Ashley Roper and William Duffy’s Wedding Day Was Pretty in Pink

By Raeleigh Hall

While attending the University of Kansas, Ashley Roper and one of her friends had a girl’s night complete with Tinder, wine, and a lot of laughs. Not thinking anything would come of this new dating app, she was surprised to find a message from a cute guy the next day. William Duffy, who was interning in Kansas at the time, won her over with his quick wit, and they talked on the phone for hours that night. They realized that they were both from the Dallas area and made plans for dinner and drinks.

But the day of their first date, William found out he was getting promoted—which required him to leave for Chicago that day and spend the rest of the summer there. The would-be couple were bummed but continued to talk every day until the end of the summer, when they both returned to Dallas. The reunited pair clicked immediately and moved in together six months later.

Shortly after becoming parents to a beautiful daughter, the couple headed to Hawaii for some quality time. “We were just like two little kids, so excited to be spending one-on-one time together,” Ashley says. One night during the trip, William surprised Ashley with a picnic on the beach. They walked along the shoreline talking about their life with their daughter when William got down on one knee. “We were already a family, but I was so excited to be his wife,” Ashley says.

When it came to planning the big day, Ashley thought she knew what kind of dress she wanted but ending up falling in love with the opposite: an embroidered A-line gown from Stanley Korshak. She wanted her daughter to have a similar dress for the big day, so Korshak made a replica with the extra fabric (which made for a touching first look including the family of three).

Ashley also knew she wanted pink—and lots of it. Her mom and wedding planners brought that vision to life at Arlington Hall with a multi-tiered cake in several shades of pink and large floral centerpieces.

The reception concluded with a fireworks show, with the newly married couple admiring from the patio. “It was a perfect moment with my husband,” Ashley says.