It’s official. I have a new all time favorite wedding and it’s this pretty little gem right here. It’s the perfect mix of elegance and charm with layers of gorgeous florals, two of the cutest flower girls you ever did see, and an overall sense of warmth and love. Alyse French Photography totally rocked it and captured each and every moment so beautifully and perfectly that I seriously wanted to show you every.single.image. But you’ll just have to click here for the rest instead!
Watch the magic unfold in this gorgeous film by Brittan Pittman:
Click here for the FULL wedding!
From the Bride… When Robert and I first started planning, we knew we wanted a small family wedding. Small in my family is not small by the typical standards, but we just knew that we wanted a more intimate affair than what our town was typically used to. We began looking at venues in Austin and Houston and nothing seemed right. Most of our family lives in Brenham and Bellville, so we figured we should probably stay in the area and we decided on the Giddings Stone Mansion. Tt was small and intimate but large enough for our “small” family wedding — the guest list was about 150, and that’s only close family and a small number of friends! Originally we were going to have two venues, where the wedding and dinner would be at the Giddings Stone Mansion then we’d move to a family barn that had recently been renovated for a big dance. As weddings go, just before wedding invitations were sent out, we decided to scale it back to one venue to relieve some of the stress. Yes, we had to print all new invitations the week the invitations were to go out!
The theme of our wedding was English winter garden. I wanted the whole Pride and Prejudice feel with a bit more glamour. I stuck to white, cream, black and gray as a palette with a mix of soft pinks and blues. The maid of honor wore cream, while the other two bridesmaids wore the same dress from BHLDN in black. The guys wore a gray suit with white shirts and a checkered ties. The two flower girls wore ivory tutus, while the ring bearer wore a black velvet suit. I wore a Alvina Valenta gown. My dad gave me away to the man of my dreams and a long-time family friend, an Episcopal priest, did the ceremony. The wedding was held outside on the front steps of the mansion. We had a cocktail reception immediately following and then dinner and and dancing to end the night. While the flow of things didn’t go according to plan, it all worked out in the end. We were thinking that the weather would be a little more moderate than it was since last year at the time it was 70 degrees and sunny. It is Texas after all. Was it this year? Of course not! It was 50 degrees, overcast and windy. Either way, it was a night to be remembered for its mishaps and joys because we were surrounded in love.
The flowers looked like they had just come out of the garden and were mixed with herbs such as rosemary to give it a more natural feel. We collected huge wine barrels for cocktail tables, old lanterns, jars and a mix of vintage birdcages to complete the look. As favors, we passed out heart-shaped clay ornaments made by my mom’s best friend, who is also an art teacher. I didn’t want the wedding to feel Christmas-themed at all, but this was the one thing I felt confidently about. I liked the idea that the favor was truly a reminder of our day and that people could place them on their tree for years to come and be reminded how much we loved them and how happy we were to share our day together. We had a beautiful dessert bar that had everything from cookies to cake pops and whoopie pies that guests munched on all night. Lastly, our band was one-of-a-kind and brought the house down! South Texas Jazz band provided the music for the whole day. They played the ceremony music, the cocktail hour and the dance, adding a few instruments each time to mix it up and ending with a full band. We wanted music that people could really dance to — Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash and more, from a mix of eras and that’s what they provided for the whole night. It was perfect. We had wonderful people surrounding us and making it all happen through the entire process, and any bride planning her own wedding knows that it wouldn’t have been pulled off without the endless hours of help and patience from everyone involved!
Wedding Photography: Alyse French Photography / Wedding Venue: Giddings Stone Mansion in Brenham, Texas / Floral Design: MooseFeathers Florist / Wedding Cinematography: Brittan Pittman / Catering: Martin Farms Catering / Wedding Cake + Dessert Table: The Muffin Top / Band: South Texas Jazz Band / Wedding Dress: Alvina Valenta / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Hair + Makeup: The Perfect Face / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: BHLDN