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Courtship: Almost nine years ago, Emily Edwards spent her first night of college at Indiana University celebrating Chris Haffner’s birthday. Earlier that day, when she was moving in to her dorm room, she had been introduced to one of Chris’s friends—another freshman guy on the soccer team—by her roommate, who’d met him at orientation. At that point, she met Chris, too, and the guys had invited both of them to his party. Chris and Emily hit it off that night, and a week later, they went to a Jamie Kennedy stand-up comedy show together. But it was still just the first few days of college, so they were careful not to push things along too quickly.
"Over the next few months," Emily says, "we got closer because my group of friends often hung out with the soccer boys. Chris and I talked about being exclusive, but it wasn’t until the spring semester that we actually went on our first date." It was lunch at a local college bar and restaurant called Yogi’s (the same restaurant Chris’s parents would later name their dog after). "I still remember what we ordered," Emily says. “I got the chicken finger salad, and Chris likes all things spicy, so he got the buffalo chicken sandwich.” Soon after, they found themselves on spring break in the same place. After returning to campus for the end of freshmen year, they decided officially to be a couple.
Proposal: Early in Chris and Emily’s relationship, Chris had bought Emily a stuffed dog from Build-a-Bear for her birthday with the recording, "I love you, baby girl. Happy birthday." The dog, whose name is Dusty, traveled with Emily wherever she went, and finally landed in her and Chris’s shared Lafayette Square apartment when they moved in together a few years back.
On the weekend of Valentine’s Day last year, Chris took Dusty back to Build-a-Bear to swap out his voice recording for one that said, "I love you, baby girl. Will you marry me?" "I also got Dusty a nice suit," Chris says, "so he’d be ready for his big moment." On the morning of February 13, Emily was at a friend’s house—and Chris was texting her practically every 10 minutes asking when she’d be back. "When she finally got home," Chris says, "I played up the joke with Dusty. I was like, ‘Hey, I don’t know what happened to Dusty this morning. It looks like he got up, took a shower, and got all dressed up!'"
Meanwhile, Emily thought it was all for a silly Valentine’s Day gift—and she was stunned when she heard the new recording. "By the time she could process what was happening, I was on one knee," Chris says. "Dusty was my ring bearer."
Ceremony & Reception: Emily and Chris got married on May 13, 2017 with a ceremony at St. Peter’s Catholic Church of Kirkwood, where they’re parishioners, and a reception at St. Louis Union Station's Grand Hall. Chris’s cousin, who is in the marines, had visited St. Louis a month before their engagement, and had praised the lighting and décor at Union Station. Emily was reminded of the photos he’d sent her of the bar when she saw the venue pop up on a wedding planning website. It was an easy sell since it could accommodate her and Chris’s out-of-town guests. Emily describes the vibe of her reception as "classic, but with hints of gold everywhere." She avoided over-the-top floral arrangements and opted for muted, pastel colors in order to let the character of the walls in the Grand Hall speak for themselves.
The Details:
Ceremony venue: St. Peter’s Catholic Church of Kirkwood
Reception venue: St. Louis Union Station (Grand Hall)
Photography: Carretto Studio
Cake: Sugarbelle Cakery
Flowers: Bloomin' Buckets
Hair & makeup: Daniellestyle
Dress: Mia Grace Bridal
Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Tux: Kenneth Cole, Men's Wearhouse
Bridesmaid dresses: Mia Grace Bridal
Stationery: Minted
