Real Weddings: Courtney & Sam

Courtney and Sam had a chance encounter at a 2020 Super Bowl watch party both were attending as guests. Despite Courtney playing hard to get for at least a month after the initial meeting, a connection was undeniable, and she and Sam became official two months later. While others struggled through quarantining, Courtney, a marketing and communications coordinator with a degree from the University of Oklahoma, and Sam, who possesses a bachelor’s from University of Central Oklahoma, thrived during the pandemic. They got to know one another intensely, working on projects for their new home. But what really takes the cake is the way Sam proposed. On a Sunday that was supposed to be a family dinner, Sam took Courtney on a surprise picnic on a sailboat that one of his coworkers owns. After cuing up their special song, Sam got down on one knee and proposed in front of their closest family and friends who were waiting dockside to shout congratulations. And while Courtney may have slipped and fallen right after saying yes, she says it only added to the romance and humor of the day. Their March 26, 2022 wedding was a celebration of love and family, with Courtney’s father walking her down the aisle at their ceremony. Courtney shared that many of the couple’s friends said they felt “they were adopted into the Buckley family that night.” The warmth and inclusiveness that Sam, Courtney and the families are known for was interwoven into the very fabric of their special day.

Wedding Details

LOCATION: Edmond, OK

TIME OF YEAR: Spring

WEDDING STYLE: lush, quaint, charming

CEREMONY & RECEPTION: The Baumberhof

MENU: The couple offered guests three food stations featuring cuisine of Italian, Cajun and charcuterie

DESSERT: Cake

FIRST DANCE SONG: “You & I (Nobody in the World)” by John Legend

INSPIRATION: An overall look of Hollywood glam mixed with the décor of a dreamy garden, dripping with ivy and orchids galore

SPECIAL FEATURES: New Orleans-style Second Line band and parade of guests around the room with handkerchiefs and parasols; entire wedding broke out in a soul train line; sparkler send-off, surprise father-daughter dance; guest “book” were different wooden wine boxes for anniversary years 1, 5 and 10 that had wines and champagnes inside with various significance, and the guests signed the boxes with well wishes

HONEYMOON: Santorini, Greece

COLORS: