Though Texas natives Diana Lopez and Jared Morris went to college in different states, their paths crossed in Dallas the summer after their freshmen year while attending the same career-prep program. Diana was immediately drawn to Jared’s then-long blond hair. And Jared, an outgoing type, liked that reserved Diana made him work for her attention.

“We flirted and hung out, but we knew we couldn’t do long distance,” Diana remembers. “So we just enjoyed each other’s company during the summer.”

Every summer thereafter, they would see each other through the program and resume their flirtation, never making their relationship status official until they both moved to Dallas after graduation. But after just three months of dating, they were dealt a blow when Jared’s job relocated him to Nebraska, and later to Minneapolis.

“Timing never seemed to be on our side,” Jared says. But tired of waiting for the right moment, he remembers, “We really just said, ‘To hell with it. We’re going to try it and see if it works.’”

After more than three years of dating long distance, Diana moved to Minneapolis to be with Jared. That’s when he knew it was real. “That showed me that she cared more about my happiness than about hers,” Jared says. “I knew she’d be there for me in the long haul.”

Jared asked Diana to marry him on a sunny Saturday afternoon in August 2015, before joining their family and friends on a sunset sailboat ride on Lake Ray Hubbard. Though they’d relocated to Houston, they chose Dallas for the wedding, where many of their friends and family live. They wanted an outdoor affair in the city and found the ideal venue in the Nasher Sculpture Center.

“A lot of outdoor weddings go toward country, and we didn’t want that,” Diana says. “We wanted it to be something modern, something urban, something within the city—and the Nasher was perfect.”

The couple hired Wendy Kay with Birds of a Feather Events to make their big day one of a kind. “Wendy really opened our eyes as to what the possibilities would be,” Jared says. “We didn’t want to do the normal, cookie-cutter wedding. We really wanted to stand out and do something that was going to be a showstopper.”

Wendy blended organic with glitz for the March 26, 2016 nuptials. Lush florals from The Southern Table and agate stone details from The Hollow Geode accentuated the beauty of the Nasher’s grounds, while gold-sequined table linens and cakes by Sugar Bee Sweets added to the glamour. But the most showstopping moment came when the bride and groom surprised their guests with a choreographed first dance to the Bee Gees’ hit “More Than a Woman.” It was a routine they had worked on for months—with help from YouTube.

“We would move furniture and practice at night,” Jared says. “Diana picked up on it a lot quicker than I do, so there were some moments of frustration. But we had fun.” Diana also bought a reception dress from Bhldn that was more conducive to cutting a rug than the beaded Anna Campbell gown she wore for the ceremony.

Though rain had threatened all week, the weather ended up being perfect for a celebration under the stars. For a couple whose timing had long proven tricky, it seemed it was finally on their side. And as they danced into the night with 120 loved ones, Diana remembers wanting the moment to last forever.

“It happened so quickly,” she says. “I just didn’t want it to end.”

—Jessica Otte