An Elegant Southern Wedding At Home

They say you can't go home again, but Brooke Hughes has never bought that—not for one second. For the Greenville, South Carolina, native, family is everything. So it was only fitting that she would meet her future husband, David Carter Ward, at a college watering hole affectionately dubbed "Homebar."

They were there to kick off the school year at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He was starting his MBA program; she was a returning senior. "I think we both knew that there was something special there from the beginning," says David of that fateful day in August 2011. Captivated by her infectious laugh, he called her and left, in his words, "a way-too-long, rambling voicemail." Brooke was charmed. "So many people text, but David would always call and leave really sweet messages. It was almost old-fashioned," she says. She even saved them on her phone for a year and got a kick out of replaying them from time to time.

Among the many similarities they share (besides the same birthday) is a love of food and domesticity. Case(s) in point—their most memorable dates. Hers: "Our first real dinner date. I still remember what I ordered—pappardelle pasta with rabbit ragù." His: "Driving around the Highland Park neighborhood near Dallas with hot ciders and looking at all the beautiful houses and Christmas decorations." And, of course, both prioritize their tight-knit circle of family and friends.

So much so that when David, an investment manager, proposed to Brooke in April 2014, at the gardens of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, where she was working at the time, he did so with loved ones on hand. Brooke's close friend, hidden behind a shrub, was there to film the proceedings. David's mom appeared moments after with Champagne for a toast. And their chocolate Labrador, Henry, played wingman. The rest of their families flew in to have dinner with them that very night. "At that point, I could barely handle any more surprises!" says Brooke. But there would be more: The next day, three of her hometown best friends surprised her at brunch. "David did an incredible job—with the help of my mom—organizing and inviting everyone to Dallas for our engagement weekend."

When it came time to plan the actual wedding, Brooke's family home was the obvious choice. "I always imagined getting married and having a tented reception in our yard," she says. On April 18, 2015, nearly a year after their engagement, the two did just that in front of 375 guests at her parents' Italian-inspired estate in Greenville. The family pastor married the pair in a Christian ceremony; then, in true foodie style, they celebrated with a cocktail hour that included an oyster table and Champagne bar, followed by a four-course southern-inspired tasting menu. Sustained by hours of dining and dancing, the couple went straight from their wedding to the airport to begin their honeymoon. "It was even more than I had imagined it would be," Brooke says of their big day. Indeed, homecomings can be like that.