Raegan Snell & Ben Stoken
May 4, 2024 | The Grand at Willow Springs in Prairie Grove | Alyssa Simpson Photos
When Ben and Raegan first met at Cross Church in Rogers, sparks flew. Ben lived in Chicago at the time, but when he moved to NWA three months later — despite not even remembering his roommate’s name — he recognized Raegan and called her by name. That night, Ben told Raegan her personality was “electric.” That was the moment Raegan knew Ben was the one.
“Ben is the kindest and most hilarious man you will ever meet,” Raegan said. “It was basically love at first sight.”
As a wedding photographer, Raegan has seen it all, so she wanted her proposal to be a surprise. To pull this off, Ben enlisted some friends to stage a couples portrait session for Raegan to photograph at Crystal Bridges. The couple asked if they could take some photos at the Frank Lloyd Wright house, and as Raegan led them to the house she was unknowingly leading herself to her own proposal. When she rounded the corner, she saw Ben with a handwritten letter and a diamond ring.
Wedding Vendors We Love
Photography
Alyssa Simpson Photos
Videography
Paige Seidenschwarz Photo and Video
Venue
The Grand at Willow Springs
More Vendors
Planning and design: Katie McIntire XO; Catering; Chik-fil-A; Bartending: Mint 2 Mix; HMUA: Makeup by Boun; Content creation: Love Kaptured (Kaylan Simonds); Wedding dress: Tesori; Rentals: Alchemy Event Rentals; Dance floor: Center Stage Floors; Linens: BBJ La Tavola; Lighting: Lightworks Events; Florist: Ashton Ashbury; Cake: The Cake Occasion; Charcuterie cups: Ozark Charcuterie; Ceremony music: Jared and Cello; Invitations and seating chart: Dayflower Designs; Getaway car: Facebook Marketplace; Staffing company: Stom Events
Q&A
Q: What was your vision for your wedding day?
A: “My vision was color, spring, [and] garden party,” Raegan said. “As a wedding photographer, I have the privilege of shooting some of the most beautiful weddings all over the world. It was important to me that I had a wedding vibe that was different than what I would normally shoot. Pastel colors are my favorite and thats where we started planning. My planner, Katie McIntire, helped bring the vision to life.”
Q: Tell us about your wedding colors.
A: “Pink, green, yellow and blue” Raegan said. “As crazy as this sounds, I went on vacation in Aruba in 2020 and bought a Gucci bag with this color palette, and ever since then I always knew I wanted those colors to be my wedding colors.”
Q: What was a must-have for your wedding?
A: “…Having my girls pick out their own dresses in their assigned color,” Raegan said. “I wanted them to love their dresses. … I wanted everything to be squiggly, wavy and color-coded to my wedding colors, [and I wanted a] multi-colored, checkered dance floor.”
Q: “What advice do you have for couples planning their own weddings right now?
A: “Do what you want, not what you think you have to do,” Raegan said. “I didnt do anything that felt like it was a ‘have to do”’ because everyone else does it. I was picky, but very carefree and it helped so much.”
Dream Dress
Raegan only had to go to one place to find her dream dress. “I didn’t mean to find my dress on the first try. Oops!”
Sentimental Surprise
“When my maternal grandmother passed, she left [my sister and me] diamonds of all shapes and sizes that could be used in our future engagement rings and wedding bands,” Raegan said. “I wanted to be completely surprised with the ring [Ben] came up with…On the inside, it’s engraved ‘You’re electric’ as an ode to one of the first conversations we had ever had.”
