From Vows to Now: An American Love Story

Dallas and Andrea Woods

Dallas and I’s story begins when we met at Missouri State University in 2013. I was the new freshman in the dorm, and Dallas was the sophomore resident assistant that lived one floor up. We both were studying to go into healthcare. We became incredibly close friends, studying together and meeting each other’s families.

We quickly found out that we both love America and enjoy celebrating the 4th of July. We began dating in December 2017. We continued dating throughout the next 4 years. On July 4th, 2021, we got engaged at a 4th of July celebration, in front of both of our families. Dallas proposed right after we lit a firework together.

We were both so excited to plan our wedding, we decided to get married around 1 year following our engagement. We wanted to get married as close to the 4th of July as possible. When we saw The Heartland Lodge online, we were blown away by how beautiful it was. We immediately scheduled a tour for the next time we were in the Kansas City area. We chose The Heartland Lodge for our wedding venue for 2 reasons - the venue is beautiful and Holli is a dream to work with. From simply meeting her to tour the venue, to discussion of what we wanted for our dream wedding day, she didn’t stop until it was exactly what we pictured. The lodge itself is gorgeous and the landscape is the perfect backdrop for pictures. It was also near the town we grew up, so it was an easy location for guests to drive/Uber to.

We had our dream wedding on July 2, 2022, and our lives have been exciting ever since.

We bought our first home in September 2022. We both began new job roles. Dallas works in nursing administration at Mercy and I work as an Athletic Trainer in Orthopedic Surgery at CoxHealth.

We welcomed our beautiful daughter, Everleigh, on September 25, 2023. Throughout the last 2 years, we have learned the importance of communication through it all, but most importantly, we have learned to be open to the adventure God sets before us, because the ride is so sweet.

For engaged couples, our advice is to enjoy every minute of it and remember your wedding day is about you two.

We loved every aspect of planning our wedding, from meeting with the caterers and DJ, to picking out flowers and planning our ice cream bar. The whole thing screamed Dallas and Andrea. I would re-live our wedding and planning process over and over because it was so fun getting to pick out details that represented us. Also, those family members that have opinions they feel need to be heard, will be okay if you choose to pick something that represents you and not them - which you should, its your wedding! We wish every engaged couple the best of time with planning your wedding