NEW BOSTON, Texas - For the young couple building a new, countryside wedding venue at the edge of town near the winding Red River, the name Four Fifteen Estates represents pretty much everything.
For Shelby Stephens, a chemist at Red River Army Depot, and her husband Caleb, who restores homes with his family, Four Fifteen Estates in New Boston and those numbers signify a few important things: their anniversary date, a favorite Bible verse from Ephesians and even the address where Four Fifteen Estates sits along Bowie County Road 2101.
Together, Caleb and Shelby are turning this dream into reality: a wedding venue with a modern feel but also a timeless appeal. In mid-April, they'll open Four Fifteen.
Originally, Shelby though of the name Gracyn's Chapel, named for her stillborn sister, for the whole venue. But then she realized that story wasn't the right one for the venue name.
"One day at church, our preacher spoke on Ephesians (which happens to be my favorite book in the Bible) and really focused on Ephesians 4:15. 'Instead, speak the truth in love, so that we become more like Him, who is the head, that is Jesus Christ.' Boom, that was it. It spoke to me and I knew I wanted to incorporate it in the name," Shelby wrote in her blog.
Four Fifteen Estates was thus born, at least in its name. Also unique is the style of the venue, blending the old with the new.
Included at Four Fifteen Estates is the bridal suite, a white chapel and the reception hall with a groom's loft above the vast, open-air space (tucked away so the groom's party can do their thing until the ceremony, says Shelby).
"It's very modern but it's also very traditional because we have the white chapel where you can have your ceremony and then in the same location you can have your reception where it's complete night and day," Shelby said. "A lot of brides, they want that traditional wedding but they also want to party afterwards."
It's the best of both worlds. In addition to three buildings for wedding festivities and preparation, the outdoor setting provides a natural accompaniment to coming together as one.
"It's so beautiful out here, we have different backgrounds so you can get married anywhere out here," Shelby said, noting she and Caleb married at Anthony Chapel in Hot Springs. With their marriage, the wedding world became an obsession. She wasn't ready to let it go, she admits.
For a few years, they scouted for a location and then came across this land, which had three unsalvageable homes they tore down. "We kept parts of the fireplace and we're going to rebuild the fireplace with that brick and with other brick to make it safe," Shelby said.
That fireplace was part of the original house. They've slowly cleared the land but originally didn't plan on starting construction now. However, the right time arose.
"But with COVID and weddings getting canceled and everything we kind of thought this was a sign saying, let's go ahead ahead and build this thing while we have a good opportunity to take advantage of COVID," Shelby said. With weddings moved back, they decided it was the right time to get a jump-start and build.
In some ways, the wedding venue is a natural extension of their shared interest in refurbishing homes to sell. "My grandpa was a general contractor in Texarkana, like forever, and we grew up around job sites all over. Learned how to swing a hammer and do the job right," Caleb said. "It just kind of came naturally for us."
Shelby, who frequents Pinterest, has the other part of it: design. An additional connection is Gracyn Elizabeth Bride in Texarkana, which her mother bought. After their marriage (four years ago this April), Shelby started working weekends there.
"I just had this bright idea and I told Caleb about it, and with his experience on flipping houses and me being obsessed with the wedding world it made sense," Shelby said.
The anticipation of a wedding day, making the day itself perfect, it speaks to her.
"That high, I guess," Shelby said, adding, "I really wanted the wedding venue to be different. I didn't want the rustic, farmhouse barn styles. I wanted something really modern but also traditional so it will never go out of style."
Hence, the chapel, plus a reception hall as a metal building. After considering white, she chose black for the reception hall once she saw the original rendering. "I just love that contrast, where the chapel has her own style, and then you have the reception hall that has his own style," Shelby says.
Gracyn's Chapel does refer to her mother's stillborn child, who was going to be named Gracyn. It means a lot to Shelby, but she didn't want the whole venue to be named for what her mother went through. She also didn't want people to confuse the venue with her mom's store.
Then "Four Fifteen" came to her as the alternative, which fits in so many respects. "It was honestly like everything was screaming 'Four Fifteen.' That was pretty special."
As to Ephesians 4:15, it refers to speaking the truth in love so one can be more like Jesus. "I'm a very tender, kind-hearted person, and I think if we spoke to one another out of love the world would be a better place," Shelby said. "So we're going to tie that in with the couples and just kind of explain to them, you're getting married, two becoming one. Speak into one another out of love and your marriage will last."
The space will be a rental, so a couple can bring in whatever caterers and vendors they wish. Four Fifteen Estates will provide tables and chairs. Several backdrops will be available, and couples can marry outside. Gracyn's Chapel has a 250-guest capacity, while 300 guests will fit into the reception hall.
There's an outdoor courtyard with a fireplace. Lights will be strung up outside with gorgeous landscaping, Caleb said. Inside the chapel and reception hall, plenty of natural light streams through. Four Fifteen Estates feels like it's out in the country, and it is. But it's not far from town.
"The (Red) river where the crow flies is not but half a mile because Spanish Bluff comes around right there," he said. They're up on a hill here.
Things are happening fast to finish the construction.
"Air conditioning will be done next week, all the ducts run. Once that's complete, we'll kind of move from building to building, knocking them all out we're well on our way to being done. It's just a matter of finishing them out on the inside now," Caleb said.
A crew of five have been doing the work to get it rocking and rolling, he said, noting with construction he enjoys working with the homeowners. "And making something that that new homeowner is going to be proud of," Caleb said.
With remodels, it's about taking something unattractive to "turn it into something absolutely beautiful," he said.
"For Caleb and I, I just think our goal is to put New Boston on the map, to make New Boston a better place," Shelby said. He's from there, and Shelby's originally from Maud, just a few miles away. "Same thing," she said.
And with this construction project, Caleb says the client is his wife, the grand designer. Then again, the brides are central.
"The bride is the client. That's who she's thinking about on every decision that she makes as far as what color does she want, what kind of backsplash does she want, where do we want these buildings located. She's thinking about the bride, what is she going to want," Caleb said.
Then Shelby relays that to him. "And I swing a hammer," he said. He's the muscle, she's the brains.
What does Shelby hope a wedding inspires here? Happiness, for one thing.
"Honestly, my goal is for every wedding to look different, so basically I have a blank canvas on the inside of the reception hall, on the inside of the chapel, so every couple will customize it towards them," she said. It's like a blank canvas for the couples to customize and create their wedding.
"I just want everything to be simple, so then couples can do whatever they want with it to make it look like them as a couple," Shelby said.
They aim to open April 17, just two days after "Four Fifteen."
(On the Net: Fourfifteenestates.com. Physical address: 415 County Road 2101 in New Boston, Texas.)