Meredith Bunel and Dillon Clark knew of each other in high school, but they never hung out or dated until they met near the end of their college over summer break; Dillon was about to start his senior year at Arkansas, and Meredith was going to be a junior at TCU.

“That first summer we met,” says Meredith, “we became good friends very naturally. Dillon came over to my parents’ house just about every night for dinner, and things were so easy with us. Dillon was really good about keeping up with the conversation with my family. It seemed like we knew him all our lives.”

By the time the couple went back to college, Meredith and Dillon were dating, and they would use Texarkana as their home base to see each other during the holidays and over the summer breaks. After college, Dillon moved to Longview, Texas, to pursue a career in the automotive industry; then when Meredith graduated, she moved to Dallas to work in her chosen field of fashion merchandising with Fossil Headquarters.

For many, a long distance love would be too hard to overcome, but Dillon and Meredith were diligent about communicating well and seeing each other when they could. For five years, the couple dated and did not live in the same city. Yet, their love grew, and they knew they would eventually find a home in the same city and settle down. “We are just really good at communicating with each other, and that’s why it worked,” Meredith said.

In the summer of 2019, the Bunels invited Dillon to accompany them to Hawaii for a 10-day vacation. His first response was that he had to work, and then he realized it would be a great place to propose. According to Meredith, Dillon is a hard worker who never considers taking more than a few days off from work. She knew that the idea of him taking off a week would never work; in fact, Dillon declined her parents’ invitation.

As the Bunels were about to leave for their trip, Diana, Meredith’s mother, asked Meredith to find an outfit that she would want to be photographed in because Kirby, her father, wanted to have some family pictures made on the beach. Meredith thought that was a little out of character, but she packed an extra outfit anyway.

A few days later, the Bunels were having a great vacation and enjoying a day at the pool, when Meredith looked up in shock to see Dillon. Meredith explains, “I was laying by the pool, and he just showed up. I kind of thought he might be about to propose right then. I thought, ‘Oh no. I had greasy hair and tanning oil on, so I was happy he proposed after I was able to shower and get dressed.

The next afternoon, the Bunels gathered Meredith and her brother to go down to the beach for brother-sister photos. Luke, Meredith’s brother said he had an assignment to finish up, so he would meet Meredith at the beach. Meredith and Dillon walked to the photographer to wait for the family. But Dillon had other plans in mind. As a photographer hid in the bushes to record the special moment, Dillon dropped to one knee and proposed. The plan had been in place for a while, and the family joined the newly-engaged couple to celebrate.

Dillon and Meredith took a year and a half to plan the wedding. Meredith had attended a wedding of a friend years before on New Year’s Eve, and it had been such a fun evening; she knew she wanted to have her wedding on New Year’s Eve, too.

Meredith said, “On New Year’s Eve, people always want something to do, and you feel like there’s a lot of pressure to get dressed up and go somewhere. I knew I wanted to have something that would be fun for guests and Dillon and me. I had always dreamed of having a NYE wedding. It came true in 2020.”

At the stroke of midnight 2021, Meredith and Dillon Clark rang in the new year with hundreds of friends and family as balloons fell from the ceiling. The newly-married couple had enjoyed every minute of the evening with a lifetime of memories to make in their roles as husband and wife!

Date: December 31, 2020

Ceremony: Central Christian Church

Reception: Northridge Country Club

Wedding Planner: Kristin Butler

Cakes: Bri at Twisted Fork

Florist: Bennie Raney

Photographer: Carter Rose

Videographer: Johnny Apple Films

Band: Downtown Fever

Rings: Alexander’s Jewelers

Honeymoon: The Breakers, West Palm Beach

First Dance: Backstreet Boys “No Place”

Father and Daughter Dance: ABBA “Dancing Queen”

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