Lauren Early & Joe Vastano

May 24, 2025

Getting your Aggie ring is a sacred tradition at Texas A&M University, where Lauren Early and Joe Vastano met and started dating. But an even more important piece of jewelry would come for Lauren postgraduation, when Joe asked her to be his wife. Joe’s parents, who own a luxury homebuilding company, proved pivotal in pulling together the look of the “romantic chateau reception” that Lauren dreamed of, constructing custom pedestals, wallpapered panels, and an escort board. On May 24, 2025, the pair exchanged rings once more in an intimate ceremony that took place at Lauren’s childhood church. Remembers the bride, “It was so special for my mom and dad to give me away in a place we grew up going every week.”

Read on to learn more about Lauren and Joe’s love story and wedding day!

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D Weddings: Briefly, tell us the story of how you met and got engaged.
Lauren: Joe and I met in college at Texas A&M University. Soon after meeting, we started dating, and I quickly knew Joe was my person. When he proposed, he disguised it as a gala that we had been invited to with his family. He even planted stories to make sure I would suspect nothing of the proposal, which including looping his beloved family dog into the plot. When the day came, he picked me up for the “gala” but stopped at a trail close to his house, just the two of us; got on one knee; and popped the question. Afterwards, we spent the night celebrating at an engagement party with our closest friends and family.

D Weddings: What was your vision for your wedding day?
Lauren: We wanted the wedding ceremony to be full of tradition and meaning, with the intimacy of the church making it feel deeply personal. Following the ceremony, we envisioned a French garden cocktail hour that transitioned into a romantic chateau reception. It exuded elegance, warmth, and was truly a reception out of a timeless love story.

D Weddings: What did you learn from the wedding-planning process?
Lauren: One of the biggest lessons we took away from wedding planning was that, although you have a team of people working to create the most memorable and special day, the most important part is getting to marry the person you love. We are extremely blessed to have been able to celebrate our love for each other with the most beautiful day filled with our friends and family.

D Weddings: What were the most important or meaningful elements of your wedding? Why were they significant?
Lauren: One of the most meaningful elements was getting to have the ceremony at my childhood church. It was so special for my mom and dad to give me away in a place we grew up going every week. Secondly, as an architect and builder, Joe’s mom and dad created a deep sense of meaning and intentionality by designing and building multiple pieces for the wedding. The escort board, wallpapered panels, and pedestals were all hand made my father-in-law.

D Weddings: What personal touches, if any, did you incorporate?
Lauren: We tried to focus on creating an evening that felt deeply intimate and unique to Joe and I. The tablecloths, pillows, and all the guests’ napkins were custom made to match the wallpaper we had chosen. Each color in the fabric and wallpaper was matched to complement the ballroom and highlight its gorgeous features.

D Weddings: What were some of your favorite moments from the day?
Lauren: My favorite movement from the day was getting to walk down the aisle and seeing Joe at the other end. It was truly a moment out of a storybook. I also loved our first dance together. We took lessons leading up to the wedding, and the day of, it was so much fun to get to dance with my husband to one of our favorite songs!
Joe: My favorite movement was our exit together and getting to spend time with just us two in the getaway car after the reception before returning for the after-party. We used the car I picked Lauren up for our first date in as our getaway car, so it was a full-circle moment getting to utilize it on our wedding day.

D Weddings: What do you remember the most from the day?
Lauren: We remember walking into the reception and being overcome with a sense of excitement and love as all of our family and friends surrounded us. Walking through the doors for the first time as husband and wife is the most amazing feeling.

D Weddings: Were there any surprises?
Lauren: Joe surprised me with a necklace made from his great-aunt’s engagement-ring diamond as my wedding-day gift. It was the sweetest, most sentimental piece I could ever imagine! I wear it every day!

ATTIRE

Lauren: I chose a lace-covered Pronovias wedding gown, which I paired with my mother’s diamond earrings. I wanted to look timeless, with hopes that I can look back on my wedding photos years down the line and still feel like myself. For the ceremony, I added a tulle overlay and cathedral veil to create a sense of separation between the ceremony and reception styles.

INVITATIONS

Lauren: My mom and mother-in-law truly put in so much work to make sure our invitations were everything we envisioned and more! We had the wallpaper that was used throughout the wedding turned into vellum to wrap the invitations, a truly special touch that showed how much we cared about each detail.

VENUE

Lauren: Growing up, I had always envisioned getting married at my childhood church. It is traditional and has a very picturesque chapel feel that made the ceremony extremely intimate. We chose the reception venue, Hotel Vin, because it was so unique and had the most stunning ballroom space. We could really picture ourselves utilizing all the hotel had to offer and could not have asked for a better venue [in which] to celebrate!

RECEPTION FLORALS

Lauren: Our biggest desire with florals was to make each arrangement feel like it truly belonged in the space. From the organic arch over the ballroom entrance to the life-size trees around the reception space, it felt as if the flowers had simply grown into place.

CAKE

Lauren: The wedding cake was three tiers, adorned with delicate piping that echoed the romantic details of the rest of the day. In contrast, the groom’s cake was a nod to heritage and flavor: a classic Italian millefoglie cake, covered in colorful berries and powdered sugar.

ENTERTAINMENT

Lauren: As I walked down the aisle with my dad, the organist played “Trumpet Voluntary,” a piece that carries a sense of timeless grandeur and elegance. During cocktail hour, a string quartet performed for guests as they transitioned to the reception. The night continued as the DJ kept everyone dancing throughout the reception, continuing on to a late-night rooftop after-party.

RECEPTION DECOR

Lauren: The customization of our decor is what made the reception so special to us! The tables themselves were a visual feast, draped in chinoiserie tablecloths that had been color matched to the ballroom walls and flooring. They were scattered with brass birds, butterflies, and dragonflies placed to add a whimsical touch.

PHOTOGRAPHER

Lauren: We loved our photographer, Sami! She captured our favorite moments from the day and was so easy to work with. She made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera!

How many guests did you have? 250
What was your first dance song? “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli
What was on the menu? Beef short rib and pan-roasted chicken served with sweet corn risotto and broccoli rabe
What were your specialty cocktail(s), if you had any? Bride: margarita; groom: old fashioned
Where did you honeymoon? St. Barthélemy

“It was so special for my mom and dad to give me away in a place we grew up going every week.” —Lauren Early