flowers by flowers by starks
The Proposal
Alec proposed to me on a Saturday in August , 2015 . The morning of our proposal , I went to the gym , and when I got home , Alec said he needed to run to Lowe ’ s really quickly . That night we had planned an early dinner with some friends , so while Alec was gone , I decided to go ahead and shower and do some things around the house . As I was getting into the shower , my porcelain veneer popped completely off of one of my front teeth . In tears , I called Alec ( who was really on the way to show the ring to my grandmother at the Methodist Manor ). He immediately returned home to see what had happened . Alec tried his best to remain calm throughout the situation , but I could tell he was abnormally upset about this whole tooth incident . We called every dentist in town ; Alec even had my friends calling their dentists to see if they would be willing to see me on a Saturday to glue my veneer back on . We were able to get in touch with Dr . Patricia Fast at Magnolia Family Dentistry . Dr . Fast , knowing what Alec had planned for the rest of the day , dropped everything to help me . We met Dr . Fast , her husband , and their toddler at her office , and she successfully glued my veneer back on . At this point , I realized that something was going on because , even after all I had just been through , Alec still insisted that we had to be on time for dinner . We headed to downtown Florence to eat at Victor ’ s Bistro . As we were walking toward the restaurant , Alec stopped and proposed in the park downtown . He then led me into the back room at Victor ’ s , where all of our family and friends were gathered as a surprise to celebrate with us . I later asked what his plan would have been if I had not been able to get my veneer glued back on that day — He still insists that he would have forced me out of the house and done it anyway . That is probably one of the funniest ( and strangest ) mishaps to happen to someone on the day that they got engaged .
The Wedding
Alec and I were married on April 9 , 2016 , at Central United Methodist Church in Florence . We had both Rev . Will Malambri and Rev . Ken Weldon perform the ceremony , which was very special to us .
The reception took place at the family farm of Luke and Ashley Lucas . Initially , Alec and I were having difficulty finding a venue in Florence that could accommodate an outdoor wedding reception . After a few weeks of searching , Luke and Ashley Lucas ( no , not me ) had heard we were looking for a venue through Mark Buyck Jr . and offered their family farm as an option . Alec and I went and looked at the farm shortly after that and fell in love with the location . We immediately decided that this would be our reception venue . We didn ’ t realize until later , once the invitations went out , that many people assumed it was my farm because Ashley and I have the same name . Some things are just meant to be ! The reception , the wedding , and the whole day was all we dreamt it would be .
Ashley Lucas Brown Hogsette and her husband , Alexander “ Alec ” Stephens Hogsette , reside in Florence . Both Ashley and Alec are attorneys . Ashley is employed at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd , PA , and Alec at Turner Padget Graham and Laney , P . A .
SHEMAGAZINE . COM FEBRUARY 2017 109