Marriage is often compared to a marathon. But Meagan Dyer and Jake Self might compare it to a barefoot walk through Fair Park.

Both University of Texas alums, the pair didn’t meet until Meagan was attending law school at SMU. Though they were friends for several years, Jake finally worked up the nerve to ask Meagan out as she was entering her final year of school. Stressed about the prospects of finding a job in what was an especially tough market, Meagan knew she would have to consider opportunities outside of Dallas and, as such, wasn’t looking to start anything serious. Still, she went out with Jake a few times, insistent that it couldn’t lead anywhere.

But then fate stepped in, in the form of uncomfortable shoes. Meagan and Jake went separately to the Texas-OU football game that year. She happened to wear a particularly painful pair of wedges that had her near tears by the end of the matchup. Walking through the State Fair grounds after the game, Meagan was ready to call a cab and end the night early when she spotted her knight in shining … Sperrys.

“It was one of those things where the crowd parted, and I just happened to see Jake,” she says. “I told him that I was about to leave, and he said, ‘No, I can’t let you do that.’”

In an act of chivalry, Jake gave Meagan his Sperrys to wear and he walked barefoot with her to a nearby pharmacy to purchase a pair of flip-flops. Meagan was blown away by the gesture: “I was like, ‘If you’re going to walk barefoot through Fair Park for me, I have to marry you, like, right now.’”

Though the wedding didn’t happen for another five years, happen it did. Having been to dozens of friends’ weddings, the couple wanted something unique for their big day. “At every wedding, it’s kind of the same: chicken, steak, or fish,” Meagan says. “My favorite meal is brunch, so I wanted to do a brunch reception.”

With the help of wedding planner Crystal Frasier, Meagan and Jake planned a French country–themed garden party at Arlington Hall on the morning of May 14, 2016. Everything down to the dessert—a tiered “cake” of stacked crepes—perfectly fit the motif. They provided a selection of lawn games for the adults, and for the kids in attendance, kites and trunks filled with dress-up clothes.

But up until five hours before the ceremony, spring storms threatened to rain on Meagan’s parade. At 6 o’clock that morning, with rain pouring outside, she had to make the call whether or not to move the festivities inside. With the forecast promising clear skies within the hour, Meagan decided to go for it.

“I would’ve been more disappointed if we had everything set up inside and have it be a beautiful day than if we were outside and had to run inside if the weather came,” she says. “I think my poor mom was on the verge of a heart attack just because she was so worried for me.”

By the power of Pete Delkus, the weather was ideal for the 11 a.m. start. The bride and groom were married in a short and sweet ceremony officiated by the friend who introduced them. Before venturing to a pal’s lake house to enjoy a celebratory evening with their closest friends, Meagan and Jake reveled in their happiness, surrounded by all the most important people in their lives.

“I just remember thinking to myself, ‘Never in my life will I have all these people together in one spot again, and they’re all here in the middle of their Saturday to be here for me and Jake,” Meagan remembers. “I don’t know what I did in life to deserve that day, but it could not have gone any better.”

—Jessica Otte

The bride and groom were married in a short and sweet ceremony officiated by the friend who introduced them.