A Timeless Tented Wedding at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Lauren Megerdichian
December 4, 2018
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

There’s nothing quite like that timeless beauty of a Spring wedding reception underneath a sprawling Sperry tent, am I right?! Add a few arrangements of green and white flowers, white table linens, charming cross-back chairs and there you have it – our recipe for the perfect, classic wedding. With planning from 36th Street Events, floral design by Rosehip Flora and all captured flawlessly (duh!) by Brett Heidebrecht – this perfect day embodies the classic tented wedding of our dreams.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center was an easy choice for The bride and groom. They fell in love in California and enjoy the outdoors, so bringing their wedding guests to a venue that celebrates and conserves the central Texas native landscape was a natural pick. Despite their love of the venue, it would be a challenging location for their 180 person wedding, and they set out to find a team that could execute the vision for an immersive, indoor-outdoor experience for their guests. 36th Street Events and Contigo Catering were up to the challenge.

They transformed the already beautiful center into a garden oasis, showcasing the Texas Hill Country. Guests entered the venue through a walk under sandstone aqueducts, reflecting the history of Spanish Colonial times in the region. Upon entering the central courtyard, guests were greeted with champagne and serenaded with music from a Spanish guitar trio before entering the great hall for the wedding ceremony.

With high ceilings, limestone walls, and floor to ceiling windows overlooking a dramatic vista of wildflower fields, the bride and groom added only an arbor over the altar for a simple, structural backdrop to their wedding vows. Guests could gaze over the bucolic meadow, the perfect bridge between the indoors and the natural splendor outside, as they awaited the bride. Suited to the season, the bride chose an organza Reem Acra wedding gown with a corseted bodice hand-stitched in chantilly lace and overlaid with an off-the-shoulder bolero. In true Texas fashion, she wore custom, caramel colored boots by Luchesse. Bridesmaids wore dresses in champagne-colored chiffon and emerald onyx earrings, keeping with the wedding’s color palette. The groom, in Texas summer tradition, wore a white dinner jacket by Zegna with a boutonniere made of a single white gardenia.

As the ceremony ended, floor-to-ceiling doors swung open, surprising the guests with the sound of a full Mariachi band kicking off cocktail hour. The Mariachi band then led all guests through the gardens of the Wildflower Center, replete with passed champagne, as guests strolled through the displays of native plants on the way to the reception lawn. The garden stroll opened up to a beautiful meadow, where guests were greeted with Contigo Catering’s fabulous array of Texas-inspired hors d’oeuvres and an oyster bar. Guests mingled outside of the 80 ft. Sperry tent with signature cocktails – spicy margaritas and Yankee mules, a salute to the bride and grooms’ backgrounds. Inside the grand tent, 36th Street Events and Rosehip Floral created a natural extension of the venue’s native gardens. Fresh branches and greenery were added to the tent poles to create the feeling of an arboretum inside the space. A wall of live plants was added as a backdrop to the main bar, which served as a natural break between the bar and the dance floor.

Tables were covered in cream linens, and decorated with copper vessel; place settings were kept simple with copper flatware, glass chargers, and personalized menus. Table arrangements incorporated native grasses and seasonal blooms, accented by sumptuous bowls of figs, pears, and grapes. Calligraphy for the invitation suite was provided by the bride in her own handwriting. San Francisco-based Dependable Letterpress realized the bride’s vision for an elegant and personal design, including hand-painted watercolor maps of the venue and the entire weekend’s locales. A collection of vintage stamps, showcasing Texas history and natural flora in the bride’s color palette of cream, champagne, and emerald, decorated the front of each envelope. At the reception, each guest received their place cards with a handwritten note from the bride and groom. Guests were given custom majolica tiles designed by the bride.

The dinner menu by Contigo served up elevated southwestern fare. The bride, who loves to host dinner parties, wanted the dining experience to make guests as feel as comfortable as they would be in their own homes. A plated salad of green bean, zucchini, arugula, peaches, house-made ricotta, and roasted onion vinaigrette was followed by pork shoulder with charred eggplant puree and leek salsa verde. Sides were served family style: grilled corn, avocado, and ancho creme fraiche; duck confit, shishito peppers, and pickled watermelon rind; and a seasonal salad of roasted beets, pickled rhubarb, pistachio, and purslane.