When Austin native Julia Weldon and Hunter Maloy met at a friend’s wedding in 2003, they were both on dates, but not with each other.  Julia’s date introduced her to Hunter and then later gave Julia’s phone number to Hunter.  It was just meant to be! 
     Julia was living in Denton, attending the University of North Texas, working toward her Masters degree in counseling, and Hunter was living in Austin.  The couple spent lots of time driving back and forth that first year.  Both Julia and Hunter had grown up in Austin and had deep Austin roots.  Julia was anxious to return to Austin, Hunter and her family.  After Julia’s mom had been diagnosed with colon cancer, Julia moved back to Austin and in with her mom. 
     The couple knew by now that they would be together forever. “I had warned Hunter that he better not dare propose until my mom was well, because there was absolutely no way that I could plan a wedding until then, said Julia!”  One day, while Julia’s mom was feeling very weak and lying in bed, she begged Julia to let her make the invitation list for the wedding.  The two whispering girls made the first draft.  Unsuspecting Hunter was in the next room with her step-dad and brother watching TV.  “We weren’t even engaged yet; I couldn’t let him know we were making the wedding list, said Julia!”   Finally, after a year of chemo, radiation and two surgeries, Julia’s mom was healthy once again.
     The couple’s two-year anniversary came around, and Hunter and Julia planned to celebrate at her family’s lake house.  “We love to cook together, and we planned a fabulous steak and lobster meal, said Julia.”  It was a gorgeous day.  The couple sat outside on the deck, overlooking the spectacular view, drinking wine and listening to U2’s “Beautiful Day.”  “The next thing I knew, Hunter was down on one knee with a box in his hand and a gorgeous ring sparkling up at me!”  “I was so shocked and I have no idea what he said to me, but I’m sure it was wonderful, said Julia!”  “We were both laughing and crying, and of course, I said YES!”  Hunter had been sure to ask Julia’s parents before proposing and that made it all the more perfect. “I had absolutely no clue that we were going to get engaged that night, because I honestly thought that it would happen a few months later when we had a trip to New York City planned.”   Julia had always wanted engagement pictures, and was luckily prepared by bringing her camera along on the trip.  The excited couple immediately went over to the neighbor’s house, and begged them to take pictures of their engagement.  The neighbor’s were very sweet, and immediately invited them in, opened a bottle of champagne, made a toast, and took tons of pictures.  After taking pictures, they called their parents and everyone else that they knew and told them the big news.  It was after midnight before they got to eat their wonderful lobster dinner.
     The wedding planning started right away and Julia and Hunter quickly enlisted wedding coordinator, Sandy Perkins, to help with the entire event.  Sandy could see the couple’s vision of a classy, elegant, and fun event. Sandy guided Hunter and Julia to choose Westbank Flower Market to arrange the flowers.   Their capable hands captured the couple’s vision of class and elegance for the wedding. 
     After many days of searching, Julia chose a beautiful dress from St. Thomas Boutique.  The tuxedos were chosen from the Men’s Warehouse. 
     Sandy and Julia chose photographer Kim Francois for the wedding photos, and Crescent Video to video the event. The photos and the video captured their amazing day beautifully.
       The rehearsal dinner was at Green Pastures, complete with toasts and a slideshow that Hunter put together as a surprise for his bride-to-be.  Hunter’s parents did an amazing job hosting the dinner and his dad gave a beautiful speech that made Julie cry…again. 
     Julia and Hunter were then married on June 24th, 2006 at St. Mary’s Cathedral Church and had the reception at Austin Country Club.  “My dad and my step-dad both walked me down the aisle, which was something I had envisioned from day one, she said.”  Julia’s mom, a concert pianist and teacher, did an amazing job of selecting magnificent music for the ceremony. 
     A chartered bus took the family and wedding party from the ceremony to the reception, and the bride and groom were given a champagne toast on the way to Austin Country Club.  The ceremony was a traditional Catholic ceremony officiated by Father Bud Roland.   Julia surprised Hunter with a groom’s cake from Russell’s Bakery, and it was the hit of the night.  The cake had the Austin skyline, including the UT tower that lit up!  Hunter, and the entire guests loved it.  Julia says that Austin is extremely important to them, and they wanted to express that importance with their venue and details of their wedding. 
     At the reception, everyone danced the night away to the band, “Blind Date.” “The whole night was so much more than we could have ever imagined.”  “We had a pact to have a blast at our wedding and I think we definitely accomplished it!” said Julia.
     The couple ended the perfect night by taking a limo to the Driskell Hotel, where they ordered room service for a late night snack.  Two days later, Julia and Hunter left for their honeymoon to Playa del Carmen, and stayed at an all-inclusive resort called the Seaside Suites. 
     Julia and Hunter felt that their wedding was fabulous in many ways, and felt that it was especially significant to their families.  Hunter’s father, Pat, became ill and went into the hospital just three weeks after the couple’s honeymoon.  He fought a long battle, but he was never able to return home, and passed away October 2nd.  He and Hunter were best friends; they worked together, and were much more than father and son.  He had been so happy to see them married, and kept calling it “the wedding of the summer!” “It always brings us a smile to remember how happy he was at our wedding and through the planning process, said Julia.”  Julia and Hunter have some very special memories of not only their wedding, but the extra special memories of Hunter’s father and his excitement for the wedding.  It truly was their “Wedding of the Summer!”

Austin Resources:

Wedding Ceremony:
St. Mary Cathedral

Gown:
St. Thomas Boutique

Tuxedos:
Men’s Warehouse

Officiant:
Father Bud Roland

Photographer:
Kim Francois

Videographer:
Crescent Video

Rehearsal Dinner:
Austin Country Club

Florist:
Westbank Market Flowers

Music:
Blind Date

Cake:
Russell’s Bakery