Texas Weddings

Even though I’ve seen about a million and one fabulous Texas weddings (it’s an estimate), I still can’t seem to get over just how crazy awesome they are.  It’s like you lovelies out there in Texas know something the rest of us don’t… a secret “amazing wedding” potion, if you will.  And when it comes to being floored by some serious Lone Star State pretty, this San Antonio beauty is most definitely hitting the nail on the head.  It’s the stellar stylings of Style.Inspired meets amazing party products from Oh Goodie Designs meets one glorious image after another captured by Al Gawlik.  See them all right here.

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From Oh Goodie Designs… This wedding was envisoined for a native Texas couple with love for the outdoors yet sophisticated taste. The marriage of rustic and natural elements as well as chic, preppy taste came together beautifully just as the Bride and Groom. It took place at The Texas Heritage Museum along the banks of the San Antonio River and historic Brackenridge Park.

The guests were welcomed with Lemonade bar service in quilted Mason jars and striped straws as they signed in at the table using a state of Texas puzzle, in pieces, as they were a special piece of the couple’s lives. They then took a seat at the ceremony site on limestone benches on a grassy knoll that overlooked the San Antonio River. They were able to grab a quilt if the air was too chilly and watched as the precious flower girls, beautiful Bridesmaids and Groomsmen took their place. The Bride was preceeded with a pennent banner handmade to read “Here Comes the Bride.”  After the service the pennant banner was turned around to read “Just Married” and the happy couple made their way to the reception area.

The reception area was softly lit to reflect the natural scenery there as well as the glass building in view. Round tables welcomed the guests and as they took their seats in dark cherry wood Chiavari chairs. Servers passed h’ors d’ourves as well as an open bar that was available. Style elements used on the tables were deer antlers intermixed with orange roses, blue hydrangea, dusty miller and baby’s breath in Mason jars which sat upon cuts of wood and navy and white gingham table runners. The Mason jars were wrapped in burlap and lace and added that special touch of down South as did the custom printed kaft silverware bags that greeted each guest at their seat. Included was a navy striped straw with guest’s name as well as knife, fork and spoon. The bag read “R+M dinner is served.”

After dinner the couple cut thier sweet fig (a family favorite) infused vanilla bean cake with thick Buttercream frosting. The Groom’s cake was Dark chocolate with blood oranges. All desserts had a special meaning as family recipes were pulled to make the  carrot cake mini bundt cakes, sand tarts and spice cake mini cupcakes. Wooden plates and forks stamped “i do” in navy were used to serve the guests. Antique lampshades were draped with lace and burlap and lit to enhance the lighting in the large oak trees that surrounded the cake and dessert table.

The Bride and Groom danced the night away under the stars on a cobblestone and brick dance floor that wrapped around a large oak tree draped with lights. Guests enjoyed games such as dominos, checkers, a custom designed corn hole bean bag toss and bottle ring toss. No one seemed to mind the Texas style cold front that made it’s way in unexpectedly during the night. The Bride wore a mink stole when needed and patchwork quilts were made available for guests to cuddle by the heaters. Guests sent the happy couple away by waving custom made burlap flags with the couple’s initials, R+M, which was the theme throughout the event. They drove away in a family owned antique Ford Model T.

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Photography: Al Gawlik Photography | Event Design + Styling: Style.Inspired | Floral Design: Eden’s Echo | Venue: Texas Heritage Museum at The Witte Musuem | Lighting: Event Ignition | Cakes: 2tarts | Sweet Desserts from Family Recipes: Debbie’s Cookies, Aunt of the Bride | Custom Printed Party Products: Oh Goodie Designs | Graphic Design + Invitation Suite: Harper Gray Designs | Pie Pop favors: Tiny Pies | Chalkboard Art, Bride Groom Chair Signs, Just Married Sign + Here Comes the Bride + Just Married Pennent: Mika Beverly of PartyCreative | Lemonade Bar: The Lemonade Co. | Catering: Rosemary’s Catering | Rentals: Illusions | Wedding dress: Julian Gold Bridal Suite | Bridesmaids Attire: Bella Bridesmaid | Custom Design Boots for the Bride: Lucchese Boots

Kelly Hornberger is serving up the sweetest of fêtes today, and you know that’s how we like to start our days on SMP Texas. It’s pure prettiness from start to finish topped off with perfectly-fitting florals from Exquisite Petals. How can you not adore that? It’s a gallery worth spending some seriously quality time with, and you can do just that right here, in the full gallery of images.

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From the Bride… Walking down the (very long and graveled) aisle, and seeing Eric standing there waiting on me was the most special moment of the day. All the chaos and stress of planning finally disappeared and it sunk in that this moment was truly about us, and all the other stuff just didn’t matter. Saying our vows and hearing our six month old daughter Maya singing behind us made it absolutely perfect. One funny thing that happened, was when our pastor slipped up and called me Stacy at one point during the ceremony. He was mortified, and apologized profusely later, but we thought it was pretty funny. Also, one of my bridesmaids forgot to eat all day, so she got faint and fell over after the ceremony! Right after Eric and I walked down the aisle and up the hill. Luckily, she was fine and got right back up to rally for the reception. We fed her shortly thereafter.

My wonderful mom put our entire signing table together and handmade nearly everything on it. There were so many special things on that table, like a runner my grandmother had made, and some pictures of Eric, Maya and I…. it was one of my favorite things at our reception.

In the future, we hope to be blessed with at least two children, and we look forward to growing together as a family – traveling, making traditions…. just living and enjoying life. Our one hope is that we all stay healthy, and we hope to cherish our years as a family because we know they’ll go fast!

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Photography: Kelly Hornberger | Venue: Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa | Floral Design: Beth Richards of Exquisite Petals | Wedding Dress: BHLDN | Makeup: Sarah Schindler, Houston | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: BHLDN + Ann Taylor | DJ: DJ Johnny Bravvo, Austin

SMP Texas, you are in for the prettiest of treats this fine Tuesday morning, and it’s all thanks to the gorgeous images from SMS Photography. They snapped up a day designed by Brock + Co. Events at Wild Onion Ranch so pretty I can barely stand it. With a purple palette that is just begs to be pinned, and details that dazzle – this stylish soiree is simply everything that makes our heart flutter all wrapped up in one gorgeous gallery. So set aside some time today to get lost in all the prettiness, it’s so worth it. See it all here.

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From the Bride… I have never been the type of girl who spent hours thinking about my future wedding day, and I had absolutely no idea where to begin planning. All I knew was Benji and I wanted to have a great party. After getting a recommendation from a friend, I met with Becky and Henry at Brock + Co. Events. They blew me away with all of their amazing ideas, so choosing them was a no-brainer. All Becky really had to say was “boozy snow cones” and I was sold. At Becky’s recommendation, we drove out to the Wild Onion Ranch, and we couldn’t believe how beautiful and totally unique the venue was. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. We booked it immediately.

When we started talking about the details, we decided on a “rustic glam” theme with a purple and gray color palette. For flowers, we went with lots of shades of purple, and included a ton of succulents. Succulents are great because you can re-plant them after they are cut, so we saved the succulents from my bouquet, and Benji’s boutonnière, and they are now growing in a pot in our backyard.

When it came to picking cake, all Benji wanted was a TCU baseball groom’s cake since he was a catcher for the Horned Frogs. Olga at Polkadots drew up a great sketch, and we were blown away on wedding day, when his cake arrived and looked just like an actual leather glove! We kept it simple with the brides cake: buttercream with fresh flowers.

As for the other details, I really let Becky and Henry have a ton of creative freedom. They really delivered! From the incredible table settings, to the crème brûlée cart, our wedding had so many fun and unique details. All the guests were saying that it was the best wedding they had ever attended. It was truly the best day of our lives, and I still can’t believe how incredible the evening was. I just wish we could do it all over again!

From Becky, Brock + Co. Events: From a planner/designer’s Point of View, Rachel and Benji were dream clients. They had an idea of the colors they loved, the general feel, the most important elements of their wedding (food + lots of yummy drinks!) and then let us go wild with the details. We helped them find the perfect venue — Wild Onion Ranch, complete with baby Longhorns. Hands down, this is one of my favorite couples + wedding designs.

We had a blast layering this Austin wedding with loads of personalized details and fun touches. From the different specialty linens — orchid purple sequins mixed with rustic plum burlap — to the boozy snow cone bar, guests were constantly delighted and surprised at Rachel and Benji’s chic wedding.

Florals were lush and romantic, with lots of amnesia roses, anemones, ranunculus, kale and a few succulents for an Austin touch. Elegant silver lanterns and lots of candles completed the look. Our favorite touch was the gorgeous bride + groom chair floral decor, which was a surprise for Rachel and Benji. Orchids, succulents + driftwood made for a picture-perfect (and wildly popular on Pinterest) detail.

For the dinner, we used lots of string lights to create a warm and intimate feeling, as well as mixing different kinds of tables.Think a festive garden party under the Texas stars. Guests dined on a delicious menu of crab cake salad, beef tenderloin + chicken roulade. Polkadots create two fabulous cakes — the TCU catchers mitt was a nod to the Groom’s college days. And for a sweet finish, we had a local Austin crème brûlée bike cart drive onto the dance floor with chocolate and salted caramel mini-Crème brûlées.

After dinner, guests danced the night away to The Atlantics + a fun DJ before the bride and groom departed in a vintage 1964 Rolls Royce.

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Wedding Photography: SMS Photography | Second Photography Shooter: Heather Banks of Eclectic Images | Event Planning + Design: Becky Brock of Brock + Co. Events | Wedding Venue: Wild Onion Ranch | Officiant: Mike Rinehart | Floral Design: Florist Unexpected Elements | Caterering: 2Dine4 | Cakes: Polkadots | Rentals: Hill Country Event Rentals + Marquee Rents | Linens: La Tavola Linen | Ceremony Music: Hill Country Strings | Crème brûlée Cart: Vino Vino | Makeup: Nisa Nicole | Hair: Rachel McDaniel | Lighting: FILO Designs | Invitations + Menus + Paper Products: Anibella Ink + Paer | Band: The Atlantics

I’m not going to lie, this might be my favorite Austin wedding. Ever. It’s a little bit of spunk mixed with a whole lotta sweet and the rustic-sweet design embodies Texas to a T. There’s about a 101 other reasons to fall in love with this Mother’s Day “I do” (can you say, “choreographed first dance”?) but I’ll leave you with the very best reason of all — Loft Photographie’s full gallery waiting right here.

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From Loft Photographie LLC…From the second we met Emily and Robert we were instant friends. They have kind personalities, and laid back charm. This sweet couple had a Mother’s Day morning wedding just outside of Austin at Vista West Ranch. From the choice in venue to serving lemonade & bar-b-q to their guests, their day was all about relaxing and enjoying the people they love most (including all the mamas in attendance)! Emily & Robert had the best first dance we’ve ever seen. They choreographed the steps to a compilation of country hits, hip hop lines, and classic tunes. And by the final dip they had all their guests cheering. 

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Photography: Loft Photographie LLC | Event Coordination: Coordinate This | Floral Design: Petal Pushers | Wedding Venue: Vista West Ranch | Cake: Classic Cakes by Lori | Lemonade Stand: The Lemonade Company | Catering: Pok-E-Jos Catering | Hair: Belle Mariee  | Wedding Dress: Watters | Bridesmaid Dresses: Francesca’s

Pastels always make me swoon. It’s a fact. Bridesmaids in flowing frocks in the prettiest of pastel hues? Well that’s just swoon-worthy and then some. Add a gorgeous Bride, a dashing Groom and too many pretty details to list – and that’s the recipe for a perfect SMP Texas feature. We get to enjoy just such a feature thanks to the stunning images from Double Knot Photography, and you can start the swooning right here, in the full gallery of images.

Bethany and Chris – Lone Star Mansion Wedding Video from Soulbox Productions on Vimeo.

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From the Bride… When Chris and I got engaged, we had been together for over 5 years so we knew that a destination wedding wasn’t an option for us. We wanted to share our wedding day with all of our family and friends that have loved and supported us through the years. We immediately started looking for venues in our current home town of Granbury, Texas. I grew up in Seattle and a lot of my family would be making the trip to Texas for the wedding. In their minds, we ride horses to and from work, so I wanted to give them that very southern Texas wedding. I initially began looking at barns and rustic venues but after months of searching I couldn’t find “the one.” I wanted something that was country but could still be very elegant when decorated and had a great outdoor area for the ceremony. While scouring the internet, I stumbled across the Lone Star Mansion in Burleson and immediately booked an appointment to go see it. After driving through the mansion’s white gates, I knew it would be our wedding venue. The main drive up to the mansion was lined with white picket fences and a large picturesque pond with two white swans gliding across the water (seriously, I’m not making that up). On the mansion’s 18 acres, a large oak tree stood in the very center which would be perfect for our ceremony. The mansion was breathtaking in all its southern glory.

Once we found the venue, I started planning the rest of the details right away. I didn’t want to be confined to one or two colors so when anyone asked me what my colors were, my answer was always pastels. One of the first things we did was start looking for bridesmaids dresses and of course, my dress. I’m a huge fashion lover so this was probably the most exciting part for me. My vision for my wedding dress changed two or three times. First I wanted lace, then I wanted something with a large skirt and somehow I ended up at tulle. We went to three different bridal boutiques. We found the bridesmaids dresses at the second one. I wanted something simple that came in several different colors so each girl could have a different pastel. I was definitely stressed about how they would all look together (Are they going to look like an Easter egg?!) but they turned out better than I had hoped. The colors looked so amazing together and all of my bridesmaids looked stunning in them. We ended up finding my dress at our third stop, Stardust Celebrations in Plano. I saw it on the rack and was positive that would be my dress. It was the first dress we put on and sure enough, it was the one. The details and bodice were so different than anything I had seen anywhere else and the layered tulle just warmed my soul. I tried on several dresses after it, but nothing compared. It was perfect for me. Later in the process I ended up getting a second dress for the reception that fulfilled my lace love.

The mansion was so stunning on its own that we didn’t need to do much for decor. For the ceremony we put up a chandelier under the tree and draped some white fabric for a simple ethereal look. The fabric ended up getting a little crazy considering we had 19 mph hour winds but it flowed, hit our officiant in the face and added a little special touch. Our florist was an absolute whiz. I would mention one flower and she would pop off with 15 others that would go with it. She adorned every other chair with simple bouquets in mason jars and lined the aisle with flower petals that somehow stayed pretty well despite the wind.

I wanted to stick with pinks, whites and silvers for the reception decor but bring in more of the color and pastels with the flowers. I didn’t want a large centerpiece that would hinder my guests from chatting across the table so we decided to go with small clusters of glass vases. I love how they turned out with the varying sizes and colors, it was simple but so pretty. I couldn’t find any table numbers in stores that I liked so I ordered 20 pastel pink wooden frames and painstakingly cut out the numbers from glitter paper. It took two evenings after work but it was definitely worth it. We used chalkboards for all of our informational signs including the program and seating chart. I hired a local cheerleader with pretty handwriting to decorate these, I loved the look!

My family is a huge supporter of game nights. Whenever I am back in Seattle visiting, a game night is absolutely mandatory. Our most recent favorite has been Farkle so I thought that would be a perfect wedding favor for our guests. I found some really great burlap bags on Etsy that could be personalized with our initials and filled each bag with 6 dice and instructions for Farkle. My Mom surprised me with custom dice, so everyone went home with one special die with our B+C wedding logo.

In the end, our main goal was to have a great party, host our guests and show them how much we love and cherish them in our lives. Our wedding day was absolutely perfect and we could not have done it without our amazing vendors, our supportive families and our best friends. HUGE thank you to my mom for listening, helping and stressing with me every single step of the way. I don’t think I made one decision without her opinion. She was my rock throughout the whole planning process. Tips to brides: Organize everything and delegate before the wedding day! You won’t have as much time as you think to run around and make sure everything is set up correctly. And if things don’t go exactly the way you wanted, let it go! All of the minor details that I fretted about days leading up to the wedding were completely out the window when I saw my husband standing at the end of the aisle. I am so thankful to have found such an amazing man to share my life with. As we read in our vows “Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay.”

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Wedding Photography: Double Knot Photography | Cinematography: Soulbox Productions| Floral Decor: Daydreaming Daisies | Wedding Venue: Lone Star Mansion Burleson, Texas | Invitations: Kimberly Fitzsimons | Wedding Cake: Delicious Cakes | Bride’s Shoes: BHLDN |Wedding Dress: Hayley Paige Bridal from Stardust Celebrations | Bride’s Headpiece + Earrings: Paris by Debra Moreland | S’mores Bar: Bella Wedding Rentals| Koozies: 4imprint | Favor Burlap Bags: magdalinenHome | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Allure Bridals | Hair + Makeup: Elan Makeup Studio | DJ: Brandon Fitzgerald | Wedding Coordinator: Rochelle Ragas | Transportation: My-DFW-Limo | Chalkboards: Sara Henry

This color palette easily had me at hello. It’s fresh and fun without being over the top girly. It pops without being too wild and it’s perfectly folded into the details by Yellow Umbrella Events and the florals by Cherry Lane Floral. The result is a wedding that combines pattern (hellllooo bridesmaids), color and a ton of gorgeous photographs from Sharon Nicole. Have a look at so much more right here in the full gallery.

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From the Bride...No words can describe how much we loved getting married! From the start, we wanted our wedding to truly be a reflection of “us” and for our guests to feel at home at our wedding. Our relationship started in Austin so I knew from the start that I wanted our day to be at Laguna Gloria off of Lake Austin—to me it’s the perfect combination of nature and elegance. Our vendors were amazing and understood our vision for what we wanted the day to look like. Our wonderful photographer even lent us her mint and coral tablecloth from BHLDN! We wanted to keep our day intimate and relaxed (with some sparkle, of course!). Our bridal party’s outfits were coordinated around mint, coral and gold tones, and they all looked stunning.
 
Chad was a great partner in the whole wedding planning process. He was incredibly organized, thoughtful, generous, and a surprisingly good craftsman (although he will probably hate that I made this fact public). Together we crafted wedding signs, a large wooden program, and various DIY details. Several Etsy vendors also played a role in our wedding, from the guest book to the floral pin in my hair. We loved the feeling of having elegant details mixed with a touch of DIY to create a wedding that was our own.
 
Our ceremony was held under a gorgeous natural tree arch, with a chandelier hanging from the top (one of my favorite details of the wedding!) We wanted our ceremony to be a reflection of how much God has grown us as a couple, and how excited we are for our next adventures together. Chad helped me craft (and by helped, I mean he really did it himself) wooden boards with our bridesmaids names on them so that their heels wouldn’t sink in the grass. One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was seeing the secret message that Chad had written on the wooden board he made me. The weather turned out to be perfect, with the sun peeking out of the clouds right in the middle of our ceremony—I couldn’t have been more thrilled. The forecast had looked dreary for two weeks leading up to our big day, which made us appreciate the perfect weather that much more!
 
The reception tables lined the long walkway behind the villa, with festoon lights criss-crossing over the tables. Our table faced the sunset over Lake Austin, and it was truly magical. Our table settings included gold chargers, gold flatware, and DIY menus with the help of PaperSource. My mom also made lace runners for our head table (she also made my veil, garter, and ring bearer pillow!). The most special part about our tablescapes was the assortment of gold and brass vases that my mom had helped me collect in her visits to the antique markets in the Netherlands—my family lives there, so we were thrilled to be able to include a little piece of our home in our Texas wedding. Our florist also made sure to include tulips in the centerpieces to represent a little more of the Netherlands.
 
Our dance floor was in the open, with festoon lighting draping from four vintage lamp-posts to the villa. Each strand of lighting had individual glass bulbs with mint and coral flowers hanging inside. It was the perfect setting to wrap up the night with our family and friends, who have been so amazing and encouraging throughout the whole experience. We are so thankful for the love that surrounded us on our special day!

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Photography: Sharon Nicole Photography | Floral Design: Cherry Lane Floral | Event Design + Planning: Jordan Monday, Yellow Umbrella Events | Ceremony + Reception Location: Laguna Gloria | Lighting: Intelligent Lighting Design |Hair + Makeup: Studio Tilee | Cake: Sweetish Hill | Catering: Whole Foods Catering Austin | Fans + Bride + Groom Forks: BHLDN | Bride’s Dress: Parvani Vida | Shoes: Badgely Mischka | Bridesmaid Dresses: Vince Camuto | Bridesmaid Earrings: Anthropologie | Junior Bridesmaid Dresses: BCBG | Groom + Groomsmen Suits: Zara

This couple? They make camping look chic. And sweet. And adorable. And stylish. I may not be the camping type, but if it looks this pretty, I’m totally in. I just can’t get enough of the images Archetype Studio Inc sent our way, and really, can you blame me? Because sitting in this gallery are snapshots these two cuties will treasure forever, and you can get swept up in all the sweetness right here.

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From the Bride… Before we began planning our engagement photos, Jason and I discussed the importance of wanting everything about our wedding to reflect ‘us’. Sounds cliché, but we wanted to keep it simple, with no extra props or fluff, unless it was actually a part of our relationship history. We decided to place ourselves in a setting we’re comfortable with, so it was an easy decision that our pictures would be taken outdoors and camping would have a starring role. Outdoor adventures have played a large part in our relationship which started with a New Years camping trip, after we had been dating for only one month. These experiences continued over the next three years, as we camped in the San Juan Islands and rafted down the Grand Canyon on a surprise vacation. Jason and I are blessed to have shared interests and tastes, which also means an appreciation for all things modern. This is the reason we incorporated a pair of Eames chairs I gave him into the camping portion of the shoot. We wanted classic images that would reflect our personalities and love for one another, which is why we also chose to include our ‘furry children’ in the pictures. We both brought a dog to the relationship, so it only seemed natural that Sadie and Deluca be included in the photos representing our future family of four.

I love a good juxtaposition, so we also chose to have a more formal outfit for the other half of our images. It was in these pictures I incorporated my second-most treasured piece of jewelry (my engagement ring obviously the first!), the monogrammed necklace Jason gave me when he proposed, which bears my future married initials. Planning and organizing the e-session was certainly a group effort. My handsome, handyman/future husband built the makeshift tent, my mom made the chevron pillows, and Jason’s mom and Oma brought the dogs to us at just the right time. The real credit, however, goes to Koby and Terilyn who not only made us incredibly comfortable, regardless of our setting, but let our personalities shine with their images. They captured us exactly as we are. We are beyond grateful for them and their photography skills, and now have a series of images showing our excitement and love for one another, that we can treasure forever!

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Photography: Koby & Terilyn Brown, Archetype Studio Inc |Location: Memorial Park, Houston, Texas

There is little more I love than a beautiful wedding planned right. But a beautiful wedding planned (and perfected by As you wish…) right, complete with beautiful blooms from Branching Out? Tops it. That is exactly what you’re looking at people. A wedding planned perfectly, from the stunning outdoor ceremony to the gorgeous lavender and gold details at the reception, with amazing florals in every single image from Lucky Pro Photography.

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From the planner… This is a wedding we did last month for Shade Ogunro and Walter Amerteifio at the Crescent Hotel in Dallas, Texas. They were such a sweet and exuberant couple, and we feel that really came out in their photos, especially the first look! Some of our favorite aspects of the day include the intimate, earthy outdoor reception, gold-rimmed chargers, silver chiavari chairs, lavender cake, and cookie favors.

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Event Planning: As you wish… | Ceremony and Reception: The Crescent Hotel | Photography: Lucky Pro Photography | Videography: Jonathon Links Studio | Ceremony Music: Serenata Strings | Reception Music: Simply Music and Biodun | Kora Player: Sahnk Rasa | Floral: Branching Out | Cakes: The Crescent Hotel | Lighting: Simply Music | Rentals: Celebration | Chairs: Chiavari Chairs of Dallas | Wedding Attire: Denns Basso

Give me a wedding designed around a mid-century modern concept and you’ll have one giddy blogger on your hands. That’s for darn certain. But add in an entire gallery of crisp, clean captures from Archetype Studio Inc, and you’ve just let me have my cake and eat it too. With detail after detail of streamlined perfection (did I mention they gave custom silhouettes as favors?) I firmly believe this Houston fête is minimalism at its finest. So sit back and get comfy, because this pretty party is just getting starting…

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From the Bride…Jason and I knew from the beginning that we wanted a unique and personal wedding, which was the driving force behind the planning of our special day. Since we met while working with power tools, on a church mission project, we decided to DIY as much as we could, to make sure our wedding was reflective of us and our love of building things together.  We immediately started our planning with an inspiration board. As lovers of good, mid-century design, all our favorite items played harmoniously with one another and instantly created an obvious theme of juxtaposing materials. We knew we wanted to avoid a color palette that we would regret in 20 years and also didn’t want to limit ourselves to matching everything with a bold color. Therefore, we chose a neutral scheme of grey, white, and sand. We utilized the texture of overlapping tonal shades and heavily relied on the warmth of the materials to read as our ‘color’. Our graphic designer created an amazing cohesive suite for us with a save the date, invitations, and wedding reception signage. My favorite detail was the wood-grain embossed cardstock of our invitations, paired with silver foil lettering. If Jason and I could be paper, we like to think our invitations are what we would look like!  
 
Our wedding day was full of special moments, including our families getting ready together at the hotel, with our wedding parties.  Jason and I were able to deliver letters to each other to read, and Jason’s was so touching it made me feel even more blessed that God picked him to be my husband. We also chose to do a first-look, since it would give us a moment to share our thoughts with each other and have a few, quiet minutes to ourselves. I immediately realized it was the best decision we ever could have made, onceI saw his sweet expression and the tears in his eyes. I’ll always cherish that moment and Terilyn and Koby’s amazing photos that reflect just how personal it was for us!
 
I fell in love with our reception venue while on an architectural tour with my company. After showing it to Jason  and visiting a handful of other venues in town, nothing said ‘us’ like this modern building. We knew we had found a unique place and were booked as their first wedding reception! A beautiful downtown Houston church was perfect for our ceremony and it was important that Jason’s childhood pastor marry us. We asked family friends to do the scripture reading and the solo’s, and even included honorary groomswoman and bridesman positions for two of our dearest friends. We carefully selected the solos based on our favorite hymns. We spent a lot of time making our ceremony personal, Christ centered, and a little quirky. Our pastor included in his homily a description of a poster Jason gave me while dating. We chose to display this framed poster at our reception, because it describes our relationship so well. We shared a joyous walk down the aisle as husband and wife, to ‘In My Life’, by our favorite band, the Beatles.  
 
At the reception, silhouette artist, Cindi Rose, was busy cutting silhouettes of the guests to take home as a favor…..her accuracy and speed was a hit with our family and friends! The band was insanely fun and sang our favorite oldies and Beatles songs that kept guests of all ages dancing. Our florist, can only be described as my kindred spirit and has a level of creativity that’s out of this world.  In lieu of traditional ribbon or lace around the bridesmaid’s bouquets, he soaked thin slices of wood in water before wrapping them around the bouquets; one of my absolute favorite details.  His magical mind also worked with us on the custom designed cake stand for our reception. We knew our architectural, cantilevered cake wouldn’t look proper on a regular table, so he created an acrylic stand, incorporating our favorite succulents and manzanita branches into the base. We chose not to have a groom’s cake, but rather design a cake that reflected both of us.  Instead, we alternated the flavors of the cake tiers, in order to have a variety.  Since Jason and I admire mid-century architect Richard Neutra’s iconic house numbers, we decided to make our own.  We cut them out of poplar wood, painted them metallic silver, and mounted them to blocks of cedar to use as the table numbers.  Jason also built the custom white trays used for the escort cards, which we filled with pebbles and succulents, to accent the cards, which were done in calligraphy by my sister.
 
At the end of the evening, we walked through a dazzling sparkler send-off to our bright orange getaway car. Jason bought the 1970 Roadrunner about two months before we began dating, and has worked on restoring it throughout our entire relationship; a true labor of love. Our getaway departure was my FIRST ride in the completed car, and I couldn’t think of a better way to christen it, than to ride away from our wedding reception as husband and wife!

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Photography: Koby + Terilyn Brown, Archetype Studio Inc. | Floral Design: Floral Events | Ceremony Location: Trinity Lutheran Downtown Houston | Reception Location: The Asia Society Center of Houston | Invitations: Emily Larson Designs | Band: NiteBeat Band | Dance Floor: Bickner Dance Floors | Catering + Wedding Planning: Silverstone Events | Cake: Cakes by Gina | Make Up + Hair: The Perfect Face | Dress: Pronovias of Barcelona | Shoes: Kate Spade | Bridesmaids Dresses: Monique Lhuillier | Groom + Groomsmen Attire: Jos. A Bank

You’d be hard pressed to take a look at these two and not just smile. A big ol’ smile that seems to take over your face. Because these two? They are simply adorable, and their wedding captured by Meegan Weaver Photography is equally so. With traditional touches but with a whimsical flair planned by Country Sugar Events, it’s a day that is all them, and what is better than that? Add some fabulous florals from Fresh Urban Flowers, and ladies and gents, this one is a winner. See it all here.

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From the Bride… San Antonio, Texas was not our first decision when deciding on a location to have our dream wedding. Matt was there finishing up his first year of medical school, and I was living in College Station. We always thought we would get married closer to home in Dallas. However, after traveling back and forth to see him, we began exploring our soon-to-be first home and started to fall in love with the style and history of the city.

Soon enough, it was decided: San Antonio would be the place that held a special place in our hearts forever. It would be the city where we planned our wedding. An adventure where we tasted cakes, found my wedding dress, picked our party favors and finally saying our “I do’s.” We decided on a February wedding simply because Matt loves the colder weather and I knew that in South Texas, anything after that date was up for the heat!

I’ve always envisioned all parts of my wedding to be more whimsical and playful. We wanted to have fun with every part of the wedding including the photos and the reception. Our main goal was for our guests to have a genuinely good time. We also wanted to choose a location that would allow our guests to be surrounded by the city that we fell in love with; so, where else would we look other than downtown San Antonio on the Riverwalk?

After searching for our downtown destinations, we found two spots that would inspire our entire wedding and reception. The San Fernando Cathedral and Boudros’ event space both had a beautiful vintage feel with a mission style and Spanish flare. Once finding these, our inspiration became clear. We started pulling things that were very Anthropologie-esque with Spanish touches. I began to fall in love with succulents and touches of pinks and oranges.

Details after that became easy. Anything simple, whimsical and fun became a must for our wedding. We chose sunglasses and desserts to be our favors and our only requirement was for everyone to enjoy a prickly pear margarita and to dance the night away! I am so glad we chose February; the day was absolutely beautiful and was definitely the best day of our lives!

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Wedding Photography: Meegan Weaver Photography | Wedding Planning: Country Sugar Events | Ceremony Venue: San Fernando Cathedral  | Reception Venue: Boudros | Wedding Cinematography: Alamo HD | Floral Design: Fresh Urban Flowers  | Catering: Boudros | Wedding Cake: Sandee’s Sweets | Dinner Music: Lucas Jack | DJ: Spacecraft Entertainment | Wedding Dress: Martina Liana | Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bride’s Jewelry: Kendra Scott | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Amsale | Hair + Makeup: Madame Hair and Makeup

Raise your hand if you are are a lover of a “relaxed dinner party” with an “awesome dance party” to follow.  Because that, my friends, is exactly what we have in store for you today.  Two awesome components wrapped up in devastatingly gorgeous details captured by Valeria Duque Photography; a slice of wedding heaven with enough stripes and sophistication to keep you drooling for days.  It’s a Mercury Hall masterpiece with pretty, pretty blooms from Posey Floral and Events and a big ol’ dose of Southern awesome.  See it all in the full gallery.

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From Valeria Duque… One of my favorite things about my job is that I get to travel, A LOT! and I like it even more when it takes me across oceans and to places I’ve never been before, and such was the case with Kate and Justin’s wedding that took me for the first time in my life to Texas!

I met these guys a couple of years ago while shooting Kata and Sam’s wedding in Cartagena, Colombia, and the minute I met them and all their friends, sparks flew and it was instant chemistry– I was in love with them all. So, as you can imagine, when we all met again last year for Josh and Meg’s wedding in Palm Springs we were not just photographer-client anymore, we were friends! So, when Katie called me up to shoot her wedding not only was I happy to travel somewhere new but also to be meeting up with these lovely people again!

Kate and Justin got married on April 6 in Austin, and I was lucky to be there from Wednesday until Sunday photographing all the pre-wedding extravaganza and sharing tons and tons of laughs with all my lovely friends.

For the welcome dinner, the day before the wedding, the couple decided to do it the Texas way, so we went to The Salt Lick, an amazing barbeque place just outside of Austin, where I was lucky enough to try the Texas triad of meat: brisket, sausage and ribs, all covered in yummy bbq sauce and with sides of cole slaw, mashed potatoes and pickles. As many of you know I’m a bit of a foodie, I love eating and besides taking pictures that’s what I put most of my energy into in Texas!

And then the wedding day was up, everyone got ready at the Radisson Hotel. Everything was mint-inspired and lots of lovely flowers were to be seen. Katie was calm and having fun, and the minute she was ready we went down to the river edge for their first look which was, if you don’t mind my saying, awesome!

After the family shots we went to McKinney Falls State Park, an amazing place with beautiful huge oak trees where we shot the bridal party and the couple pics. I loved shooting Katie and Justin, they are so much fun! They are the king and queen of odd funny faces, but they also love each other so much and have such a great time together that my job was almost entirely done! After an hour of fun it was ceremony time. It was held under two gorgeous trees, everything was planned outside and the decoration was so beautiful! Long tables filled with my favorite American flowers: Peonies and Ranunculus.

After the ceremony the couple went inside to have some alone time, rest and share, but the minute I saw the sunset light hitting the trees and making them look oh so golden and pretty I had to get them back out for some more pictures of looooove, and it was definitely worth it!

Finally it was party time: there was dancing, there was roaring laughter, there were speeches, there even was a speech made like a rap by the fabulous Maid of Honor, and there was lots of fun in the Photobooth.

From the Bride… When Justin and I started the wedding process, our goal was to have a relaxed outside dinner party with an awesome dance party at the end of the night. When we found Mercury Hall we knew we had struck gold. It had the typical romantic feel of the Texas venues but was fun and bright and the grounds were gorgeous. The color palette was due to the fact that I’ve always been a lover of black and white stripes. From there we went with gold as a metallic accent and pulled mint/aqua since they pair well together and it was one of the colors in the stained glass windows of the venue.

Our wedding was everything we wanted it to be. It was relaxed and comfortable, the food was fantastic and culminated in awesome dance party.

My favorite moment was after Justin and I were married we went to the back room to sign the marriage license and just to have a moment to take it all in (and have a drink). It was so relaxing and such a happy moment.

My advice to brides is not to be afraid to delegate. People want to help you out so make sure you utilize them. It will also be a proud moment for those guests to see what they helped with on the day of the event. Also, have fun. It’s the best day ever so if things go wrong, it’s ok! Just relax and enjoy the day.

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Wedding Photography: Valeria Duque Photography | Wedding Venue: Mercury Hall | Wedding Coordination: Alison of The Simplifiers | Floral Design: Bonni Taylor + Madeline Landry of Posey Floral and Events | Catering: Word of Mouth | Cake + Cupcakes: Word of Mouth | Decor + Programs + Signage: DIY by Bride | Balloons: Arne’s Warehouse, Houston | Lighting: Ilios Lighting | DJ: Jeremy of Spacecraft Entertainment  | Transportation: R&R Limo Bus | Favors: DIY by Bride — Coffee, Starbucks Kimodo Dragon Blend + Texas BBQ Rub | Invitations: Smitten on Paper | Wedding Gown: Wedding Bell in Washington | Shoes: Sam Edelman from Nordstrom | Groom’s Suit: Dragon Inside | Groom’s Shoes: Aldo  | Groom’s Tie: The Tie Bar  | Groomsmen’s Ties: Mercy Streams | Flower Girl Dresses: J Crew Factory | Makeup: Gertie of Rae Cosmetics  Hair: Brittnee Pope

This Hill Country Wedding from Heavenly Day Events and  June Bug Co. Photography at the Heritage House is the definition of sweet. With a touch of vintage and loads of charm, it’s hard not to fall head over heels for every detail sitting pretty in this gallery. It’s DIY done with so much heart, you just can’t help but fall in love with all the sweetness…and you can do just that right here.

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From Amber at Heavenly Day Events…. I can’t even begin to tell you about the devotion surrounding Robert and Abi’s love for each other. Having been colleagues for several years, Robert decided to pursue Abi with hopeless abandonment, even though Abi did not even realize their first date was actually a date. After clarifying that important detail, the two began a relationship that is a force to be reckoned with. A few months into dating, Robert was diagnosed with cancer and admirably gave Abi the ‘chance to flee’. In a real life version of “The Notebook”, the thought never crossed her mind and she stuck by his side. Abi cared for Robert in a way that only true soul mates can. The following Valentine’s Day, Robert asked Abi to marry him and they did so that November! While their story truly embodies a message of unconditional love, faith and humility- it is also full of comedy and joy! Robert might be the funniest groom I have had the pleasure of working for and while I was always impressed by his gentle attention to detail and care for Abi, he always had me laughing about something. These two certainly do not take each other (or life) for granted and have chosen to seize the day. Abi and Robert are pleased to announce the expectancy of their first baby, little Miss Natalie Victoria, later this year.

From the Bride… We wanted to marry quickly, and we did a lot of planning in a short period! I knew I wanted a rustic/shabby venue. Upon sight, I knew that Heritage House was the place I wanted to be married. I felt like I knew Cindi from long ago and she recommended Heavenly Day Events! I was very thankful that I used a wedding planner, I seriously don’t know how you can have a wedding without one! Amber was very thorough and followed through with everything, even going over and beyond our agreement.

For our catering we chose the famous Salt Lick and everyone loved the barbeque! Annette Yates did a wonderful job of ensuring we picked the right items for appetizers, which were a hit during the picture taking session. As you can see, Nadia Huerta, from June Bug Co Photography did a fantastic job of documenting our wedding. I just love her style!

The Mariachi Texas Band played during our photo session, which was a nice and a cultural transition into our dinner/reception time. We were pleased with Complete Music & Video of Austin who provided both DJ, Video, and Photobooth services. We danced all night long and we have our wedding footage to watch for years to come!

Our theme was DIY shabby chic. I used paper fans, and heart-shaped streamers throughout the reception area. The menu sign was an old window from a friend and I placed a piece of burlap behind the glass! Centerpieces were old blue mason jars with bright flowers and my mom collected antique teacups for each of the reception tables. I made my own wedding wood signs as well. I really enjoyed having a personal touch on our wedding day. Our wedding cake was from Penny’s Creations in Houston, which is special because it is owned by a Church friend. She made the grooms cake in his favorite theme: Chicago Cubs, in honor of our unofficial first date at the ‘Chicago Cubs game.’

Last but not least we had our flower girls and ring bearers start the day right: November 10 is National Sesame Street Day! The kiddos got to march in with stuffed Sesame Street and Muppet characters!

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Wedding Photography: June Bug Co. Photography | Wedding Venue: Heritage House |  Event Planning + Design: Heavenly Day Events + Bride and Family | Flowers: HEB Blooms | | Invitations: Paper & Lace | Catering: Salt Lick | Accessories: BHLDN | Bakery: Penny’s Creations | Cake Topper: Cinnamon Birds | Wedding Dress: Justin Alexander via Ventura’s Bridal | Shoes: E! Live from the Red Carpet | Entertainment: Texas Mariachi Band | Cinematography, DJ + Photobooth: Complete Music & Video of Austin

Weddings are obviously all about the love but sometimes they are transformed into pure magic by the people you choose to help you showcase that love. They are the experts after all. These wedding warriors (in this case The Nichols and The Nouveau Romantics) sprinkle the day with know-how and expertise, leaving you to enjoy all the pretty aftermath which for this Texas wedding includes a ceremony arch that we could live under for the rest of our days. Head to the full gallery for even more.

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From the Bride…I’d by lying if I said I hadn’t been planning out my wedding day since forever. Add to that my fiance James and I were in a long-distance relationship for three years, so when he finally popped the question, I had already had plenty of time to dream up our “I dos” instead of focusing on my thesis. Fortunately, when it came time to go from dreaming to planning he was just as involved (read: opinionated) as I was. We both wanted something personal, small, and totally awesome. Unfortunately, we both had very different ideas of what those words meant. Luckily I found Liz Lewis of  The Nouveau Romantics, who basically is a part-time mind reader along with event designer and florist extraordinaire. Combine that with the planning power of Mary at The Simplifiers and an open bar and you’ve got yourself a party! Trying to coordinate a wedding from across the country for a family of project manager engineers is no easy feat, but these ladies pulled it off beautifully. The whole day was a blur of zen and cloud nine and The Nichols captured that perfectly. Everyone said the epic feasting tables were straight out of a prettier version of Harry Potter. My favorite moments were squeezing my great grandmother’s hankerchief for dear life as I walked down the aisle to Sigur Ros’ “Hoppipolla,” my friends piling under my huge dress after the ceremony, when our DJ Byrne Rock dropped the Daft Punk single the day after it got released, and driving off in his dad’s ’69 Camaro (which was its own wedding project).  But what took the dinosaur-topped cake was when I got up to the altar, took a look around and stared at all the amazing family and friends that had gathered under those magnificent oak trees. *Bonus fact: it was actually James that got me hooked on SMP with this baseball themed wedding.

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Photography: The Nichols | Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Wild Onion Ranch | Event Coordination + Planning: The Simplifiers | Floral & Event Design + Paper Goods: The Nouveau Romantics | Catering: 2 Dine 4 | Calligraphy: The Pink Pen | Cake: Sweetish Hill | DJ: Byrne Rock | Lighting: Ilios Lighting | Officiant: Spike Gillespie

They say nothing is truly perfect, but I have to say this Barr Mansion designed by 36th Street Events and captured by Half Orange Photography is pretty darn close. With florals worth drooling over by Merveille, a ceremony setting you can’t help but swoon over and details you’ll be pinning for the rest of the day – this gallery is the perfect place to be today. See why here.

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From the Bride… Will and I both love the laid-back feel and beauty of Austin. We knew immediately after getting engaged that we would get married there. I knew planning a wedding from a few hours away (Dallas) would have its challenges but having Bethany Hanson at 36th Street Events was so helpful to coordinate all of the Austin vendors. For the overall feel of the day, we wanted it to be a relaxed and intimate celebration with friends and family. The wedding “must-haves” were excellent photographers, a beautiful venue, and a rustic but classy look.

We both loved the idea of getting married outside, but since we were aiming for early March it was hard to decide. That is why Barr Mansion was the perfect fit: a wedding and reception combo venue! We could have a beautiful outdoor ceremony and after, walk to an indoor reception in the ballroom. To complement the natural look of the venue, I wanted a light and springy palette. I love all things soft and light. For the details and decór, my vision was ivory lace, warm peaches, sky blues, dusty pinks and light grays. Both Bethany and our amazing florist, Merveille, captured the colors and the idea of bringing a classic wedding ceremony outdoors. One of my favorite ceremony details was the beautiful antique church pews that we paired with mismatched chairs for the seating. It made the outdoor space very unique and like it was intended for a wedding ceremony. Another favorite moment of the day was having my precious nieces and nephews roll down the aisle in a wagon covered in baby’s breath. It was the most precious sight, and I love that they got to take part in the wedding.

Our reception was just as I imagined: tasty food, amazing decór (not to mention the gorgeous, personalized backdrop for our cake!), and a phenomenal band. The family style dinner turned out to be one of the best decisions we made for the reception. It complemented the relaxed feel of the evening and really fit our overall intimate theme. Also, I love that my precious mom hand wrote all of the place cards giving it that extra-personal touch. I chose a simple white cake, but Will is not a huge cake lover so he opted for a variety of pies. It was so fun to be able to infuse our interests and tailor the celebration to reflect our personalities.

My advise for brides and grooms planning their wedding… Focus on the top 3 or 4 important details of the wedding, share your desired theme and look with the vendors, and then let everything else fall into place. Once I had my must-haves taken care of, I shared my style with Bethany and the florist and trusted them to help me fill in the gaps where I had questions or lacked an idea. At the end of the day, I am not sure which napkin color I picked, but I do know that Will and I loved every minute of our day.

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Wedding Photography: Half Orange Photography | Wedding Venue: Barr Mansion | Event Design + Planning: Bethany Hanson at 36th Street Events | Floral Design: Merveille | Cake: Barr Mansion | Wedding Dress: Nardos Imam at Stanley Korsak Bridal Salon | Hair + Makeup: Keep Austin Gorgeous | Reception Band: Professor D | Cinematography: Altared Wedding Productions | Rentals: Loot Vintage Rentals + La Tavola Linen

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36th Street Events

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With the inspiration of this shoot being super romantic (a must read, see below) and Helmutwalker Photography behind the camera, I knew it was going to be one of those shoots I could hang up on my wall. Boy, was I ever right. It was romance in every corner, pretty flowers on every surface, and love pouring out of every image, thanks to the sweet real life couple. Every single shot.

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From the designer… The inspiration for the theme “Romance in the Garden” came naturally from the location of the photo shoot, Chandor Gardens in Weatherford, Texas and its creator, Douglas Chandor. A world famous portrait artist from England, Chandor met and married a Texas girl and began designing and constructing an English garden, a “living artwork” for her.

We wanted to depict young romance in the beauty of the spring garden with a soft, yet vivid color palette of pinks and greens. The table flower arrangements by Twigs Floral made with peonies, roses and mini green hydrangeas were placed in small garden urns, capturing the feel of the garden itself. Kathy Chandler Weddings chose vintage floral plates and gold-rimmed vintage glasses to continue the theme. Raspberry linen napkins were tied with English ivy, also seen in the bouquets and other arrangements as well as throughout the garden.

The paper goods were all in pink and green, with a pink peony featured in the design by Paper Planet. In place of using table numbers we chose the tables to be named after artists, as a nod to Chandor and to continue the artistic, romantic style. A garden trellis was used to hold the escort cards, tied with pink ribbons and entwined with English ivy. Angel brackets held nosegays of the roses and other florals tied with cascading ribbons.

Creme de la Creme created a sweet ruffle cake topped with roses and hydrangeas.

Our real life couple, Sarah and Alex, brought their own romance to the shoot. Sarah’s J.Crew dress had the perfect dreamy look as well as her soft makeup by Lip Service, captured beautifully by Helmutwalker Photography. As a couple in love they strolled through the gardens on a beautiful spring day as once, long ago, the Chandors surely did the same.

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Photography: Helmutwalker Photography | Flowers: Twigs | Event Design: K. Chandler Weddings | Location: Chandor Gardens | Invitations: Paper Planet | Dress: J.Crew | Make up: Lip Service Makeup | Cake: Creme de la Creme

This bride? She is a vision. And her wedding? Equally breathtaking. The images, captured beautifully by Steve Lee Photography, paint the picture of a perfect Texas day complete with all the things that make us swoon at SMP Texas (I’m talking to you, amazing Monique Lhuillier gown). So if you are wise (and I know you are), get comfy and cozy up real close to this gorgeous gallery. It’s a must see. See it all here.

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From the Bride… My husband proposed in Iceland under the Northern Lights, in February, and it was very romantic, even though it was so cold I couldn’t feel my feet. Maybe that’s why a warm Texas wedding sounded so appealing to me, even though I never saw myself as a traditional bride.

Once we decided to have a proper wedding, it was important to me to have it close to home–Southeast Texas. I wanted all of my family, including all four of my grandparents, to be there. We got married in Galveston, an island on the Gulf Coast with a lot of character, and that was the guiding theme of our wedding celebrations. We kicked the weekend off with a rehearsal dinner on the historic grounds of the Galveston Railroad Museum, where we had BBQ, 2-step dance lessons, and a train engine and caboose for our guests to ride!

Both of our wedding day venues were beautiful buildings that had survived the great storm of 1900. Our ceremony took place at St. Joseph’s, a former Catholic Church that was constructed by Galveston’s community of German immigrants. The wooden building, now maintained by the Galveston Historical Foundation, is the oldest German Catholic Church in Texas. We hosted a cocktail hour and reception at the Garten Verein, a unique octagonal structure that was also built by Galveston’s German community as a venue for dances and other social events.

We wanted our wedding to be a fun celebration, with lots of interesting things for our guests to enjoy, especially since most of them were from out of town. Our invitations and a special “flipbook” made by a friend (the flip-through animation showed Dave and I performing an actual flip) were Texas-themed.

We transported our guests with trolleys to evoke the trolleys that once traveled Galveston’s streets. Mariachis at the cocktail hour, Cajun food at the reception, and an amazing local band also captured the flavor of this colorful island.

As a surprise for Dave, I hired an airplane banner to fly over the reception just before dinner—it read “Bonnie (heart) David” in red letters, which really stood out against the blue Texas sky. To judge by the evidence of the photo booth we had at the reception, love was in the air.

All in all, it was a wonderful celebration. I was overwhelmed with the happiness and joy that all of our guests brought to our special day. We are grateful to Steve Lee for creating these wonderful photographs for us to remember our wedding by.

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Wedding Photography: Steve Lee Photography | Ceremony Venue: St. Joseph’s Church | Reception Venue: Garten Verein | Event + Floral Design: Pam Durham, Moments Event Planning and Design | Event Planning: Pam Durham of Moments Event Planning and Design | Invitations: AReidtx Photography + Graphics | Cake: Cakes by Jula | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier via Casa De Novia | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Wedding Rings: Anna Sheffield | Groom’s Attire: Doyle Meuser Bespoke | Ceremony Music: Terese Weber | Cocktail Hour Music: Emperadores Mariachi | Reception Band: The Line Up | Transportation: The Original Trolley Company | Photobooth: Lasting Images | Airplane Banner: FlySigns Aerial Advertising

On a day in which we celebrate the birth of our great country, it seems only fitting that we also share the love story of these two San Antonio sweeties; a love story that started with a letter from a soldier in Afghanistan to the President of the United States.  It’s the kind of straight-from-a-movie fairytale that will make you weak in the knees and it all culminated with one breathtakingly romantic wedding that will kick off your 4th of July celebrations in the loveliest of ways.  Promise me you’ll read the entire heartwarming story below (it’s awesome) and then jump in the gallery for all of the pretty captured by Kurtis Kronk Photography.  It’s a holiday must-see.

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From the bride… I love our story. It’s truly like a fairytale to me. I haven’t found a great way to explain it quickly other than Bart was deployed to Afghanistan and decided to write President Bush a letter. I was on the receiving end of that letter, and we continued to correspond for several months, ultimately leading to us meeting a month after he returned home.

Once we started dating, it did not take us long to decide we wanted to get married. One year after Bart returned home from Afghanistan, we were engaged. I knew I wanted to get married in Texas and sort of had this vision of warm, rustic elegance with a touch of vintage romance. I wanted the room to be inviting, exude love, and allow for lots of celebration and dancing. We landed on San Antonio because we both love the Riverwalk, and Bart had lived there for awhile during his time with the Air Force. I like that because I wanted Bart to have a connection to the place as well, and being from Indiana, that was his main Texas tie until he met me. We also wanted a place where all of our guests enjoy their trip and have plenty to do at their own pleasure. Where better than the Riverwalk?

It was important to me that our story be connected to some of the wedding details. From the correspondence at the very beginning to the long distance relationship throughout our courtship, it seemed appropriate to host the reception at the Historic Sunset Station and to use vintage post cards for seating. We chose the old-fashioned Rolls Royce to pull in that vintage romance vibe. I chose ivory, cream, yellow, and brown as the colors because they are happy and warm, and they bring the perfect blend of fancy and casual.

We were thrilled with our choice of vendors. In the thick of all the decision-making, I was a bit stressed. When it came to choosing photographers, I knew I wanted to make the right choice since the photos last forever and help you re-live your day (trust me brides-to-be, you will be dying to do so). I couldn’t be more pleased with my final decision, Kurtis Kronk Photography. He was very prompt in responding to all of my inquiries from the get-go. That doesn’t happen with all your vendors, and when you’re juggling so much, a quick response is a bride’s dream. Kurtis takes his job seriously, but he also takes your day and your vision equally seriously. He made an effort to capture my style and vision, and his pictures are breathtakingly vivid. He almost feels like your brother by the time your wedding arrives. I was very comfortable around him and knew I could trust him to take care of his job. It was one less thing I had to worry about, which was awesome. His assistant, MT, is the icing on the cake. She is there to help with anything that comes up, and there will be something. From helping the MOB into her dress to cleaning up spills and dress fixes, she stays calm and happy to assist. Along with all my bridesmaids and my mother, I was relieved to have her around and enjoyed her. It’s like they go beyond photography duty but don’t get in the way of anything. They realize it is an all hands on deck type of thing, but keep it all about you and your man. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the ease of payments, picture review, and contract. It’s all online, you get a payment reminder, and it’s user-friendly. It was the most convenient process I had with any vendor. And one final thing, you can be honest with Kurtis on your preferences and worries, and he will gladly work with you. Best choice!

Teresa at TPC was awesome. She is such a sweet and pleasant person. She stays on top of her duties and responds quickly. She kept me updated just the right amount and knew exactly what I was envisioning. I felt like she understood what I wanted and was determined to make it work. She was flexible in making adjustments to stay in budget and still create the florals I dreamed of. I was impressed with her recreation of photos I pinned or sent to her.

It was great to meet Natalie Hart from Country Sugar, and it was a pleasure to work with her. She has good taste and I appreciated her work with the band and the transportation vendors.

Frank at Event Ignition was a great guy who was more than willing to work with me to stay on budget and get the exact chandeliers I wanted. I was grateful for that since chandeliers were a major part of my vision that I didn’t want to sacrifice.

Alamo HD had great service, great communication, great quality and a great price. They were reliable and customer friendly and I would use them again.

We knew we wanted all of our friends and family to have an awesome time, so we really wanted a great band. The Pictures were awesome. They sang everything and were right on. I told them I wanted people on the dance floor the whole night, and they sure delivered. We had a ball.

It was the best day of our lives, and celebrating that with our loved ones was icing on the cake.

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Wedding Photography: Kurtis Kronk Photography | Ceremony Venue: Immaculate Heart of Mary | Reception Venue: Sunset Station | Floral Design: TPC Florist | Event Planning: Country Sugar | Ceremony Music: Monte Vista Strings | Reception Lighting: Event Ignition | Catering + Linens:  The RK Group | Hair + Makeup: Twirl Hair Salon | Transportation: Al Briseno Rolls Royce | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Monique Lhuillier | Wedding Dress: Rivini Bridal via Stanley Korshack in Dallas, Texas | Shoes:  Butter | Groom’s Attire:  Calvin Klein | Band: The Pictures

Three ingredients that guarantee a fabulous wedding?  Lush blooms, pink hues and sweet rustic meets romantic stylings.  And when you add those three ingredients to a breathtaking Wild Onion Ranch wedding, well… it’s pure, unadulterated perfection.  Case in point?  This drop-dead gorgeous affair from Ashley Garmon Photographers, which is boasting a stunning Lazaro gown, one seriously adorable duo and a whole lot of Nouveau Romantics pretty.  See it all in the full gallery.

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From Ashley Garmon Photographers… Elena and Andrew held their gorgeous fete at Wild Onion Ranch in Austin, Texas. The attention to detail certainly paid off as the event was romantic and vintage, yet also contemporary. In lieu of a champagne toast, the couple did a tequila toast with all of their guests, a tradition of the bride’s family. Guests were also treated to dessert tables instead of simply a wedding cake.

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Wedding Photography: Ashley Garmon Photographers | Wedding Venue: Wild Onion Ranch  | Floral + Event Planning and Design + Paper: The Nouveau Romantics |  Day-Of Coordination: Lizze Belle Event Planning | Catering: 2 Dine 4 | Desserts + Cake: Cake and Spoon | Photo Booth: Booth 66 | Ceremony + First Dance Musician: Reid Turner | DJ: DJ Mel | Cinematography: Bad One Pictures | Wedding Dress: Lazaro | Wedding Dress Hanger: Heirloom

The story behind this vow renewal just melts my heart. The Bride, who happens to be the talent behind the lens of The Silhouette Studio, and her handsome groom tied the knot in Las Vegas but came out without a single professional image. Can you image what that’s like for a photographer? So two years later, they made sure to remedy that issue. With Krystle Akin at the lens, gorgeous florals from La dTee Da and one adorable family in the center of it all, this vow renewal is just as sweet as they get. See it all here.

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From Krystle Akin… The bride is also a wedding photographer here in Texas and talking through email, Sarah told me that she was married almost two years ago in Vegas. A non-formal wedding for the two of them as Caleb was in the military. At first I was thinking, HOW NEAT! I always wanted to photograph a Vegas wedding! But sadly for Sarah, she never had the opportunity to have it photographed. A photographer who didn’t have her own wedding images. It broke my heart as I remember almost 8 years ago at this very same venue exchanging vows with my Husband and I get to reflect back on those images. But I believe that everything happens for a reason as this day they shared their commitment in front of their toddler Son, Groom’s family and Bride’s Mother. They re-stated everything that they loved about each other and promised many more years of happiness! I am HONORED to be apart of such a special day!

Sarah dreamed about this day and planned very well! She designed the table, details and everything herself. It was a dream to photograph!

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Wedding Photography: Krystle Akin | Wedding Venue: Elmwood Gardens, Palestine, Texas | Floral Design: La dTee Da, Tyler | Event Design + Styling: La Tee Da + The Silhouette Studio, Lufkin, Texas | Wedding Dress: Lazaro | Shoes: Lulu Townsend | Hair + Makeup: Bliss Salon and Airbrush Artistry | Cinematography: Harbuck and Co

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The Silhouette Studio

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If you’ve been following SMP for any length of time, you know that when it comes to Ryan Ray, we’re kind of obsessed. Scratch that, seriously obsessed. But it’s not without good reason. He’s the king of gorgeous wedding photography and this little backyard beauty is a prime example. With flawless coordination on part of Events by Kristin and stunning bloomage by Stems of Dallas, we fully anticipate a pinning frenzy to commence right about…NOW. Get swoon-fest started here. 

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From the Bride…This wedding was all about a home. A home for family and friends. A home for celebration and comfort. A home for life’s greatest moments. The wedding was held at our new house, our first house, our first big project together. We completely renovated the house inside and out in a matter of four months to prepare for this day. Every bit of work was the result of our labor, our friends’ support and our families’ effort and dedication. It seemed so obvious after the work began that a wedding here would be truly special. We were engaged on the front step on Thanksgiving Day and we wanted to be married in the back yard just a short four months later. We have an affinity for hosting. It is something we absolutely love to do together (and our friend’s would say we’re pretty damn good at it). Our home, wherever it is, has always been a gathering place for friends. Our special day would be no different.

We have been together for four years this April (including a year of long distance dating between Chicago and Dallas). We met through mutual friends and our relationship sparked in a singular instance one night over sushi and drinks at a surprise birthday party for Josh. We became inseparable and grew to enjoy the small things in life so much more together. Nights of wine on the patio and dinner on the grill. Sunday mornings filled with jazz, coffee and the newspaper. Date nights on Fridays and picnics with our dog on Saturday afternoons. We took it slow and let our relationship blossom on its own. Growing stronger every month that passed.

When it became completely obvious that neither of us ever wanted this to end, Josh (finally) proposed to Lynsey. On the front step. With precious gems and metals from both families. Diamonds from Lynsey’s grandmother given to her by her late husband form a halo surrounding a diamond from Josh’s grandmother that was used in her engagement ring as well as his great-grandmother’s ring. Gold shavings from Josh’s mother and father’s rings were placed in the band. It is truly a one of a kind piece and an awesome representation of how important their families are to them.

Our vision for the wedding was upscale comfortable. Sort of an outdoor social club. A gathering of friends and family in an environment conducive to love, laughter, and friendship. There were no technical bridesmaids and groomsmen. Only two brothers; a Best Man for the groom and a “Man of Honor” for the bride. Our best girls and guys still joined us the day of to get ready and drink champagne. As the early afternoon came to a close, we walked to our outside deck for the first look. Our friends and family looked on for a very special moment and embrace.

Soon after, our guests arrived to glasses of champagne and the songs of Frank Sinatra setting the mood for a wonderful outdoor party. As the sun set picturesquely over the trees, the bride walked down the great stone steps to “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel, a song very special to the couple. The ceremony was officiated by the grooms step-father, prayers were said for a lifetime of happiness. After the ceremony, guests gathered back on the deck for happy hour while the couple took photographs along the trail behind the home. The bride and groom joined the festivities on the deck briefly before being ushered back downstairs to the large lawn for dinner and dancing. The couple’s first dance was to “You are the Best Thing” by Ray Lamontagne, a song the groom sent the bride two months after they started dating. Everyone ate, drank, and danced the night away under the beautiful string light lit tree canopy (the bride in a second dress more suitable to dancing!) Guests often snuck off to the hill behind the house to enjoy a private view of downtown Dallas and reflect on the night.

We’ll never forget hearing the “boos” from our dance floor when the DJ announced the last song – it proved the night was a success and one we’ll always remember. We walked out to sparklers in the front yard and were chauffeured away in a white 1941 Packard with “Just Married” in the window. For us, it was the PERFECT night!

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Photography: Ryan Ray | Event Coordination: Events by Kristin | Floral Design: Stems of Dallas | Makeup: Blushington | Hair: Denise Almond, Studio 3 Salon | Cake: La Duni | Catering: Two Sisters Catering | DJ: It’s Your Night Entertainment | Event Rental: Celebration | Dance Floor + Lighting: M&M | Wooden Placemats, Chandeliers + Landscaping: Agave Outdoor (Groom) | Pies: Emporium Pies | Wedding Dress: Caroline DeVillo | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Earrings: Kendra Scott | Bride’s 2nd Dress: Alice & Olivia | Groom Attire: Calvin Klein