Our Story
Hello, and thank you for stopping by our website to learn about our sweet beginnings story. We want you to know a little about us and our humble beginnings as a young married couple. We look forward to meeting you and hearing your love story and how we can help make your wedding day dreams come true at Whispering Waters Ranch.
Rick and I both were born and raised in McKinney, Texas at a time when McKinney was a small and quaint bedroom community with a population of about 17,000. A time when Steffey’s was the only drive-thru restaurant and we even had a drive-in theater!
Date night meant circling the downtown square of McKinney and back to Steffey’s to hang out, watching a movie at the downtown Ritz Theater or sneaking off to the drive-in movies. When my curfew while engaged to Rick was 11:00 pm on a Saturday night. When Eldorado Parkway was a two-lane dirt road. Right, they even had dirt roads in the city back in the day. When your beautiful Chantilly lace wedding gown and veil was only $125.00 (which I still have today) and your lime green chiffon bridesmaid gowns were ordered from the Sears catalogue. When your reception only consisted of cake and punch and your amazing honeymoon was spent in Texarkana at a co-workers cabin on the lake. When your first pre-owned home cost $13,000 and new car cost $3,000 . . . Wow, we were on top of the world!
Our first born son arrived in July of 1977 and the birth of our second son in June of 1984. We may not have been blessed with girls . . . instead two beautiful “daughters by heart” along with three of the sweetest grandsons and our four-legged fur grandbabies.
Fast forward to September 2008 when we purchased the most beautiful scenic 83 acres in charming Leonard, Texas . . . our little piece of heaven on earth. Rick named it “DD” for Donna’s Dream. On the land there is a grove of 50+ year old pecan trees overlooking our 3 acre lake. I would mention to Rick, “One day that area will be a special gathering place.” We built our forever home here in 2009 and one can see this area from afar. We knew it was the place we wanted to share with friends and family. And now, our sons and their families have their own place here as well.
On May 24, 2014 our sweet friend’s son and daughter by heart said I do amid their many friends and family here at DD. By the way, please visit our photo gallery to see this special couple. Their friends and family mentioned numerous times that Rick and I should build a wedding venue. Then on March 16, 2019 we had special friends that said their vows. Their wedding day photos are on our gallery. It was then we were told by their guests “y’all really need to build a venue” where you can share this scenic beauty with others.
The thought of building a venue had crossed our minds back in 2014, we just didn’t know it would be this soon. Rick and I decided to start planning for our next journey after the wedding in March of 2019 . . . “Whispering Waters Ranch Weddings and Events” was born, commonly known as WWR! You remember I mentioned the pecan tree grove . . . that’s the exact spot where we built our WWR venue to share with others just like yourself.
We are a family owned and operated venue. Rick and I are the face of WWR and we feel there is nothing more important to us than providing you a venue that you will be proud of on your special day and a level of service like none other. We have literally poured our hearts and souls into making WWR in what we hope you will find as a one of its kind venue. We invite you to come and visit to see for yourself a setting where you and your loved ones can gather, relax, and connect with nature to unwind from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Most of all, where “your special day” will truly have all the natural beauty and a lifetime of memories and where “you begin your legacy together as one”.
You recall earlier what my grandfather said about friends? In life’s journey there are others that see your vision and want as much as you do for your dreams to come true. My heartfelt thanks to our family, sweet friends and to my “sisters by heart” for your support in making this a dream come true so we could share WWR with others! And, to Arielle and Cameron (ariellehumphries.com) for your beautiful photography in October ’19 when WWR was just a pile of freshly graded dirt waiting for Rick to work his magic in building Whispering Waters Ranch.