Spring Garden Wedding at Woodbine Mansion

Happy, Fun, Whimsical, Garden Party

After 4 years and a dog together, Nick began to prepare for the surprise of Chelsea's life. As she regularly does, Chelsea was planning to meet up with some girl friends for drinks after work over on the Austin's east side. It was Friday February 25th, 2023, extra memorable because of the record-holding cold temperature that hit Texas that week. After getting dropped off by her Uber at Sekrit Theater, Chelsea turns the corner to hear instrumental music playing and a picture frame with a handwritten love note waiting for her. Turns out, Nick had planned a beautiful three-part proposal with the help of Chelsea's two best friends. After Chelsea said "YES!!!", they met their families for an intimate dinner at Juniper followed by a surprise with all of their local Austin friends waiting to celebrate with them at Central Machine Works.

Pronovias (Wedding Dress) Galia Lahav (Reception Dress)

Esther & Co

The Black Tux

Nick and Chelsea were delighted with their decision to go with SoHo Catering for their wedding! Throughout the reception, many guests raved about the delicious food. The menu included Braised Short Rib, Pecan Crusted Chicken, Green Beans, Mac & Cheese, and a definite crowd-pleaser – the bread rolls! Rebecca from SoHo was a pleasure to work with from beginning to end. The signature drinks were never up for debate as the couple knew what they wanted early on. For Nick, he went with the classic Old Fashioned topped off with a "G" engraved ice cube. Chelsea had to have her favorite espresso martini that flowed through an ice luge, also courtesy of Spectrum Ice. However, the most popular might have been the "Rusty-rita" which was a spicy margarita with a tajin rim complete with a stir stick of their dog Rusty.

Working hand in hand with Simply XO Events during the design process was so much fun. They made everything feel collaborative from talking through the ceremony design, design of the reception in the tent, to even the small details such as the design of the dance floor, lighting, and rented bar. Once the couple booked Heather with Reverie Floristry, they knew they were going to be taken care of. Heather took the design deck from Simply XO Events & brought the color palette to life. She knew which areas were important to the couple, and what mattered vs didn't matter to them. The bride, Chelsea, had fallen in love with the idea of a tan & white checkered dance floor, which served as the focal point of their mood board early on. The clear-top tent was transformed with luscious white draping, cascading twinkle lights, and clusters of rattan fixtures wrapped in greenery.

The wedding cake selection process was one of the easiest of them all. Immediately upon meeting Brittany from @Morganpearlcakes and describing their vision for the cake, Chelsea and Nick knew they could trust her. Opting for a stunning white 5-tiered cake in a sleek, modern design complete with scalloped detailing, their cake commanded attention as the centerpiece inside of Woodbine Mansion's cake room.

Upon entering the ceremony, guests were greeted with Champagne & Topo Chico bottles along with the sound of live piano from The Nightowls band. The ceremony began to Nick, the bridal party and family walking down the aisle to the instrumental version of Bruno Mars', "Marry you". The bride's recessional was to a rendition of "Here comes the sun", a fitting tribute to the delightful April weather that graced their special day. During the ceremony, the couple chose to express their vows to one another, leaving not a single dry eye in the audience. One very special detail to the couple was that the same Pastor who married the bride's parents was able to marry the two of them, 36 years later.

There was no shortage of ways Nick & Chelsea incorporated their dog, Rusty, into their wedding details. From his seamless walk down the aisle in his custom tuxedo from @barkandgo, to the hand-painted champagne bottle with his portrait from @petportraitsbycaitlin, and finally cut-out Rusty heads as props in the Mir-Mir photo booth. With him being such a huge part of their lives & love story, Rusty needed his time to shine as well.

As silver streamers pop around them, Nick and Chelsea departed down the mansion's steps with The Nightowls second line parade following behind. For their getaway vehicle, the couple rented a gorgeous toffee cream vintage car. In fact, the same car was featured months earlier in their "Save the Date" engagement shoot at their favorite date night spot, Mattie's. Leaving it's mark on each stage of their growing love story, but now as husband and wife!

As an ode to one of their first dates, the couple had Via313 pizza delivered as their late night snack in order to keep the guests fueled for more time on the dance floor! Our only advice to couples planning would be to order MORE as the pizza was such a hit and went too fast.