I’m a proud book nerd (let’s not even get started chatting recommendations!) and the more greenery the better I say, so combine these two loves and what do we get? This masterpiece right here by Keely Thorne Events, overflowing with gorgeous green florals and literary love all around. Shaun Menary captured it all, and I’ll be soaking up everything, from chapter one to the end, in our VAULT right here!
From the Bride… Hunter and I live in San Antonio, but we decided to have our wedding in Houston because we both grew up there and most of our family is there. As soon as I saw the Julia Ideson Library in downtown Houston I was hooked – there was no question in my mind that this was the place we were going to celebrate our marriage. Luckily Hunter (who was back in San Antonio at the time) ended up loving the library just as much as I did, and from there the architecture and color scheme of the library really drove most of our planning process. I grew up in the Methodist church, so once we found the library it was an easy decision to have the ceremony at the beautiful St. Paul’s United Methodist Church located just outside of downtown.
We wanted to incorporate elements of the library into the wedding so we added small touches like printing out our Save-The-Dates on bookmarks, displaying the escort cards in card catalogs, and having the table numbers printed on library cards. The Spanish Renaissance style of the library was already gorgeous on its own, so we created a color scheme that complemented the colors that were already there – lots of greenery, white and neutral colored flowers, and gold accents. Our wedding planner, Jennifer Hobson-Kaldis with Keely Thorne Events, did an amazing job of tying together all of our ideas, and all of our vendors were so creative and easy to work with. Even after almost a year of planning our jaws dropped when we first walked into the library that night! After dinner, everyone danced to music by the Kris Gordon Band; one of our groomsmen – a close friend who was there both the night Hunter and I met and the day we got engaged – plays guitar for the band, and we loved how personal it felt having a band that we have seen many times and enjoy listening to so much.
The whole night was perfect. Looking back, we’re so glad that we worked in little moments of private time throughout the day. We did a first look, ate a quick private dinner during the cocktail hour so we could visit with everyone during dinner, and we had a private last dance before our exit. Everything went so quickly and was such a blur, it meant a lot to us to have a few minutes together to soak it all in.
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Photography: Shaun Menary Photography | Coordination: Keely Thorne Events | Floral Design: Events In Bloom | Wedding Dress: Reem Acra | Cake: Susie's Cakes & Confections | Invitations: Pressing Events | Ceremony Venue: St. Paul's United Methodist Church | Reception Venue: Julia Ideson Library | Bride's Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell | Rings: Americus Diamond | Bridesmaids' Dresses: J.Crew | Catering: A Fare Extraordinaire | Makeup: Jentry Kelley | Hair: Jeff Bruins | Band: Kris Gordon Band | Favors: Rook Design Co | Transportation: Sam's Limousines | Bridal Boutique: Ivory Bridal Atelier | Getaway Car: Monarch British Limousines | Getting Ready Venue: The Aspen Institute At Wye River | Rentals: A Finer Event | Sound: Pro Sound