Bustle Bride, Emily Criswell, with her husband, Jeffrey, in Avondale.

The story of how Emily met Jeffrey is straight out of a Netflix romcom. The only thing that would make this tale more cinematic would be a cameo from your favorite celebrity actor. Jeffrey is a member of the Hoover Country Club and was randomly partnered with Emily’s parents for a summer scrabble tournament in the summer of 2020. Throughout their game time together, the group’s bubbly connection was warm and familiar. In true parental fashion, by the end of the tournament Emily’s parents were offering Jeffrey her phone number. Fast forward to a couple weeks later, Jeffrey and Emily “coincidentally” ran into each other at the country club.

“I now know that Jeffrey saw me there and made it a point to run into me. We spoke briefly and that was that. I told all my friends how cute he was and how kind. I just couldn’t get him out of my head.”

— Emily

About 4 months after that first meeting, Emily’s best friend, Amanda, playfully took her phone during their dinner date and added Jeffrey on Facebook. (That’s what best friends are for, right?)

“I was freaking out and told her he would never remember me all these months later, but while we were still at dinner, he reached out. He came with me and my friends to hang out at Back Forty the very next day and the rest is history.”

— Emily

Emily’s first date with Jeffrey was nothing short of magical. Because he already knew her family (thank you scrabble tournament), she felt comfortable asking him to pick her up. The couple immediately hit it off and the conversation was effortless. Jeffrey treated Emily to dinner at Roots and Revelry and they laugh now because neither of them liked what they ordered but of course raved about how amazing it was that night.

“After dinner, we had drinks at the Elyton and he kissed me on the rooftop overlooking the Birmingham skyline. We spent 5 hours together that first night and it was perfect.” - Emily

Emily knew Jeffrey was “the one” in the summer of 2021. Jeffrey’s family invited her to join them on a family vacation in Wyoming. The pair spent the week hiking and fishing together with Jeffrey’s parents and his sister.

“I knew when I left that I would marry him one day. Seeing him love and serve his family on that trip made me realize he would love and take care of me for the rest of my life. After we got engaged, he shared with me that he had a similar moment on that trip and had been planning his proposal since we returned. ”

— Emily

Emily went into her wedding gown appointment at Bustle expecting to walk out with a mermaid satin wedding dress with not a stitch of lace on it.

Bustle Bride, Emily Criswell, in her beautiful lace wedding gown.

“Little did I know, the dress of my dreams was not the dress that would make me feel like a bride. The Bustle team was incredibly patient as I came to this realization and guided me through different styles and materials until I finally put on THE dress. ”

— Emily

The neckline of Emily’s wedding gown was her favorite part. She gushed with us over how enchanted her dress was to her,

“The Bustle team spent well over an hour with me and honestly, I am SO thankful they understood my overall vision for our wedding even better than I did, and they didn’t let me get in my own way when it came to what I expected my dress to look like.”

Bustle Bride, Emily Criswell, with her bridal party in Avondale, Birmingham, Alabama.

Emily’s favorite memory from our wedding day was, without any doubt, Jeffrey praying with her from around the corner of the venue. The beautiful couple chose not to have a first look. When Emily’s pastor came to pray with her and her bridesmaids, Emily asked if there was a way she could pray with Jeffrey without him seeing her.

Bustle Bride, Emily Criswell, sharing a prayer with her Husband, Jeffrey, before their wedding in Avondale.

“My amazing wedding coordinator found a way for us to pray with each other from around the corner and being able to hear his voice brought me so much joy and peace. It was completely unplanned and beautiful, and I am so glad our photographers and videographers were able to capture that special moment. ”

— Emily

The pair had a gorgeous brunch wedding in Birmingham’s iconic Avondale district. We might be a little bias, but we think Avondale is such a beautiful backdrop to the perfect wedding day. A downtown wedding is a fool-proof way to insure your guests feel energized and comfortable. What a refreshing way to say, “I do.”