in people’s lives. I love being a part of people’s journeys and consider myself privileged to document their legacies.

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I am a published author (purchase my book here), a podcast host (listen here) (watch here) and a WPPI-C certified professional, full-time wedding photographer. I specialize in a 10-day image delivery, same-day prints, same-day slideshows, Italian handcrafted wedding albums and I have a mobile meeting space.

When I’m not behind my camera, you can find me hiking, cycling, backpacking, camping, enjoying water sports, listening to music (Elvis and Prince), hunting for arrowheads, reading audiobooks, occasionally eating a few glazed donuts (my only weakness to sweets) and then re-starting my keto diet about every 10 days. The most important things in life are for me to see my two daughters happy and to create a family history my grandparents and grandson would be proud of.