I love Texas, I love Austin and I love pretty, pretty weddings. A lot. So, when I first laid my eyes on this gorgeous affair from Stefano Choi Photography, it was an instant head over heels moment. The kind of moment that can only be brought on by a stunning Vista on Seward Hill backdrop, a yummy (+ beautiful) cake from Polkadots Cupcake Factory and perfectly imperfect florals from Mallory Kohutek. It’s a moment every wedding lover knows well – and it’s happening right here, right now in the full gallery. Join me there for more.
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From the Bride… When Nick and I saw our venue, The Vista on Seward Hill, we knew that’s where we’d get married. It had everything we hoped to incorporate into our big day: a casual atmosphere, space to spread out but still intimate enough to keep everyone together and a lot of greenery and natural touches that gave us the organic feel we wanted. We’re not formal people and we wanted to make sure that our wedding day spoke to our personalities. Since we had such a large bridal party, I knew immediately that I didn’t want eight girls standing up wearing the same dress. I loved the idea using colors from the same palette rather than the traditional two color-themed wedding. I’m naturally drawn to green and blue hues and thought it would complement the natural beauty of the venue, so that’s how eight girls ended up wearing eight different-colored dresses. I chose the color for each of them and when I saw them all together, I loved the outcome!
It was also really important that the florals didn’t look contrived, in order to stick with the natural/casual feel we were going for. We used about 30 different types of flowers and succulents, as well as seven types of greenery, to bring together an earthy, woodsy feel. Wooden boxes, glass bowls and hundreds of apothecary bottles were used to display the “picked from the garden” arrangements, which carried over throughout the entire venue. I was even able to replant half of my bouquet after the wedding!
I’m a pretty sentimental person and can cry on demand, so I thought for sure that I’d be an emotional wreck during the entire ceremony. However, it was quite the opposite. I was really relaxed the whole day. All of the hours I spent combing Pinterest looking for inspiration and ideas, and all the tiny details and hundreds of decisions I had mulled over leading up to this day were finally coming to fruition, and I sat back and really enjoyed it. I laughed and smiled the whole day — all the way down the aisle, during the entire ceremony and throughout the whole reception, which is pretty evident from all the pictures! My mouth is wide open throughout most of them!
It went by in a flash as I was warned it would but I have so many memories from that day. Not to mention the beautiful pictures I’ll have forever, when my memory begins to fail me many years from now. Stefano captured so many important moments, that’s why we chose him as a photographer. The photos of us laughing and dancing with our family and friends are priceless; I’ll never grow tired of reliving that night through the photos. So to sum it up, our big day was everything we had hoped, imagined and prayed for. If I could do it all over again … I wouldn’t! Too much work and stress. But worth every minute and gray hair.
Wedding Photography: Stefano Choi Photography / Wedding Venue: The Vista on Seward Hill / Wedding Planning: Sterling Affairs / Floral Design: Mallory Kohutek / Wedding Cake: Polkadots Cupcake Factory / Wedding Dress: Allure Bridals / Bride’s Hair: Her Mother