Texas and rustic go together like peanut-butter and jelly. Honestly, the two were destined to be the bestest of buds and that declaration holds true for this ranch shindig in Waco. With a romantic color palette, and horse guests a plenty, this affair planned by Keely Thorne Events and photographed by Nancy Aidee Photography is one not to be missed. Luckily, we have even more for you to devour right here in the full gallery.
From the Bride…On my senior Fall Break trip at SMU I went to Las Vegas for the first time with a group of 30 sorority sisters to have one last big trip together. We quickly made friends with a group of 20 Australians that were staying at our hotel by the pool one day. It wasn’t until the last day that I met Nick by the pool where we spent the entire day together talking and getting to know each others stories of growing up on opposite sides of the world. We parted ways the next day when we went back to school and we spoke every day for five months until my first visit to Melbourne where we quickly realized this was the real deal. And now here we are three and a half years later married and living together in a country I had never given a seconds thought to and loving every minute of it!
After two and a half year of living in Melbourne, Australia together, Nick and I came home to stay with my family for two months at the end of the year. I had initially hoped Nick would propose while we were back home with my family, but a close friend back in Melbourne told me he was waiting another year. I would later find out this was to throw me off the scent! Our time with my family was coming to an end with Thanksgiving around the corner and by this time I was no longer focused on a proposal, just cherishing the last few weeks with my family. On Thanksgiving day after lunch with 13 family members in the room, Nick stood up to thank my aunt and uncle for their hospitality of having us to their ranch in Llano, Texas. I found this strange since he had been here several times before and not made a fuss about it. Once he said my name and asked me to stand I felt my stomach drop. He went into his speech with everyone on the edge of their seat and tears in their eyes to watch him drop to his knee and ask me to marry him. The screaming and crying didn’t stop for several hours until all the boys went out for celebratory cigars on top of a hill overlooking the ranch. It was the second best day of my life next to our wedding. I’ll never forget that special moment shared with my family.
Where to even begin! Our wedding day was the most special, intimate, blessed day of our lives. We were lucky to have a day full of sunshine surrounded by the people we loved most in a perfect outdoor setting at my parent’s river house in Waco, Texas on the Brazos. What started as imaginative ideas turned into incredible realities that were brought to life by the tireless effort of Keely Throne Event’s Kristin McShane. The overwhelming process of planning a wedding is often the fear of not being able to do things exactly as you imagine. However, we were never told no on any idea we had because Kristin knew she would find a way to make it happen. From vintage chic, to country class we covered several ends of the spectrum in bringing together this outdoor country fairytale.
I have always had simple taste and wanted to make sure that was seen throughout this wedding. Although with an outdoor home wedding of 250 guests, simple is not a common word, the elegance and simplicity of so many decorations was evident. We used old wooden tables complimented with lanterns and mercury vases, along with touches of burlap seen throughout everything. The color scheme was light and fair to keep in conjunction with the colors of the outdoors. Pale pinks, peaches and light greens were common colors of the flowers found spread throughout the ceremony and reception. On the actual wedding day we did not even get a chance to see all the details we had worked so hard for but luckily Nancy Aidee and her phenomenal photography team caught every aspect of our special day. Our main objective was to show the 95 Australians coming over how to have a good time Texas style, and that is exactly what we did. The friendships and love connections made at our wedding will last a lifetime. Southern charm and class was what I kept in my mind every step of the way and that’s what Kristin helped us achieved.
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Photography: Nancy Aidee Photography | Ceremony + Reception Location: Private Family Home | Wedding Coordination: Kristin McShane with Keely Thorne Events | Floral Design: Rosetree Floral Design | Linens, Furniture, Tents + Stage: Marquee Tents | Cinematography: Mason Jar Films | Lighting: Filo Designs | Vintage Rentals + Signage: Bourbon and Bloom | Reception Entertainment: Sauce the Band | Ceremony Entertainment: Brazos Valley Strings | Catering + Wedding Cake: Bestyett Catering | Invitations + Monogrammed Items: Atheneum Creative | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier via Casa de Novia | Bridesmaids Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids + Amsale | Bride + Bridesmaids Hangers: Heirloom | Groom + Groomsmen Suits: Claude Maus | Hair: Erin Jantzen, Mint for Beauty | Makeup: Donna Bruns, Chanel at Saks Fifth Avenue Austin | Carriage: Legacy Carriage