Pastels always make me swoon. It’s a fact. Bridesmaids in flowing frocks in the prettiest of pastel hues? Well that’s just swoon-worthy and then some. Add a gorgeous Bride, a dashing Groom and too many pretty details to list – and that’s the recipe for a perfect SMP Texas feature. We get to enjoy just such a feature thanks to the stunning images from Double Knot Photography, and you can start the swooning right here, in the full gallery of images.
Bethany and Chris – Lone Star Mansion Wedding Video from Soulbox Productions on Vimeo.
From the Bride… When Chris and I got engaged, we had been together for over 5 years so we knew that a destination wedding wasn’t an option for us. We wanted to share our wedding day with all of our family and friends that have loved and supported us through the years. We immediately started looking for venues in our current home town of Granbury, Texas. I grew up in Seattle and a lot of my family would be making the trip to Texas for the wedding. In their minds, we ride horses to and from work, so I wanted to give them that very southern Texas wedding. I initially began looking at barns and rustic venues but after months of searching I couldn’t find “the one.” I wanted something that was country but could still be very elegant when decorated and had a great outdoor area for the ceremony. While scouring the internet, I stumbled across the Lone Star Mansion in Burleson and immediately booked an appointment to go see it. After driving through the mansion’s white gates, I knew it would be our wedding venue. The main drive up to the mansion was lined with white picket fences and a large picturesque pond with two white swans gliding across the water (seriously, I’m not making that up). On the mansion’s 18 acres, a large oak tree stood in the very center which would be perfect for our ceremony. The mansion was breathtaking in all its southern glory.
Once we found the venue, I started planning the rest of the details right away. I didn’t want to be confined to one or two colors so when anyone asked me what my colors were, my answer was always pastels. One of the first things we did was start looking for bridesmaids dresses and of course, my dress. I’m a huge fashion lover so this was probably the most exciting part for me. My vision for my wedding dress changed two or three times. First I wanted lace, then I wanted something with a large skirt and somehow I ended up at tulle. We went to three different bridal boutiques. We found the bridesmaids dresses at the second one. I wanted something simple that came in several different colors so each girl could have a different pastel. I was definitely stressed about how they would all look together (Are they going to look like an Easter egg?!) but they turned out better than I had hoped. The colors looked so amazing together and all of my bridesmaids looked stunning in them. We ended up finding my dress at our third stop, Stardust Celebrations in Plano. I saw it on the rack and was positive that would be my dress. It was the first dress we put on and sure enough, it was the one. The details and bodice were so different than anything I had seen anywhere else and the layered tulle just warmed my soul. I tried on several dresses after it, but nothing compared. It was perfect for me. Later in the process I ended up getting a second dress for the reception that fulfilled my lace love.
The mansion was so stunning on its own that we didn’t need to do much for decor. For the ceremony we put up a chandelier under the tree and draped some white fabric for a simple ethereal look. The fabric ended up getting a little crazy considering we had 19 mph hour winds but it flowed, hit our officiant in the face and added a little special touch. Our florist was an absolute whiz. I would mention one flower and she would pop off with 15 others that would go with it. She adorned every other chair with simple bouquets in mason jars and lined the aisle with flower petals that somehow stayed pretty well despite the wind.
I wanted to stick with pinks, whites and silvers for the reception decor but bring in more of the color and pastels with the flowers. I didn’t want a large centerpiece that would hinder my guests from chatting across the table so we decided to go with small clusters of glass vases. I love how they turned out with the varying sizes and colors, it was simple but so pretty. I couldn’t find any table numbers in stores that I liked so I ordered 20 pastel pink wooden frames and painstakingly cut out the numbers from glitter paper. It took two evenings after work but it was definitely worth it. We used chalkboards for all of our informational signs including the program and seating chart. I hired a local cheerleader with pretty handwriting to decorate these, I loved the look!
My family is a huge supporter of game nights. Whenever I am back in Seattle visiting, a game night is absolutely mandatory. Our most recent favorite has been Farkle so I thought that would be a perfect wedding favor for our guests. I found some really great burlap bags on Etsy that could be personalized with our initials and filled each bag with 6 dice and instructions for Farkle. My Mom surprised me with custom dice, so everyone went home with one special die with our B+C wedding logo.
In the end, our main goal was to have a great party, host our guests and show them how much we love and cherish them in our lives. Our wedding day was absolutely perfect and we could not have done it without our amazing vendors, our supportive families and our best friends. HUGE thank you to my mom for listening, helping and stressing with me every single step of the way. I don’t think I made one decision without her opinion. She was my rock throughout the whole planning process. Tips to brides: Organize everything and delegate before the wedding day! You won’t have as much time as you think to run around and make sure everything is set up correctly. And if things don’t go exactly the way you wanted, let it go! All of the minor details that I fretted about days leading up to the wedding were completely out the window when I saw my husband standing at the end of the aisle. I am so thankful to have found such an amazing man to share my life with. As we read in our vows “Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay.”
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Wedding Photography: Double Knot Photography | Cinematography: Soulbox Productions| Floral Decor: Daydreaming Daisies | Wedding Venue: Lone Star Mansion Burleson, Texas | Invitations: Kimberly Fitzsimons | Wedding Cake: Delicious Cakes | Bride’s Shoes: BHLDN |Wedding Dress: Hayley Paige Bridal from Stardust Celebrations | Bride’s Headpiece + Earrings: Paris by Debra Moreland | S’mores Bar: Bella Wedding Rentals| Koozies: 4imprint | Favor Burlap Bags: magdalinenHome | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Allure Bridals | Hair + Makeup: Elan Makeup Studio | DJ: Brandon Fitzgerald | Wedding Coordinator: Rochelle Ragas | Transportation: My-DFW-Limo | Chalkboards: Sara Henry