I adore spring weddings (ok, so maybe I’m a little biased with my own upcoming nuptials); they’re a breath of fresh air after winter. And this one here is just that plus a hefty dose of pure style. Flora Fetish drenched this venue with gorgeous hydrangeas, roses, and more, and Taylor Lord snapped them all. It’s been a long week already and this gallery is the perfect treat yourself opportunity, so I say, go for it!
From Flora Fetish… We have been dying to share Alex and Matt’s wedding at Camp Lucy with you. It was a dream to work with such a sweet bride and an awesome team of vendors. We loved the simplicity of her big day and how all of her carefully curated details came together. Enjoy!
From The Bride… Matt and I were introduced in 2009 by one of my best friends and bridesmaids, Taylor Trncak. Matt and Taylor are long-time friends and grew up across the street from each other. Their families spent a lot of time together, and they spent many vacations together. Matt and I hit it off from the start and had instant chemistry. We dated for a little over a year, before taking a four-month break. During this time, I realized Matt was who I wanted to be with for the rest of my life, and vice versa. We got back together and knew we were in it for the long haul. After dating another two years, Matt and I got engaged in Napa Valley on March 31, 2013, the day before Easter Sunday. Matt and I consider ourselves “foodies” and enjoy spending time together cooking and trying new restaurants. We love going to Texans games together and traveling to the hill country to Lake LBJ or to Fredricksburg to enjoy the wineries and his family ranch. We love drinking wine together and traveling. We especially love our two dachshunds, Tux and Teddy, who we have a special bond with. We also enjoy skiing together, as well as scuba diving. In general, we share the same passions and philosophies about life and love.
As we started to plan our wedding, we tried to stay mindful of the fact that this day was really about the two of us, and we wanted it to tell our accurately tell our love story. Neither one of us are big on tradition or the “status-quo”, so we didn’t want to do anything out of a sense of obligation. We wanted each part of our Big Day to embody the two of us and to be meaningful, and we tried to keep this in mind throughout the planning process. Neither one of us wanted our wedding day to be too conventional or just be “the Bride’s Day” – we wanted it to equally represent both of us. For this reason, the planning went incredibly smooth and was overall a great experience for both of us.
We had always envisioned our wedding to be sometime in the spring, and somewhere in the Texas Hill Country, as we have spent a lot of time there throughout our relationship and it holds special meaning to us. After only one trip down to Dripping Springs, TX, we knew we wanted our venue to be Camp Lucy. In fact, it was the first and only venue we visited. We were blown away by Ian’s Chapel and the setting that the grounds of Camp Lucy provided, and we knew it would provide the perfect backdrop for our wedding day. We loved that it was rustic and eclectic, yet still elegant and beautiful. We also really loved different ceremony and reception options the venue offered, as we hoped to have the wedding take place both indoor & outdoor. Once we had the venue booked and our wedding date, 4/26/14, everything else fell into place pretty seamlessly.
For the photographer, we picked Taylor Lord because we liked her style and the fact that she focuses on natural-light photography. We wanted everything to be as natural looking as possible and wanted to avoid having things look staged or posed. We also loved how she is more of an editorial photographer, and the fact that she uses film to shoot. Overall, I just loved her style and her body of work, and Matt and I thought she would be perfect considering our venue. We had so much faith in Taylor’s abilities, we didn’t even hire a videographer because we felt like Taylor could adequately capture the day, and she definitely did not disappoint. Matt and I were blown away with how well the photos turned out and how she was able to capture every moment so gracefully and elegantly. She has since gotten national recognition and has really blown up in the last year, so we feel very lucky to have had her as our photographer.
As far as the overall feel, we wanted it to feel rustic, but still elegant, which we later decided to call “rustic luxe.” We didn’t want anything to be too casual or too formal, as we wanted our guests to feel comfortable but yet still like they were at a nice wedding. This theme personifies who Matt and I both are; we love to get dressed up and “glammed-up” for certain occasions, but we are still very down-to-earth people at our core. Once we made the decision to hire the incredibly talented Carrie Beamer with Flora Fetish, the vision and theme of our wedding came together. I considered her my “stylist” as she really helped me pull everything together. After a few meetings, we had come up with a light pink, mint, and gold palette. We wanted to make sure the colors were balanced, and we tried to play up the juxtaposition of the rustic and luxe elements. For example, the ceremony was set outdoors in front of the chapel. I knew I wanted gold chiavari chairs, which really stood out against the rustic, stone elements of the church and the lawn. Matt and I wanted to have a cocktail hour with outdoor acoustic music to welcome our guests while we took pictures, and it turned out beautifully. We placed vintage furniture under the pavillion, and umbrella tables on the pavers outside the pavillion to provide a mix of seating for the guests. We had lawn games set out in the big lawn next to the pavillion, along with passed h’orderves and signature cocktails.
Inside the reception hall, the tables were set with gold candelabras covered in the white and pink floral, gold mercury glass, and vintage farm tables and chairs. It all looked stunning inside of the rustic hall with vaulted and wood beam ceilings.It was absolutely stunning. We ended up having around 200 people, which was the perfect size for us. It was still intimate enough to be able to see and talk to all of our family and friends, but not overwhelming. Matt and I knew we wanted to have stations for our catering, a big dance floor, and plenty of bars. The fact that we really tried to be strategic with the placements of everything inside the reception hall really helped the “flow” of the night. We wanted the tables to be assigned so guests didn’t have to worry about finding a seat.
As for the caterer, this was probably the biggest decision we made during the planning. Above all else, Matt and I wanted the wedding to be a “food” experience for our guests, and we really wanted the food to be a focal point of the night. We didn’t want to have the run-of-the mill food that you typically find at most weddings, and we wanted it to be delicious, most importantly. This is how we decided on Cordua Catering out of Houston, and it was a dream come true to have them for both Matt and I. They are some of the most talented and humble people I have met. David Cordua and Darla Hickman with Cordua helped Matt and I craft a one-of-a-kind menu, featuring South American cuisine with a Southern twist. We had everything from lobster corn dogs and lamp lolli-chops as appetizers, to seafood paella, their signature “churrasco” beef tenderloin carving station, shrimp and grits, ceviche station, and the infamous cutting-edge “salad wall”, which showcased Cordua’s playful and creative side. The food was definitely the highlight of the night, along with the band, and I still have people tell me that it was some of the best food they’ve ever had.
Photography: Taylor Lord Photography | Wedding Dress: Rivini | Cake: Sweet Treats | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bridesmaid Dresses: Nordstrom | Bridesmaid Dresses: Arte Latica | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Saks Fifth Avenue | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Bloomingdales | Catering: Cordua Catering | Hair: Miranda McGuire | Band: The Drywater Band | Venue: Camp Lucy | Floral And Design: Flora Fetish | Furniture Rentals: Loot Vintage Rentals | Rentals: Whim Hospitality | Strings: Hill Country Strings