I used to still do watch cheesy romantic movies on repeat every chance I get. What always gets me hooked is the way the guy looked at the girl with that dreamy, can’t live without you kind of love in his eyes and there’s just no stopping for me. So lovelies, what we have here in every image from Everest Road Photography is a wedding at Flora & Muse so filled with that kind of adoration and devotion that will make you want to click through the gallery again and again and again. And you can get started right here.
From the Bride… A perfect blind date started it all. It was only a few weeks into our relationship that I knew I wanted Brian DeSpain to be my husband. After weeks of planning coffee meetings at Flora & Muse so that I could stalk a potential one-of-a-kind wedding venue without my boyfriend knowing my true intentions (for fear of scaring him off with my premature wedding planning), he brought me there for dinner one Friday night and proposed! He had NO idea I wanted to get married there, and most importantly, he was unaware that I’d been very casually asking the manager over the last six weeks on how many people the venue could hold, what menu options there were, and dates of availability. I was so pleasantly surprised when the waiter did not bring out the dessert I ordered but instead a tray of macaroons and a ring box; if my desire to have our reception there wasn’t already strong, I was unwaveringly fixated now!
Brian had told me he wanted his wedding to be “unique,” “something people will still talk about after its over” and “a whole weekend getaway/party.” No pressure of course — ha! So after days in front of my computer and on the phone with venues, I pitched him my vision and he agreed that Houston’s CityCenter would make a perfect backdrop to our wedding weekend extravaganza! He had the job of finding us a home to live in as newlyweds, and I was assigned the wedding — seems fair, right? I was determined to make our wedding weekend something we were both proud of and could look back on with no regrets. With the help of Pinterest, it was quite easy to get sucked into an endless supply of inspiration. So, I made PDF “wedding inspiration boards” and sent them to all my vendors, fiancé and parents so that they knew exactly what I envisioned, because sometimes it’s hard to get into my brain.
Wedding planning was in full swing when we secured Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, only a few miles away, for the ceremony, signed the contract for Flora & Muse to be our reception venue, and reserved a block of rooms at Hotel Sorella. Almost all of our wedding party, family and out-of-town friends all stayed at the hotel. Friday night, Brian’s family threw our rehearsal dinner steps away at The Tasting Room. Saturday, I had my hair done at Life Spa. I wanted a tousled, sexy, romantic up-do, so I brought some inspiration from Pinterest, and I could not have been more pleased. I did not wear a veil but had a vintage-looking, jeweled headband from Anthropologie pinned in my hair. So many of the little details I very carefully planned out, from the seating chart to the wedding party picture props, and some things, such as our singing DJ, I just really lucked out with. I affectionately describe our wedding as an intimate dinner party with 100 of our closest friends and family enjoying amazing food, the best wine and beer, my favorite desserts in unlimited supply, singing and dancing! Our wedding day was every thing I dreamed it up to be.
Wedding Photography: Everest Road Photography / Ceremony: Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas / Reception: Flora & Muse in Houston, Texas / Event Planning: Cynthia Wenz / Floral Design: AJ’s Urban Petals / Wedding Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas / Wedding Dress: Originally Reem Acra, Designed + Remade by Marcello of Marcello’s Alterations / Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J.Crew / Groom’s Tuxedo: Black by Vera Wang