Who would have guessed that you could find the love of your life at a tailgate? For Paige Stephens and Jess Terrell, it made perfect sense. The pair met through mutual friends in Auburn, Alabama, while visiting for a football game against Texas A&M, their alma mater.

Two and a half years after bonding over their love for the Aggies, Jess popped the question. He brought Paige to the Dallas Arboretum’s 12 Days of Christmas for a private engagement. For Paige, the proposal was a complete surprise. “I was actually dressed pretty casually. He made me change. He was pretty dressed up, which I was surprised at, but had zero idea,” she says. “We were walking around the days of Christmas and he was, sort of, bee-lining towards one of the days. The only time I thought something was up was when we walked through a dark area of the Arboretum and I thought, ‘This is not the way we’re supposed to go.’ It was a big shock.”

The planning process for their fall 2019 wedding moved quickly. The couple initially had different ideas for their wedding venue but decided on using Jess’ family land in Sherman, Texas. Reminiscing about the decision to go with a non-traditional venue, Paige says, “I thought it would be very sweet and meaningful to get married on his family’s land that will hopefully someday be his land,” but the rural location posed some challenges. “We had to bring in everything,” Paige says. However, with the help of wedding planner Crystal Frasier of Crystal Frasier Weddings, the soon-to-be-Terrells’ big day came to fruition.

On October 5, 2019, 300 of Paige and Jess’ closest friends and family gathered on a rural hilltop for the ceremony. As Paige walked down the aisle, her large bouquet, created by Bon Appetit Y’all, overflowed with an arrangement of fall flowers and greenery. Standing before a circular gold wedding arch, Paige, in a timeless dress with a plunging neckline from A&Be Bridal, and Jess, in a white suit from Mister Tuxedo, exchanged their vows.

Under a tent adorned with greenery and glowing letters spelling out “The Terrells,” wedding guests danced the night away. For the reception, the newlywed Aggies made sure to incorporate their alma mater into the party. For his grooms’ cake, Jess chose to have it modeled after Texas A&M’s Kyle Field. “One of our big things was that we wanted to do the fight song at A&M. It was pretty much 85 percent of our wedding that got to do it,” Paige says. In a full-circle moment, the couple was able to celebrate the team that brought them together.