Howell and Valas

NAMES: Abby Howell and Matthew Valas

LIVE IN: Birmingham, Alabama

OCCUPATION: Matt is Assistant Operations Officer for the 20th Special Forces Group in the Alabama National Guard. Abby is Special Education Instructional Support Teacher at Simmons Middle School in Hoover, Al.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO ATTENDED: 250

NUMBER OF ATTENDANTS: 10

HOW THEY MET: Matt and I met at the rehearsal dinner of one of my best friends.

THE ENGAGEMENT: We went down to the beach just as the sun was disappearing. Matt put his arms around me and I could feel him shaking a little. He said, “I know two things to be certain: I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

FAVORITE DATE: We often repeat our first date by going to Felix’s.

WHAT HE LOVES MOST ABOUT HER: She always makes me happy. She is intelligent and understanding. I love the way she interacts with my friends and family, especially the kids.

WHAT SHE LOVES MOST ABOUT HIM: The thing that I’ve always loved most about Matt is his laugh and sense of humor. His glass is always half full. It doesn’t matter what we go through in this life as long as I’ll always have him by my side. I love the fact that he’s always there for me and lets me know it every single day. Love like this doesn’t just float by everyday, and I feel so blessed to have someone like Matt to share everything with.

WEDDING COLORS: Black and red

WEDDING FLOWERS: Red roses

WEDDING CAKE: Black and white with red roses, butter cake on the top and bottom layer, and red velvet with cream cheese icing in the center.

THREE ADJECTIVES TO DESCRIBE THE WEDDING: Magical, romantic and elegant.

ABOUT THE HONEYMOON: On our honeymoon, we vacationed on the beautiful island of St. Lucia. We stayed at the Sandals Regency Resort for eight days.