Sloan and Stephen Luckock exchange vows in the T.B. Butler Fountain Plaza in downtown Tyler. The couple chose the location because of their connection to downtown squares.

For one newlywed, it was an obvious choice to have her wedding in downtown Tyler.

Sloan and Stephen Luckock exchanged vows in the T.B. Butler Fountain Plaza earlier this June. Downtown squares hold a deep significance for the couple, Sloan, 21, said.

“Whenever we travel, we like to go downtown and see the courthouse, see the square,” she said. “We love that that’s the heartbeat of every city.”

The two first met in the Denton downtown square while they were both attending the University of North Texas. The same square was home to their first date and was even where they first exchanged “I love yous.”

Compared to other cities, some people may not think the Tyler square is as beautiful as others, Sloan said. However, to her and Stephen, it was.

Born and raised in Tyler, Sloan noted the changes to downtown over the years.

“I think that Tyler’s in this phase of revitalization, which is fantastic,” she said.

She was able to envision what their wedding would look like there and felt like they were able to bring out the square’s beauty for the day.

“It was a really fascinating place to have our wedding,” Stephen said.

Stephen, 22, has lived in Prosper and the Dallas-Fort Worth area his whole life. He feels that setting up decorations and chairs helped make the square their “own” for the day.

“It was definitely special for how unique the wedding was and having an area with so much significance for us was a special experience,” he said.

Sloan graduated in May with a broadcast and digital journalism degree from the Mayborn School of Journalism at UNT. The couple now lives in Dallas where Stephen works as an accountant and Sloan as a communications and marketing manager.