Smith/McAfee

Much like a fairy tale, for Megan Smith and Blake McAfee it was love from the very beginning. Having met on Match. com, it was after their first date that they knew they were meant to be together.

Megan is an occupational therapist at Garland Nursing and Rehabilitation and Blake is an assistant golf professional at Hot Springs Country Club. The two enjoy all things Disney, traveling, Texas Rangers baseball, Cincinnati Bengals football and their 5-year-old Maltipoo, Bentley.

“Blake is quite the romantic, and he treats me like a princess,” Megan said, as he would frequently plan weekend getaways for the couple.

And on one such weekend to St. Louis, Blake asked Megan to spend the rest of their lives together.

“I was unsuspecting at the time, but I knew Blake was the one,” she said. “We had a great weekend. We went to the St. Louis Zoo, museums and a Cardinals game.”

On Aug. 10, 2012, Blake told Megan to put on her best dress, and took her to the tallest building in St. Louis – The Metropolitan – where the two went to the 40th floor to Kemoll’s Italian Restaurant.

“Then, he grabbed my hand and escorted me up to the 42nd floor private ballroom overlooking Busch Stadium and the city skyline and the Arch,” she said. “That’s where he got down on one knee.”

The big day: Oct. 12, 2013.

Best Man and Maid of Honor: Blake’s father, Richard McAfee, and Megan’s best friend of 20 years, Bonnie Hunter.

The location: Hot Springs Country Club, featuring the bride and groom overlooking the golf course from the crow’s nest.

The reception: The reception followed the ceremony featuring a Southern-themed buffet with chicken and waffles, barbecue sliders, corn fritters, fruit crudites and southern comfort meatballs, alongside sweet tea and lemonade. The cake was a four layer white cake covered with buttercream frosting and fillings of apricot, raspberry and buttercream. The groom’s cake was a strawberry cake with cream cheese filling and Texas Rangers decorations.

The dress: The dress was an ivory satin ballgown by Allure Couture with a strapless bodice featuring a sweetheart neckline and Swarovski crystals encrusted the entire bodice. I had a single-layer ivory tulle fingertip veil edged with crystals.

The look: The bridal bouquet used white hydrangeas, lavender and pale pink carnations, and lavender and pale pink roses. It was wrapped in lavender satin ribbon and accented with the bride’s antique crystal brooch. The groom’s boutonniere was a light lavender carnation, and the wedding party’s flowers incorporated white hydrangeas and pink and lavender carnations. The altar was decorated with a large antique mirror. The table in front of it was covered with satin, a regency purple tablecloth overlaid with an antique, ivory tablecloth in the wedding ring pattern that was crocheted by the bride’s great-grandmother, Fronie Elizabeth Smith. Two large Boston ferns flanked each end of the table on wooden plant stands that were made by the bride’s great-uncle, Ray Sims.

Most unforgettable moment: The bride’s favorite part was walking down the aisle to “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole and seeing her handsome groom. A very touching, tearful and emotional moment was when the couple’s vocalist, Whitney Broadway sang “I will be here” by Steven Curtis Chapman.

“I was crying, everyone was crying,” Megan said. The bride’s borrowed and blue item was a small piece of fabric cut in the shape of a heart from her grandfather Mitchell Smith’s old shirt, with his picture attached in a charm.

The honeymoon: The couple spent a week in Playa del Carmen along the Riviera Maya in Mexico at The Royal All Inclusive beachfront resort.