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When Rayna met Randall, which may we just say rolls off the tongue in an adorable soulmate-y way, the Texans had some light hurdles to overcome. For one, she was on her way out of the door when he was working up the courage to introduce himself, and well, he knew nothing of one of her favorite TV characters with whom he just so happened to share a name.
“I was attending an Urban League Young Professionals event and Randall was in town for a work conference and had walked over to the hotel bar for a drink with some colleagues,” she says of the of the moment in 2019 at the South Congress Hotel in Austin. “I was about to leave and had called my Uber, and he came up to me and introduced himself, saying, ‘Hi, I’m Randall.’ I said, ‘Oh em gee, like This Is Us!’ and he told me that he didn’t watch the show. I told him that ‘Randall was the best ever, and I’m Rayna Reid, but my Uber is here. Gotta run!’”
In her rush to not miss her ride home, Rayna wasn’t able to trade numbers, social media profiles, business cards — anything with Randall. She thought she might have missed out, but little did she know, she made enough of an impact on him in their very brief introduction that he decided to look her up online. He would eventually find her after going through 11 search pages looking for the right “Rayna Reid.”
“Later on that week, I got a message on LinkedIn from Randall where he told me that it was great meeting me and that he would be back in town at the end of the month for another conference and wanted to take me out to dinner,” she recalls. “After he searched for me through LinkedIn, I felt so special.”
His diligence to find her paid off. The two ended up hitting it off. She had a feeling very early, literally the night they met, that she could have found her person. His inkling came a few weeks into their actual relationship.
“I knew she was The One after spending our first weekend together at her place in Austin,” he says. “It was fun, relaxing, and nervously exciting. I think we discovered that we were excellent at hanging out together, and as I was driving home to Houston I remember thinking how much I wanted to continue hanging out with Rayna.”
That feeling would continue, culminating in Randall asking for Rayna’s hand in marriage in a super romantic way in 2021 (more on that shortly!). The two, who reside in Houston now, would go on to plan their big day miles and miles away at Rayna’s parents’ home in Newport News, Va. It wasn’t the easiest process (when is doing anything long distance?), but the end result was the perfect microwedding in her parents’ backyard. The two said “I do” on June 11 in front of just nine guests in a ceremony and celebration that was all about embracing things special to the couple; from their love of books to Rayna wearing one of the beloved dresses from her days competing in pageants as her wedding gown. It wasn’t the conventional wedding of the supposed “post-COVID” era where it’s often go big or go home, but for Rayna, it was “a dream come true.”
Check out photos from their very special day and learn more about how it all came together, below.
01
The Proposal
“I was resolved to ask Rayna to marry me before the end of 2021. So of course I waited all the way until December 30, which is also my parents’ anniversary,” Randall says. “The ring was overnighted to Houston and arrived around 8:30 p.m. the night of. I then rushed to Rayna’s apartment. I was planning to knock on the door and drop to a knee once she answered. She was out, so I went in, turned out the lights, and lit a bunch of candles to set the mood. As she walked in, I think she knew what was happening. I quickly got down on one knee, told her how much she meant to me, and asked her to be my wife. She said yes, took a shower, and we went to dinner. ”
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02
A Warm Welcome
The couple’s wedding sign signaled a new adventure for them and their families.
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03
Father-Son Moment
Randall gets gussied up for his big day with help from his dad.
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04
The Final Touches
In another room, Rayna got help zipping up her gown from her soon-to-be mother-in-law.
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05
Here Comes the Bride
Rayna marched down the aisle in her parents’ spacious backyard with help from the first man she ever loved — her dad.
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06
A Sweet Ceremony
The couple stand at the altar, preparing to become husband and wife.
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07
Time to Party
The couple danced the night away during the reception. Rayna, specifically, partied in a second look of the day.
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08
The Planning Process
“We decided to have a small ceremony with just immediate family in Rayna’s parents’ backyard in Virginia,” Randall says. “We chose that venue because it was spacious and matched our plans, but most importantly, it was free.”
Rayna adds, “Even though we only had 11 people, including us, it was still way more stressful than I thought it would be. I’ve always wanted to get married in my parents’ backyard in Virginia, so luckily the venue was available when we asked my family!”
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09
The Groom’s Favorite Moment
“My favorite moment of the day was right after the ceremony but before the eating started when both families were hanging out on the patio, drinking, listening to music, and interacting. It demonstrated the joining of the two families, which was the reason for the small ceremony,” Randall says.
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10
We Are Family
“We both come from very competitive families, and given that we all live in different cities nowadays, we don’t get together as often as we would like,” Rayna says. “We planned an epic game night after the reception, and everyone showed up with their A-game. We drew names to figure out teams, and even though my team lost, it was so much fun hanging out with everyone and playing together!”
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11
Special Touches
In addition to Randall wearing his favorite ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ socks and his dad’s Rolex, Rayna wore a favorite dress from her days as a pageant queen. “I competed in pageants back in the day, and had always wanted to wear my evening gown as my wedding dress, so thanks to hot yoga, reformer pilates, and triathlon training I was able to fit into my old gown for the ceremony!” she says.
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12
An Ode to Their Love of Books
“We both love to read and even have our own book club together, so my bouquet was made out of book pages and so was Randall’s boutonniere,” Rayna says.
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13
The Cookie Cake
The couple had two cakes for the reception. “Randall’s mom made her famous chocolate cake, and my sister’s godfather made my favorite cookie cake I had at every birthday party growing up,” Rayna says.
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14
The Chocolate Cake
The world famous chocolate cake from Randall’s mom. “I love how we were able to incorporate lots of little details about us into the day,” Rayna says.
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15
Randall and Rayna in the Rain
The two share a kiss during a brief rain shower.
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16
His Hopes for the Future
“I’m looking forward to many more trips together, settling into our eventual home, and endless two-person game nights,” Randall says.
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17
Her Hopes for the Future
“Watching TV shows and movies together (that I’ll try not to fall asleep on), reading more books together, playing games, traveling the world and filling out the entirety of our scratch-off map, exploring national parks, attending sporting events,” Rayna says. “In sum, just doing life together as R squared!”
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