Intimate Union

Photos By Rheagan Ryleigh Photography

 

While most brides and grooms are surrounded by an entourage of well-wishers on their wedding day, Brooks Boolos and Samantha Guzman decided to do things a bit differently.

The couple not only had a small family affair, they had also been legally married weeks before the ceremony. It wasn’t until their joint bachelor and bachelorette trip to Chicago that anyone became aware.

“We originally got married at the courthouse in Oxford on May 31, 2024,” Samantha said. But toward the end of July, Samantha said she and Brooks invited their friends, who would

have been included in a bachelor and bachelorette trip, to meet them in the Windy City. During the trip the couple revealed they had gotten married privately weeks

before.

“We essentially had a joint bachelor/bachelorette trip in Chicago with both of our friend groups. We stayed at different spots, but met up a couple times throughout the trip,” she said

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Brooks and Samantha met at the University of Mississippi’s Accounting School in 2018, where they had classes and studied together. Apparently everything balanced out for the couple, because on Feb. 2, 2024, Brooks popped the question.

“Brooks invited me to a dinner in Memphis with someone from his work. But before we went to dinner, he surprised me in my kitchen with a memory box full of pictures, poems, and memories from our entire past together and places we have been,” Samantha said. “Every box had another box in it with more memories and another poem, the last box had

a note that said, ‘Will you marry me?’ I was completely surprised and did not even know he had a ring yet,” she said.

The romance continued after the proposal, with the couple dining at the Chez Philippe in the Peabody Hotel. She said Brooks even arranged for roses to be placed on the table.

“It was an amazing night,” Samantha said.

DISTINCTIVELY UNIQUE

In a private ceremony, Brooks and Samantha exchanged vows once again on Aug. 9, 2024, at the First Presbyte rian Church in downtown Vicksburg with only family in attendance.

“The ceremony in the church was just in front of our immediate family. It was very short and intimate. We did most of the ceremony in English, but also did some Bible verses in Spanish for the Spanish-speaking members of Samantha’s family,” Brooks said.

There had been no “first look” prior to the ceremony, Samantha said, “but at the ceremony it was special that I got to walk down the aisle with my dad in the church that Brooks grew up in. That was special for us.” For the ceremony, Samantha wore a white satin dress with a straight, strapless cut.

“I skipped the veil to keep the look clean and modern, pairing the dress with classic white heels. And for the reception, I opted for a strapless white dress featuring an elegant ruffle detail that cascaded down one side,” she said.

The Saturday following the wedding, a reception was held in honor of the couple at the Vicksburg Country Club. Hosted by family friends, it was a night focused on celebrating Brooks and Samantha.

Samantha said the whole weekend was amazing in bringing both Brooks’

and her families together.

“It was very special for both of our families to all be together in Vicksburg for the weekend. I had family come from Honduras and from all across the country to make it,” she said.

For their honeymoon, Brooks and Samantha traveled to St. Lucia.

The couple are at home in Vicksburg where Brooks is a CPA at Boolos-Oakes CPA firm with his father. Samantha just completed her final CPA exam while working remotely for Deloitte’s Memphis office.

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