Claire + Barkley

11.23.19

Barkley and Claire met in college, like a lot of couples. Inconveniently, they met mere weeks before graduation. By all accounts the two should have crossed paths much earlier in their school careers. Tulsa University isn’t that large, and Barkley and Claire were the same age. They were both finance majors and had a lot of mutual friends, but somehow they didn’t connect for the first three and a half years of school. Their first conversation was at a party on a chilly night in early March. It seemed it was fate that they met that night because both of them were planning to stay home initially and changed their minds at the very last minute.

A few weeks later, Barkley asked Claire on an official date. They went to the Coffee House on Cherry Street because he knew Claire loved coffee. While they were there, Claire found out that the pick was made specifically for her benefit because he actually didn’t (and still doesn’t) drink coffee at all. They talked and laughed for almost three hours. It was then they knew they had something special.

The tricky thing about this was the fact that they were graduating so soon. And on top of that, Barkley was moving back to Dallas after graduation. A couple weeks after their first date, they decided that they really, really liked each other and wanted to give long-distance a try. They did four months of long distance that summer and fell in love over Facetime and weekend visits. Then Barkley got a job in Tulsa, and they were able to reunite for good!

The Proposal:

"Barkley proposed almost two years into dating. I had been on high alert for months beforehand, knowing that’s where we were heading, but when he actually proposed, I actually wasn’t that suspicious! To set the scene, it is important to know that I’ve lived in Tulsa my whole life and love architecture, so the art deco buildings downtown are really special to me. I had showed Barkley a parking garage that I thought was one of Tulsa’s “best kept secrets” because it had such a beautiful view of the downtown skyline. I had never previously brought this up to Barkley, but I always secretly thought it would be my ideal place to get engaged. On the only 60 degree day in January, he brought me there, telling me we were having a cocktail there prior to a dinner reservation. He drove me up to the top level, and there was a table set out set with cocktail ingredients and a dozen pink roses. He made us cocktails, we chatted for a few minutes, and then he got down on one knee right at sunset and proposed. Many happy tears were shed!"

On what inspired their wedding décor:

"We knew we wanted our wedding to be three things: urban, artistic, and personal. Since Tulsa was my hometown and a place that had become so special to both of us, it was an easy choice to do the wedding in the heart of downtown. I also do calligraphy as a side job and love painting abstract art, so I knew I wanted as much of our wedding as possible to be handcrafted. That also led us to the gray brushstroke motif that we carried through in a lot of our décor."

On why they chose The Pearl:

"I knew I wanted the Pearl District Building to be my reception venue early on. After researching different venues around Tulsa, I knew it perfectly met the aesthetic I was hoping for. I loved the industrial feel paired with the ornate details, the loft, the wine barrels on the walls of the silver room, and the beautiful chandeliers everywhere; it felt both sophisticated and comfortable at the same time. That gut feeling was only confirmed when we were able to tour. The staff at the Pearl were so sweet, organized and capable – it was not a difficult decision to pick it as the reception venue!"

Thank you for choosing us to be the backdrop of this stunningly special day, Claire and Barkley! We are so grateful to you both.