If you’re planning a wedding from a distance — like, say, China — it helps to have Westcott Weddings and an all-star team of vendors (like Verbena Floral Design and Southern Fried Paper) on your side to take care of details and calm your nerves. As you can see in Caroline Joy’s pictures from the day, the event went off without a hitch. Make sure to check out Stringer Productions‘ video at the end for more prettiness.
[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/82409065 600 338]
From the Bride… Yes, I am one of those women that has dreamt about her wedding ever since she was a little girl. When my husband and I met in Austin in the summer of 2012, it was like a thunderbolt. Already living and working in China, he was only in town for two days before he had to fly to New York. But that was long enough for us to have an amazing first date, followed by a whirlwind courtship with our second date in New York, our third date in Bruges, and our fourth date in Beijing. He met my family for the first time at Thanksgiving and proposed at Christmas, and I packed up my life in Austin to move to China to start our life together.
Then it was onto planning my dream wedding! I was in China (with a 14-hour time difference!), but luckily I had a wonderful, rock star wedding crew in Texas. We spent days and nights planning the wedding, and I attended site visits with my mom and crew whenever I could come back through Austin. I was meticulous and extremely detail-oriented about what I wanted, and they got me and my vision. They were my dream team.
My advice to future brides is this: Choose vendors that are calm, meticulous, and easy going, because you might change your mind – A LOT – especially if you’ve been planning your wedding since you were six (but do yellow satin princess bridesmaid dresses ever really go out of fashion?), and most importantly, choose people who will be overjoyed about your big day and also a comfort to be be around. Everyone I chose fit every one of those conditions, which calmed my nerves and allowed me to focus not on details but on our marriage and the beginning of our new life together.
People had always advised me to remember your vows, and remember your wedding, because it goes by in a flash! I focused on doing just that: Capturing and remembering every moment with my bridesmaids and house party, time spent with my family, and most importantly, the time spent with my new husband. I knew I could rely on my wedding planner and my photographers to focus on everything else and capture the memories for a lifetime, giving me the freedom to focus completely on the moment.
From the chandeliers above to the delicious stations to all the little travel ideas we had to the INCREDIBLE band to the 600 votives we had on long tables, my wedding was the best day of my life surrounded by my favorite people in the world and the man I am going to be with for the rest of my life.
From Westcott Weddings… Amanda and Drew were married on one of the coldest, windiest days Austin has seen in a long time, but you would have never known it. Our incredible vendor team pulled together the week before the wedding to enact the rain plan (hi, gorgeous draping!), and everything turned out beautifully. The tent was warm, cozy and filled with so much love and happiness!
Amanda had envisioned an elegant, fun party, so we worked with Verbena to fill long tables with hundreds of twinkling candles and big puffy white hydrangea, her favorite bloom. As a nod to Amanda + Drew’s love for travel, Word of Mouth created food stations filled with favorites from home + afar: Green chili-cheddar grits, spring rolls, empanadas, pie and Blue Bell ice cream. Southern Fried Paper designed post cards that doubled as table numbers–each one was named after a place Amanda + Drew had lived together or would visit on their honeymoon. Memphis Train Revue kept everyone dancing until the very end of the night, and then Amanda+ Drew departed for Antarctica (!) amid cheers and sparklers. Their joy was infectious!
Photography: Caroline Joy Photography | Videography: Stringer Productions | Floral Design: Verbena Floral Design | Wedding Dress: Pronuptia | Bride's Shoes: Kate Spade | Bridesmaids Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Catering: Word Of Mouth Catering | Makeup: Avery Allen Makeup | Hair: Danann Patrick | Lighting: Intelligent Lighting Design | Band: Memphis Train Revue | Ceremony Music: Terra Vista Strings | Transportation: R&R Transportation | Bride + Groom Transportation: Classic Rides Limo | Bride Getting Ready Hotel: Hotel Saint Cecilia | Ceremony + Reception Venue: One World Theatre | Event Design + Coordination: Westcott Weddings | Groom Getting Ready Hotel: Hotel San Jose | Invitations, Programs, Escort Cards + Menus: Southern Fried Paper | Late Night Food Truck: Mellizoz Tacos | Photo Booth: Silvercloud Trailer Events | Tent Draping + Rentals: Marquee Event Rentals | Vintage Frames: Loot Vintage Rentals