If Plan A doesn’t work, go to Plan B. And if Plan B fails, try Plan C.

And so it went for Corinne Jessee, who married David Carpenter on May 5, 2012, at her family’s home in Mineral Wells.

Corinne’s first wish had been to get married in San Miguel de Allende. But security concerns surrounding travel in Mexico changed her mind. So she decided a more traditional church wedding in Dallas would be the way to go. But by the time she began looking at venues, her date was already booked. That’s when she thought of her parents’ new property, a small ranch on the Brazos River. Now she can’t imagine having her wedding any place else.

Corinne, who grew up in Dallas and Ohio, and David, a native of Fort Worth, met while both were seniors at SMU. She laughs when asked about their first date—an SAE formal held at Avanti. It wasn’t much of a date, as she recalls it. Not as far as romance goes.

A few months later, though, they began seeing each other in earnest, and after five years as her boyfriend, David asked Corrine to be his wife.

Once the location was set, the bride focused on decor. “I envisioned something elegant, but I also wanted people to be comfortable,” she says. “I didn’t want to have an obvious theme or uniform colors. I wanted it to be very natural and a bit rustic.” The result—accomplished with roses and peonies in shades of white and ivory and muted pinks and oranges, combined with dark ironwork—was the iconic Americana look of Ralph Lauren with a hint of the Wild West.

The couple—Corrine wearing her mother’s veil, David with his grandfather’s cufflinks—exchanged vows at sunset in a grassy meadow beside the river. They and their 200 guests then moved to the house for a cocktail hour that gave a little nod to Cinco de Mayo with margaritas and a mariachi band.

It was a hot day and night in Texas, with the temperature hitting 92 degrees, but guests didn’t sweat it as they took their seats for dinner under the trees and danced until midnight to the good music of a band called The Project.

As for Plan C? Sometimes the third time’s the charm.

—Allison Hatfield

"I envisioned something elegant, but I also wanted people to be comfortable."