After being introduced through mutual friends in high school, Sam Waldorf knew there was something special about Hannah Redfield. “When I got her phone number, I saved it in my phone as ‘wife.’ Sure enough, that came to reality,” he smiles. “We started dating in 2011 and have been together ever since,” Hannah confirms. They dated long distance while attending different colleges – she at the University of Oklahoma and he at Texas Tech University, and after graduation, they moved to California to start their life together. 

As Hannah was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and it’s where their relationship began, the city was an easy choice for the couple. Though they initially planned to say “I do” on April 4, 2020, Covid changed everything just one month before; something they could never have anticipated. “Having to make the extremely difficult decision to cancel our wedding – not just once, but twice – after spending so much time planning and dreaming about it was heartbreaking,” remembers the bride of the unwelcome surprise. 

Deciding to get married on their initial wedding date, Hannah and Sam exchanged vows in Malibu as loved ones watched on Zoom. They rescheduled their wedding for August 2020, which became April 17, 2021, after yet another postponement. Thankfully, they worked with esteemed event planner Ann Whittington of Ann Whittington Events, who made sure the planning process was as stress-free as possible, despite the pandemic and the pair’s distance from the venue. “Without Ann’s guidance and experience, our wedding wouldn’t have been the beautiful event I had envisioned,” affirms the bride. 

“The celebration that we anticipated for so long with everyone that we love was more magical than I could have imagined!”

When the big day finally arrived, nearly 150 friends and family members joined together to celebrate the bride and groom at a hotel in Houston’s museum district. Guests took their seats atop white chairs with clear oval backs, facing the spot for the vow exchange as a string quartet performed classic melodies. “I love pink and wanted that in the color scheme from the beginning,” shares Hannah of the décor. She was radiant in a striking bridal gown featuring a sheer bodice and full skirt embellished with floral appliqués. 

After Hannah and Sam were pronounced husband and wife, an eight-member gospel choir entered the ceremony space, singing “Oh, Happy Day” as they walked down the aisle. “They were incredible!” exclaims the bride of the surprise from her father. “It was an especially sweet surprise from my dad to my mom, who had seen them at a wedding 10 years before and had told my dad, ‘When Hannah gets married, I want them there!’” 

Loved ones were seated at round and rectangular tables strewn with ivory linens for the reception. Warm candlelight emitted from golden candle votives illuminated high and low centerpieces featuring peonies, garden roses, tulips, hydrangeas, cherry-blossom branches, and additional blooms in tones of soft pink and vanilla accented with greenery. After dinner, attendees enjoyed slices of a classic wedding cake before dancing the night away with personalized glow sticks, beaded necklaces, and illuminated tambourines. 

Despite all of the unexpected moments throughout the wedding-planning process, the groom expresses: “The most important part to me was that Hannah and I were tying the knot and would get to spend the rest of our lives together… and that our closest loved ones, family, and friends were all there to celebrate and enjoy the weekend as one big family.” His bride adds, “The celebration that we anticipated for so long with everyone that we love was more magical than I could have imagined!”

This real wedding was originally published in the Spring 2022 issue of Inside Weddings magazine. 

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