Rustic Fall Wedding at Paniolo Ranch

I can admit it, I’m supremely jealous of this Bride and her amazingly chic short hair. As someone who plans to chop off inches post-wedding, I love when I stumble upon a beautiful bride with short locks and this one is not only stylish, but absolutely glowing. And who wouldn’t be, with such a colorful, festive fall celebration, captured by Mint Photography. Kickstart your day the right way, right here.

Colors
Styles
Rustic

From Mint Photography… This stunning wedding took place in the heart of the Hill Country at Paniolo Ranch. The views are like none other and the grounds of the property offer charm and an upscale vibe. I love how the bride went with tons bright pastel color flowers to contrast against the neutral cream colors of the building. One of my favorite aspects of their wedding was the custom ceremony arch. It was covered in flowers with backdrop against the Hill Country views. The light was soft and warm this day and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Definitely one of our favorites wedding!

From the Bride… Almost all of my family is from out of state, and though Lyon and I love our home town of Houston, it is not the most scenic place. We wanted to take the opportunity to show my family how beautiful Texas can be. Lyon’s family has a ranch in the Hill Country, and visiting it over the last six years, I have really fallen in love with the area. We looked at a lot of venues spanning from Austin to San Antonio, but the second we drove up to Paniolo Ranch, we canceled our other appointments. We both knew it was the place we wanted to get married.

The garden and ceremony area were so naturally gorgeous that we hardly had to add anything. The reception hall, however, though it had beautiful views, was pretty bare. To dress it up, we rented 12 ficus trees from a local nursery, wrapped their pots in burlap, and draped their leaves in twinkle lights. Erin from Eden’s Echo created a diverse range of stunning floral arrangements, to bring a little more of the outdoor beauty in. My mom and I created some additional cocktail table centerpieces by collecting old books from stores and relatives, stacking them, and planting succulents in the top. The book decor and guest book (an embossed, leather-bound dictionary) were homages to Lyon’s love of words. To warm up the entrance, we brought lamps from our apartment and an oriental rug from my parents house. We also used command strips to hang pictures of Lyon and me on the walls, and collected and framed pictures of our parents’ and grandparents’ weddings to display on a side table. We even created rustic signage by using a soldering pen to burn the information into tree slices. All of these things really helped to give the space a more warm, organic feeling.

From there we tweaked the standard wedding format a bit: Having five brothers between the two of us and no sisters, we didn’t have a wedding party, so the color scheme came almost entirely from the flowers. Additionally, we opted for a cocktail style dinner with eight rounds of passed appetizers, a cheese table, and a bruschetta table, instead of the standard seated dinner or buffet. We did this so that everyone could start dancing immediately after the cocktail hour and so that, rather than being stuck at a table with the same 6 or 7 people most of the night, all of our out-of-town guests could catch up with or meet as many different people as possible. Instead of one wedding cake, we served 11 different flavors of cheesecake. We also hosted a karaoke after-party at the venue after a “faux exit” signaled the end of the reception. We served Whataburger and kept the bar open and the party going until 1am. It was so much fun to spend the entire night dancing and singing with our closest friends and family.

Photography : Mint Photography | Videography : Infinity Event Productions | Event Design : All In The Details Events | Floral Design: Eden's Echo Floral Design | Cake: The Ultimate Cheesecake Bakery | Catering: CarteWheels Caterers, Inc | Officiant : Olive Tree Officiating | Venue: Paniolo Ranch | Guitarists : Hot Sauce | Make Up Artist : Prim & Powder | Photo Booth: Brooke Courtney Photography | Tree Rental: Burns Garden Center