Falling in love with these two sweeties and their breathtaking Dallas affair wasn’t hard to do. All it took was one look at their seriously beaming faces, one read of their super cute description and one browse through the gallery of brilliant images captured by f8 Studio and I was head over heels. Even better? You’ll be feeling the exact same way once you jump into all of the loveliness planned to perfection by Rebecca Hackl, because, well. It’s just that good. See it all right here.
From the Bride… I like to think of myself as a New Yorker (although not a native, I had been there almost long enough to call myself one). I had just finished a softball game in Central Park and headed for a post game beer on one of the hottest days Manhattan had seen in a decade. We landed at a bar in a neighborhood nowhere near what should have been the route to my East Village apartment. At the bar, eating a burger by himself was Tres. I didn’t mean to chat him up, and technically, I didn’t. I just needed a place to squeeze in to grab the first round and my two girlfriends invited him to sit with us. The rest, as they say, is history… kind of. Six months later Tres got a job offer in Northern California and I did the unthinkable: I left New York.
Being that I am a New Yorker via Pennsylvania, Tres is a through and through Texan, and we are living in California, we decided to meet in the middle for a wedding location: Dallas, Texas. We found the M Mansion through a friend of a friend of the family. As soon as we pulled up the very first time, I knew this was THE place. We wanted our guests to feel they were each an important guest at an amazing dinner party under the stars. The inspiration for the night was an elegant southern dinner to dance and celebrate our love.
The day was perfect weather, so we were able to have the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all outside, sans tent.
Our favorite details of the evening were our cake toppers and the fact that a friend married us. Since we are not overly religious, Tres’ fraternity brother got his Special Minister’s license and married us, which made for a very personal and special touch. Our reading was from my favorite childhood book, “The Velveteen Rabbit,” and guests were served Pimm’s cups while they mingled pre-ceremony. We utilized candles rather than artificial light wherever possible so people felt like they were spending the night inside our very own romance novel from the moment they entered. The pool made a perfect spot with a nice breeze to linger over cocktails before heading across the lawn to the reception. For dinner we wanted to embrace our Southern host state, so we had Chicken Fried Steak and Lobster Macaroni and Cheese.
The dinner and dancing was on an enclosed soccer field. We had large string lights set up to mirror the outline of a tent and soft candlelight surrounding the edges of the grass. We opted for three large rectangular tables and only a few smaller tables to enhance the effect of a dinner party. We wanted the flowers feeling effortless to take advantage of the lovely greenery on the property, so we utilize large mason jars and natural wood garden boxes with roses, ranunculus, dahlia and touches of kale. It was important to me that the emphasis of the night was the people, not all the decorations. I wanted all the details to seem graceful and natural.
I absolutely loved the contrast of the white dance floor with the green grass. Thanks to the glass panels in the field and the large tables, the field felt indoor and intimate, but then they would look out or up and realize they were outside. It was enchanting.
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Wedding Photography: Gary Donihoo from f8 Studio | Venue: M Mansion in Dallas, Texas | Wedding Planner: Rebecca Hackl | Floral + Event Design: Cocktails & Caviar | Invitations + Wedding Stationery: By Invitation Only | Catering: CN Catering | Ceremony Music: Justin Cash | Reception Music: William Ryan from It’s Your Night Entertainment | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bridesmaids’ Attire: Thread |Robes: Plum Pretty Sugar | Hair + Makeup: Anita Haar from Elan Makeup