Texas Weddings

Oh Austin, your natural beauty and insanely talented vendors really make us happy. You know what else makes us extremely overjoyed? From Inspiration to Realty shoots – that’s what. This one in particular has us smiling from ear to ear because it encompasses so many of our favorite qualities…rustic elements, flower children, raw cotton, al fresco dining, vintage dresses. We could literally go on and on but enough about us. Let’s discuss the uber talent that put this whole thing together. Heather Curiel was the woman behind the camera for this lovely shoot and the pretty bohemian design concepts? Clink Events can be thanked for that. Now on to some gorgeousness…

{can’t wait? click here for the FULL photo shoot}

We chose this board because it looks so much like everything around Austin. The warmth, the light, our great weather, and the vintage feel. Vintage clothing is a big part of city and we thought, why not incorporate this into a wedding. A fabulous gown doesn’t have to be perfectly new and modern, just perfect for you. We paired braided hairstyles with flowers to keep a romantic feel. Lots of flowers throughout the entire design keeps everything looking soft and pretty. The daisy chain headpiece was a cute way to add a fresh youthful touch and another way to emphasize our pretty wild flowers. Modern touches throughout the centerpieces mix with natural elements. The bride’s bouquet has lots of greens but also has cotton and a cute little cameo pin attached to the base.

More to come from the latest From Inspiration to Reality Shoot in a bit!

Photography: Heather Curiel Weddings / Design and Styling: Clink Events / Florals: Merveille Events / Venue: Vista West Ranch, Austin, Texas / Tables and Benches: Marquee Event Group / Napkins: BBJ Linens / Stationery: Couture Ink / Clothing: Vintage pieces from Laced with Romance / Makeup: Erica Gray

This next feature is a little different but filled with inspiration none the less. If you are planning any summer soirees, you might want to take notes. This is like a summer bbq amped up about a bazillion decibels. Caplan Miller Events styled The Knot Magazines Austin Market Party last summer and it is GORGEOUS. The food, the florals, the colors…we can’t decide which is our favorite part but how amazing would these elements be at a summer wedding? Pink Lemonade, popcorn and mini burgers…perfection. Be sure to check out the gallery where there is a TON more inspiration from this event.

{click here for the FULL event gallery}

We used a citrus color scheme and designed a summer evening cocktail party around these colors. We had a lounge with cabanas, rugs, furniture and bars in the lawn of Laguna Gloria. On the back terrace overlooking the lake we used low hanging chandeliers with fresh floral cords as our statement pieces. These hung low over mirrored table tops. We used the orange color scheme and had an all-orange drink station.

The food was designed to keep you cool – nothing too heavy for a hot Texas evening. All items were cool and refreshing and light. We even had wedding cake cookies displayed like an actual wedding cake.

Photography: SMS Photography / Event Planning and Design: Caplan Miller Events / Florals: David Kurio Designs / Furniture and Cabanas: Townsley Designs / Venue: Austin Museum of Art / Catering: Kurant Events / Lighting: FILO / Rentals: Marquee Event Group / Linens: Tailored Tables

Get ready for an overload of precious, make your heart happy, details from an adorable couple who just happen to be high school sweethearts. This wedding was a family affair in every respect, even the chandeliers that were used (wait until you see them!) are from the Mother of the Bride’s personal collection. Believe me, it doesn’t stop there. The bride made the cake toppers out of two vintage birds from a dollar store! True story. The welcome sign? It’s from their old fence. This beautiful wedding captured by Kristi Wright Photography just goes to show how things right under your nose can be turned into fabulous personal touches for your wedding.  I am so inspired by this couple I may or may not be sizing up the wooden fence in our backyard to see if we can put it to use… XOXO, (the other) Abby from Life in the Super Burbs.

{click here to see the full affair}

A few words from the talented bride, Stephanie.  It is SO worth the read:

High school sweethearts! Edwin and I have been together for 11 years! When we first started planning the wedding, we knew right from the start that we wanted to have a vintage country wedding. We both love the Texas hill country so finding the right venue in the hill country was important. We planned a spring wedding because the weather is usually perfect and all the flowers and lovely Texas bluebonnets are in full bloom. Once we set our date we had 9 months to plan the wedding. I did a lot of research on anything and everything vintage country. We shared our vision with our family and for next 9 months we were making and buying things for the wedding.

After a drawn out search, we came across Chapel Dulcinea and 12 Oaks Ranch; we fell in love with both venues. 12 Oaks Ranch for its openness and the beauty of the oak trees that surround it in its hill country setting and Chapel Dulcinea for its old fashion Spanish chapel on the edge of a cliff overlooking the hill country. What was even greater about both venues was that Chapel Dulcinea was free and 12 Oaks Ranch was allowing us to decorate the day before and also gave us the freedom to decorate as we wished to make our vision of a vintage country wedding come to life. The venue was already beautiful in its self but it just needed a splash of vintage décor to tie the theme in. We wanted to make sure we created a beautiful eclectic setting of peacefulness, joy and comfort for our guests.

When it came down to finding a photographer, we knew we wanted a photographer that shot modern-in the moment pictures. After searching and searching, we came across Kristi Wright’s website. Once we viewed her portfolio and had a meeting with her; we knew she was the perfect photographer to shoot our engagement and wedding pictures.

We made sure we integrated meaningful things into our wedding. Edwin is from the coastal state of Veracruz, Mexico so we incorporate his culture in the food and entertainment. For entertainment, we hired Huapangos, a trio of Mexican folk singers; somewhat like Mariachis but without the trumpet.  As for the food we served carne de rez (pulled beef) cooked in a red sauce with warm corn tortillas, green salsa, fresh cilantro, chopped onions along an old fashion bottled  Mexican Coca Cola or orange Fanta. Our wedding guests had the choice of frozen margaritas, cold beer and sangria served in a mason jar with a stamped tag that had our initials and the wedding date. For fear of people losing their mason jar; each mason jar had a different picture and phrase stamped on the back of the tag.

My late grandmother’s favorite color was lavender so we incorporated lavender roses into our table flower arrangements. Each table centerpiece was different. Some had vintage crochet doilies (inspired by a wedding I saw on Style Me Pretty), vintage books, a big mason jar filled with fresh flowers, a bow tied around the lip and a crystal prism hung in the center of the jar (another SMP inspiration) from my mother’s old chandeliers.  My mother has a beautiful collection of vintage chandeliers, we wanted to give the venue some elegance so my father, uncle and Edwin hung several chandeliers all throughout the venue; the biggest one hung in the middle of the dance floor.

Our whole family shares a love for antiques.  Throughout the months leading up to the wedding we’d go to their homes and pick for things that we felt we could incorporate into the wedding. It was truly special seeing all of our family’s things from their homes at our wedding.

Before we got married we had our old fence replaced. Edwin and I saved all the pieces of old wood from our fence to make direction signs and we also used the old entry door to make our welcome sign. My bouquet and boutonnieres were done by West Bank Flower Market.  As for the flowers in the centerpieces, I ordered some from West Bank Flower Market  in bulk and the rest I purchased at a local supermarket. Edwin and I have a huge sweet tooth so we definitely knew we had to have a candy bar. Our candy bar had all of our favorite candy, cookies and snacks! I made our cake topper out of 2 vintage birds I found at a dollar store! Along the outside of the pavilion we hung a 200ft homemade doily garland in the oak trees starting from the front of the venue all around the back of the venue.  We had a beautiful book made of our engagement pictures to serve as a guest sign in book.

Almost everything we used at the wedding was once used. We bought things from thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales and Craigslist! We had the honor of having Edwin’s parents neighbor, a music teacher, play her violin before and after the ceremony. She played one of our favorite songs, La Vie En Rose as we walked down the aisle.

We have a little treat straight from Austin, Texas for you today. Vista West Ranch is a to-die-for venue to begin with and the ladies from Petal Pushers and Lucies Events managed to make it EVEN better. They created a fabulous tablescape that is an eclectic mix of vintage pieces, gorgeous flowers and swoon-worthy style. Photographed by Amelia Tarbet, this pretty shoot will have you saving your bottles and cans. Capital G Gorgeous, right?

This is so very pretty and the perfect example of how to incorporate vintage pieces into your wedding day. For even more of this awesome shoot, head over to the full gallery of images.

Photography: Amelia Tarbet / Venue: Vista West Ranch Austin, Texas / Florals and Design: Petal Pushers / Design: Lucies Events

Suzi Q. Varin of Q Weddings is a rock star in the photography world so it is absolutely no surprise that we are doing back flips over today’s wedding. Straight from the Lone Star State, these nuptials are sporting some seriously drool worthy florals and a day that completely embraced the natural beauty of Texas. Oh, and the dress? We have Vera Wang to thank for that gem. Click here for the full gallery.

{click here to see the FULL wedding gallery}

Choosing our vendors was really serendipitous. We planned the entire wedding from Boston and only came to Austin once we had selected the majority of our vendors and had reserved our venue. We wanted a wedding venue that embodied the Lone Star State and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is definitely quintessentially Texas. Once we had secured our venue, we began searching for other vendors. This led us to Style Me Pretty, where we found our wonderful photographer. As a photographer myself, finding a photographic artist who could beautifully capture our wedding day was extremely important to me. We found that and more in Suzi Varin of Q Weddings. Suzi suggested we minimally hire a day of coordinator, especially since we were planning things from a distance, and this led us to Becky Brock of Brock + Co. Events.

Becky was vital to the success of our wedding weekend and also a very helpful resource for finding our florist (Erin Knipp with Rosehip Flora), the transportation company we would utilize to transport all of our out of town guests throughout the weekend, the cake artist (Michelle’s Patisserie) and even our wonderful officiant, Mike Rinehart. Our florist, Erin, was especially amazing (and patient!). We had a vision for floral arrangements and bouquets that incorporated native Texas plants. Everything was to be designed around the beautiful and unique succulents that are indigenous to the state and can also be found growing at the Wildflower Center. Erin’s designs were exactly what we were looking for.

Food was also extremely important, as was having a menu that represented the food from Texas. The Wildflower Center had a list of preferred caterers we were limited to but after speaking with Jonathan from Creative Creations, we knew we would be in good hands. Jonathan and his staff created a southwest inspired menu that was the perfect. Planning a wedding felt a little like putting together a puzzle. In the end, the pieces all fit together perfectly.

Photography: Suzi Q. Varin of Q Weddings / Getting ready: Hotel San Jose / Venue: Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center / Event Planner: Becky Brock of Brock + Co. Events / Floral Design: Rosehip Flora / Cake: Michelle’s Patisserie / Catering: Creative Creations / Makeup: Nisa Nicole / Music: Mark Cruz Trio / Wedding Dress: Vera Wang / Bride’s shoes: Christian Louboutin / Escort cards by Two Yellow Shoes (Abby’s Sis-In-Law!)

Continuing on with our day-long celebration of the glory of weddings that simply ooze color! I seriously doubt that ANY of you have ever seen a wedding that was this much fun …

From Gina at CLINK …

No color was out of the question and no idea too out of the box for April and Joel.  PLUS they were a sucker for UNIQUE details!

The ceremony was on the family’s plot of land on a cliff overlooking the lake ~ the lot was cleared JUST for the wedding. Just some of the amazing details: a red tent for the ladies to get dressed in, a gospel choir that had the wedding party dancing down the aisle to WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN and Nala (the couple’s pup) serving as ring bearer!

Then guests took party barges over to the reception where they entered April & Joel’s Candy Kindom ~ straight out of a Willy Wonka dream scene …

Candy spilled out of the walls! There was a chocolate waterfall and golden ticket escort cards to help guests find their seats. Once the ballroom doors were opened – a collective WOW!

A modern and colorful feast for the eyes. Guests danced the entire night to the popular 80’s cover band The Spazmatics while April and Joel’s GREASE themed engagement shoot played in the corner.

Then the best exit EVER took place … The bride and groom were COVERED in silly string and loved every minute of it.

This was an exciting wedding that no one in Austin will soon forget!

What an unbelievably fantastic and fun night! See the entire gallery of April and Joel’s Willy Wonka inspired event in the SMP Gallery here.

A seriously fantastic production from CLINK and all the other wedding vendors who played a part in this amazing celebration!

There are SO many more wonderful photos from this day on Diana’s, Heather’s and Stacy’s blogs. Lot more close-ups of April’s dress and accessories, bridesmaids dresses, floral details … we WISH we could show you more here. We could literally go on and on all day!

Photography: Diana M. Lott Photography ~ {April’s Bridal Shoot}
Second Shooters: SMS Photography and Eclectic Images
Flowers: Merveille Events
Event Planning & Design: CLINK
Ceremony Location: Private Residence
Reception Location & Catering: Lakeway Resort
Cakes: Michelle’s Patisserie
All Stationery: Paper Place
Lighting: ILIOS
Willy Wonka Room: Townsley Designs
Linens: Marquee Event Group and BBJ Linens
Rentals and Tents: Marquee Event Group
Transportation: Transportation Consultants
Band: Spazmatics
Ceremony Musicians: Bells of Joy
Cocktail Hour Food: Primizie Catering
DJ: Penguin Entertainment
Dog Walker: Austin Dog Walker
Babysitting: Grandparents Unlimited

We hope you all had a terrific weekend and want to start the week off with a super Texas wedding!

photography by Jennifer Lindberg

from Britanny …
I wanted our wedding to feel soft and romantic. I kept the colors, fabrics and other details light and neutral. I wanted the wedding to have an elegant but “undone” feel to it.

We chose Barton Creek Resort & Spa for a couple of reasons. Almost all of our guests would be coming from out of town, so we thought having the wedding at a hotel where all our guests could stay would be convenient. Having all our friends and family staying at one place for the weekend together was a lot of fun, and it allowed for all our guests to spend time together. Barton Creek also had great spaces to use for both the ceremony and reception. We knew we wanted the ceremony to take place outdoors, and the resort had a beautiful outdoor pavilion that had a lot of potential.

We swagged it with fabric to create a soft ~ more intimate feel. We used a ballroom for the reception. Color palette?  It was easy for me to decide on colors. I chose to stick with my initial vision and keep it neutral. Light toffee and ivory looked beautiful together. The lighter colors worked well with the heat and also reflected my personal style (I rarely wear color!).

One of Marcus’ teammates at the time was also a pastor, and so we had him marry us. It was his first wedding, so that made it really special to both him and us. The fact that we knew him on a personal level made the ceremony more intimate.

Westbank Flower Market did a beautiful job! I did all white for the flowers, with the exception of a few pale, blush-colored roses in my bouquet. The white flowers against ivory table linens and chairs in the ballroom created such an elegant feel; the room just glowed. Westbank created something more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.

Kristin Arntson-Crawford at Barton Creek Resort & Spa helped me plan and coordinate the whole day!

Our invitations were by Rachel Brandzel of Real Card Company in Seattle, WA.  It was important to me that the invitations really set the tone for the wedding, since it was the first thing guests would be seeing. They were sealed closed with toffee-colored ribbon that matched what the bridesmaids would be wearing, and the print was done in toffee-colored ink as well. The envelopes were addressed in hand-done calligraphy, and were stamped with personalized stamps containing our monogram. Rachel also did menus, place cards, and save the dates in a similar style.

Rochelle Rae, an Austin-based makeup artist, did both hair and makeup for my bridesmaids and me. I wanted my hair to be left down and soft looking. Makeup was kept natural. It was important to me that I looked like myself.

Congratulations to Mr and Mrs. Marcus Tubbs on a simply stunning wedding!

Jennifer Lindberg, Little Black Book photographer, did an outstanding job capturing the beauty and the spirit of the day! Thanks so much for sharing. To see more of Britanny & Marcus’ wedding, go to their SMP photo gallery {here}.

Wedding coordination by Kristin Crawford of Barton Creek Resort, Floral Design by Westbank Flower Market, Lighting by Ilios, Swagging/Draping by Pizzini Designs, Linens from BBJ, Cake & Catering by Barton Creek, Photography Jennifer Lindberg Weddings

For more of Jenn’s work, do take a peek at her blog …

An exquisite ranch wedding featured in Modern Bride

Ballroom Wedding at the Four Seasons ~ a gorgeous chuppah

Cool Laguna Gloria Art Museum Wedding ~ also featured on Style Me Pretty

A hugely popular wedding on the Little Black Book Blog: A Wedding Inspired By Colors Of A Sunset

If you read SMP, you might know that although Boston is where I lay my head at night, Texas is really the only place that feels like home. So whenever a really great Texas wedding comes across my desk, my heart does a little pitter patter. And Suzi Q is one of Austin’s best, really one of the world’s best, so obviously…I couldn’t wait to share today’s first wedding with you. It’s colorful, it’s unique, it’s not at all cookie cutter. And it’s utterly gorgeous. Oh and the flowers that Verbena designed? Heaven.

{click here to see the full wedding}

Stephanie and Mark are both professors at the University of Texas. They seemed to be a bit amused by the whole wedding planning process, yet they ended up creating a sweet little wedding with personalized DIY elements blended with the talents of local Austin vendors, including Verbena Floral Design, a Little Black Book vendor. LuAnn at Verbena created a stunning bouquet for Stephanie that matched a red vintage brooch on her dress. The wedding took place at a beloved local Austin landmark, the Ladybird Wildflower Center. Their ceremony was outdoors in the courtyard at sunset on a clear February night. Mark’s father officiated, followed by cocktails in the library. Guests then found their tables using a charming green moss place card display. The tables were named after famous social theorists, a funny theme for the many professors attending the wedding. Everyone enjoyed an eclectic mix of world cuisines, served up by Creative Creations Catering. Dinner was followed by a few Texas favorites, cherry cobbler and a zydeco band called the Stringbenders. –Suzi Q of Q Weddings

The bride and groom had a beautiful mix of mokara orchids, hydrangea, berries, dahlias, roses, and other seasonal flowers to compliment the setting at the LBJ Wildflower Center. They incorporated a seating chart of mood moss as well. The bride’s bouquet stood apart in rich reds and the complimentary greens, corals and oranges adorned the rest of the bridal party and guest tables. –LuAnn of Verbena

Photography: Q Weddings / Flowers: Verbena / Event Design: DIY by bride / Catering: Creative Creations / Ceremony Location: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center / Cake: Lavendar and Roses / band: The Stringbenders

We’ve really enjoyed the first two of Stella and Leon Alesi’s featured weddings: from San Antonio ~ Julie & Ryan’s October celebration ~ and Jenn & Dirk’s Austin wedding at the One World Theatre. We have one more to share with you ~ Allison & Ryan’s wedding at one of the prettiest places in Austin ~ Mercury Hall.

LOVE this shot of Allison!

I’m serious, what a perfect place for a wedding ~ everyone LOVES Austin and this place looks fabulous! Not to mention Allison ~ how pretty is she?

… and a great time was had by all!

You can see and hear more about Allison & Ryan’s celebration on Stella & Leon’s blog! Thanks SO much for sharing ~ and Congratulations to Allison & Ryan!!

We hope y’all have enjoyed our little bit of Texas-love from the Alesi’s today! Have a great, great weekend!

Caterers: The Salt Lick (bbq), Venue: Mercury Hall, Desserts:Tiff’s Sweets and Amy’s ice cream

We had a few technical glitches with Jennifer and Dirk’s wedding and so we wanted to post again in all it’s prettiness!

Jenn & Dirk’s November wedding at One World Theatre in Austin is one more perfect example of why couples in Texas LOVE LOVE LOVE Alesi Photography!

Just a quick note about Jenn & Dirk from the Alesi’s blog …

Jenn is originally from Texas, but now lives in Dirk’s homeland of Switzerland. Their family and friends made the journey to Austin to attend their beautiful wedding. Leon & I met them prior to the ceremony at the Driskill Hotel to do photos and then hopped on a trolley to the One World Theater. When we arrived we found the flowers, the cake, the huge paper lanterns and linens ~ a stunning wash of white! Add in the flickering candles and twinkling lights and the effect was nothing short of a winter wonderland. The yummy meal was created by Word of Mouth, the absolutely delicious cake by Simon Lee, and to top it all off, each guest received a box of Swiss chocolates. The reception was full of fun, heartfelt toasts and dancing, plus a surprise bag piper.

Again … simply beautiful! You can see and read more about their wedding on Stella & Leon’s blog.

Photography: Stella and Leon Alesi, Flowers: Floral Renaissance, Venue: One World Theater, Caterers: Word Of Mouth, Cake: Simon Lee Bakery

There is just something really, really special about this next little wedding. It’s down home sensibility with super chic style. And I love every bit of it. Especially the bridesmaids dresses. Plus, one of our very own Little Black Book members, Suzi Q, snapped all of the gorgeous images. Remember, this is just a little bit of the goodness. You can click here to see all of the wedding in its entirety!

Most girls dream about their wedding day from a very early age; however, I hadn’t really thought about it until Travis proposed. He is a country boy and I’m a city girl, hence the country chic theme. The setting was perfect; it was at Weatherstone in Salado, TX. Weatherstone holds a special meaning for us as well. It is where our relationship begun; the place that Travis asked me for my phone number. I never thought that 4 years later I would marry the man of my dreams at the very place that I met him. We definitely have come full circle!

Along with family and close friends, Travis and I created the wedding of our dreams. We wanted it to have a rustic country style, but we also knew that we wanted it to be a chic occasion. We chose to work with the sites natural surroundings as well as added our own personal touches. I cannot name one part of the wedding that a family member or friend did not have a part in. I carried a bouquet of pink & white peonies, white rananculus, yellow & orange star of bethlehem, and pittosporum greenery made by my mother and mother-in-law. The nosegays of pink & white peonies, white lilies, white lisianthus and pink larkspur complemented the bridesmaids’ blue tea-length dresses. The flower girl, my niece, carried a metal tin of pink & white peonies, white lilies, and yellow & orange star of bethlehem down the aisle. The guys boutonnieres were made of white rananculus with peacock feathers. All of which were made by my mom, mother-in-law, and aunt.

The reception took place on site in a rustic barn filled with white tiny lights. The centerpieces where flower arrangements in blue vintage “ball” mason jars also done by my mother, mother-in-law and aunt. My wedding cake was a three-tired confection iced in ivory buttercream to match my gown. The groom’s cake was not your typical cake; Travis wanted cupcakes. They were made from one of our favorite family recipes, Dr. Pepper cupcakes.

Our first dance was to Mikey Gilley’s “Stand by Me”. The dance floor was packed all night long with guests dancing to country music and other of our favorites songs. After a fake leave, we returned to all the guests clapping and stomping their feet in a circle to Alabama’s “Dixieland Delight”. We took turns dancing in the middle of the circle. Every detail of the wedding was personalized from the colors, we chose blueish-green and brown because Travis’ fav is blue and mine is green, to the our wedding favors which were homemade chocolate “N’s” by my mom. It was a night to remember and we loved every minute of it!

*DIY Projects* Invitations and paper goods by Kathleen Wheat (bride) / Hair Flowers by Kathleen Wheat (bride) / Flowers by Mary Kaye Wheat (mother of the bride), Jo Rountree (mother of the groom), and Andrea Sutton (aunt of the bride) / Wedding Favors by Mary Kaye Wheat (mother of the bride)

Photography by Suzi Q of Q Weddings / Gown by Monique Lhuillier / Bridesmaids Dresses by After Six / Ceremony Music by The Anderson String Quartet / Reception Music by The Band Haywire / Catering by TCP Catering / Cake & Cupcakes by Gale Hendricks / Rentals by RSVP Rentals

I really wish that I was half as cool as this couple. From the fashion to the venue, every little bit of style that they chose is just so freaking cool. It makes me a little bit jealous actually. But not jealous enough to stop myself from completely gushing and going on and on about just how much I love them. Ashley and Drew tied the knot this past November at Laguna Gloria Art Museum in beautiful Austin, Texas. With the goal of bringing in their arts background and their modern but eclectic style, the wedding turned out to be a study in effortless chic. Oh and the photographs by Jennifer Lindberg really take it to an entirely new level.

When we got engaged in January of 2009, we were not really sure what we wanted our wedding to be like. We knew we wanted to be outdoors. We debated about where to get married but we knew we wanted something modern and somewhat non-traditional. I am from the Big Bend area and we both love it there, but when we decided that we wanted a larger wedding. We knew Austin was a better choice. We love it here and it is more convenient for travel. We ended up working with Amy Mader from Platinum Weddings and Events. She was great and really helped us find vendors that fit our style. We have always liked simple, clean, yet elegant design and that was kind of the basic theme for everything we chose. Laguna Gloria was a pretty easy choice for us. We are both artists, so the art was a great appeal, and it is obviously beautiful. We were really fortunate to get the last available date for the year, November 28.

We chose to use ivory, graphite and black for our colors, because we felt it would help us carry out our elegant and modern vision. I have always loved greys and neutral colors are pretty versatile. We had seen some flowers that we loved at Uchi many months prior but we did not know their name. We later found out that they were Scabiosa pods, so the idea for our flower arrangements started there. After talking with Jean Gabbay of Gunn & Rose Design, we were really drawn to their architectural and sculptural influence. I had gathered pictures of flowers I liked and Gunn & Rose were amazing in bringing them all together. We wanted a hand gathered look that was still elegant and modern. We loved our flowers very much.

I wanted to mention that the ceremony music was really a reflection of our style as well. Will Taylor from Strings Attached arranged instrumental versions of songs from some of our favorite artists: Nick Drake, Joseph Arthur and Bon Iver. We were really excited about that. Also, having a background in photography myself and with Drew and I both being artists, we had high expectations for a photographer. We picked Jenn Lindberg for her style and creative approach. We are really happy with the photographs and feel that they captured everything wonderfully. Word of Mouth did an amazing job catering. They really worked with us on the menu. We wanted to use natural hormone free meats and as much local produce as possible. They found out what kinds of foods we like and created a wonderful and unique menu that reflected our love for Mediterranean, Asian, Indian food, etc. but kept it simple enough to appeal to everyone.

Vendor Credits: Photography: Jennifer Lindberg Weddings / Getting ready Venue: Hotel St. Cecilia / Ceremony & Reception Venue: Laguna Gloria Art Museum / Planner, Amy Mader: Platinum Weddings / Catering: Word of Mouth Catering / Paper: Alegra’s Invitations / Lighting and Production: First In Last Out Productions / Recycling: Wandering Recycling / Rentals & Tents: Marquee Event Group / Floral: Gunn and Rose Floral / Make up: Rae Cosmetics / Chair rentals: Premiere Party Central / Cake: The Cake Plate / Groom’s Cake: Blue Note Bakery / Reception Music: Skyrocket Band / Antique Car: Transportation Consultants / Ceremony Musicians: Strings Attached

Despite my Boston address, I am a total Texas girl. I was raised in a small town outside of Houston where Friday night lights were all that mattered and the Rodeo was the one thing we looked forward to every February. I miss those days more than I would probably ever admit to and this particular feature took me right back home to a time when beer bottles make perfect vases and a few bits of lace could make any table look pretty.

This event was the annual gala for an organization called the Austin Wedding and Events Coordinators. Held at a divey Austin bar called the Scoot Inn, Gina Whittington with the event design firm Clink made sure that the “dive bar chic” vibe was translated to perfection. Heather Banks, the photographer behind the day, snapped the images with the same laid back elegance, providing the perfect inspiration for a rehearsal dinner or a casual wedding. Love, love, love.

Photography by Heather Banks for Eclectic Images / Event Design and Coordination Gina with Clink / Flowers by Merveille / Band White Ghost Shivers / Catering by Primizie

It’s Chantale, once again from La Belle Bride, and I’m back with some more pictures of this eclectic wedding that combines eco-chic, vintage and a touch of modern, all rolled up into one sleek and charming wedding.

Style-wise this wedding is truly a treat, isn’t it?  For me, yellow and gray are two colors that look fabulous together.  The color scheme seems to flow perfectly throughout the day from the flowers to the seating cards, right down to the tablescape.  All this and I haven’t even gotten to that darn cute bike yet.  I’m all about props for engagement/wedding pictures and I am just lovin’ that adorable bike in their photos.  It’s almost too much cuteness for me to take today.  I gotta go lie down.

More from our gorgeous bride, Baovy:

I really enjoyed how resourceful I was in planning DIY projects. I had bought gray fabric and asked one of my bridesmaid’s moms to sew table runners. With the leftover fabric, my bridesmaids and I made chair sashes and also covered an old memo board to display escort cards. The escort cards were handmade from extra invitations printed on recycled paper. We diligently cut and glued the surplus invitations and reply cards to make cute escort cards. Pinning them to yellow ribbon with mini clothespins was the final touch.

We donated to the Lance Armstrong Live Strong Foundation in lieu of traditional wedding favors. This was especially close to my heart, as I have had many family members pass away to cancer, including my beloved mother.

Above all, we wanted our wedding to be a fun and special celebration with our friends and family. Despite getting married on one of the coldest days known to Texas, our guests were warm with the love and laughter that filled our beautiful wedding. Vu and I could not have been happier with how everything turned out!

The Vendors:

Venue Wedding Coordinator: Lauren Allen / Venue and Caterer: Vintage Villas / Wedding Dress by San Patrick / Shoes by Nine West / Wedding Hair and Makeup by Mandy Hernandez / Bridesmaid Dresses by J. Crew / Menswear: Groom’s suit by Hugo Boss, Groomsmen by Zara / Wedding Cake by Michelle’s Patisserie / Invitations by Wedding Paper Divas/ Flowers by Bouquets of Austin / Bridal Fascinator by Velvet Owl / Photography by The Nichols

Hello friends! Chantale here from La Belle Bride, serving up another delicious wedding for you guys to drool over! If I had to make a list, these are a few of my favorite things when it comes to weddings: DIY projects. Vintage style. Modern accents. Eco-chic elegance. Now, wouldn’t it blow your mind if all of these things came together into ONE wedding?! Well, brace yourself because I present to thee: Baovy and Vu’s adorable Texan wedding. All the elements I love in one beautiful wedding.

The second I laid eyes on these photos by The Nichols (husband/wife partners in amazing photo crime), I was struck by not only the killer style of this wedding, but the clear “joie de vivre” that this couple has. Which in my books is oh-so-important on your wedding day. We all love a few high fashion wedding pictures here and there but I LOVE seeing couples clearly being themselves in photos. Laughing, hamming it up, jumping for joy…I just eat that stuff up.

I’ll let the bride, Baovy, tell the rest of the story about her amazing day:

The inspiration for the style of the wedding was “modern-vintage-eco-chic.” It may be a mouthful, but I wanted to have a day of simple elegance meets modern details, with an eco-friendly approach. Our color scheme, yellow and gray, were our favorite colors and helped to create a chic vibe. Vu and I incorporated a bicycle theme into the wedding because we both discovered our love of biking together. We incorporated our tandem bicycle in our engagement pictures, wedding portraits and even in our exit as a “green” mode of transportation!

Phew!  There’s a whole lot of inspiring ideas from this wedding, right?  More to come from the couple’s amazing reception!

When I was little, the ladies in our house used to go to Fredericksburg to shop for antiques. It’s this perfect little German town outside of Austin, filled with darling little shops, great cafes and cobblestone streets. It’s right out of a fairytale really. So when I saw this next wedding that Austin based photographer Q Weddings captured, it took me right back to that happy place. Love, love, love.

This wedding took place in Fredericksburg, Texas – perfect town for a sweet, but stylish wedding. Jennifer wore a Jim Hjelm couture dress, vintage jewelry, a feathered headpiece and her favorite watch that she has worn every day for years. Todd wore a purple shirt, striped seersucker suit and leather Italian sandals, plus a watch that Jennifer gave him as a wedding gift. The flowers were by Sprout, a fantastic florist is Fredericksburg.

They got married at the tiniest chapel, St. Barnabas. It’s a historical place and only holds 13 people! It holds significance to Jennifer and Todd because that is where they first met. Their ceremony was really moving because it brought together two families. Jennifer’s daughter and Todd’s two daughters were an integral part of the ceremony. All were given rings. The girls had no idea about the rings until the ceremony. There was not a dry eye in the house.

The reception was at the Hoffman Haus, with grazing stations, many fantastic wine choices (Todd owns a wine bar), a DJ and many fun toasts. The grand finale was a hilarious toast by the three girls.

Thanks Suzi! We LOVE!

We are starting off the day with the sweetest wedding ever. Kind of right out of a dream. Coordinated by Sarah Miller of Caplan Miller Events, this wedding was just so adorable, I couldn’t resist. It was held at the Austin Museum of Art – Laguna Gloria. Photography was done by Ashley Garmon. See the full gallery here!

According to the cute girls at Caplan Miller (who we heart big time), this couple was somewhat non-traditional. They wanted their wedding to be full of personality and style so they followed their heart when thinking of fun little touches to infuse into their day. Both the bride and groom are artists and wanted a wedding that was understated, romantic and bit boho. The took that inspiration and decked the space out with paper lanterns, string twinkle lights and subtle, organic linens. With a bright pop of pink in the flowers, the end result was about as fabulous as it gets. Oh and to make it even more fun, they had aguas frescas served to the guests while mariachi music play…during their ceremony!

Photographer: Ashley Garmon Photographers / Florals: Merveille Flowers / Catering: Kurant Events / Lanterns/Draping: Townsley Designs / Get-away Car: Transportation Consultants / Rentals: Marquee Event Group / Cake: Coco Paloma Desserts / Venue: AMOA-Laguna Gloria is an indoor/outdoor venue that consists of twelve acres of some of the most beautiful parkland in central Texas, including a mile of Lake Austin shoreline. Home to the Austin Museum of Art-Laguna Gloria, the site features a Mediterranean-style villa built in 1916 by Clara Driscoll, best known as savior of the Alamo. The house and surrounding grounds are listed on local, state, and federal historic site registries.

What an eye-popping image this first one is today! From Jennifer Lindberg Wedding Photography.

Rich, warm golden yellow candies as far as the eye can see! Mmmm! With deep yellows in your wedding colors, you can go in just about any direction with your color palette …

I’ll never tire of looking at gorgeous brides and amazing wedding dresses …

Take a look at the rest of Molly and Alec’s wedding colors in these photos sent to us by their fantastic LBB photographer, Jenn!

LOVE …

HIS PROPOSAL ~ Alec picked up the ring a couple days before the proposal. We had just moved into an apartment together. He (later) told me that he stayed up all night that night and watched me sleep … he thought about waking me up a few times and just asking me. He did have something fancy planned but turns out he was just too excited to wait! After a long day of unpacking we decided to get dressed up and go out to dinner. As we were walking out the door, Alec turned on one of our favorite songs. I turned around and saw him down on one knee holding the most beautiful ring! He spoke straight from his heart for a while, then finally popped the question and of course I said yes. The proposal was just like Alec…simple, genuine & so sweet.

Jennifer Lindberg Photography

GRADE SCHOOL FRIENDS ~ We met during junior high, in the 6th grade to be exact! Alec was born and raised in Clifton, Texas and I was the “new girl” in town. We started out as friends and became more than that through high school. We went to different colleges, but managed to pick up right where we left off after we graduated.

DESIGN INSPIRATION ~ Molly wanted bold strong colors for their outdoor ceremony and indoor reception, and the couple worked closely with their event planners deciding to use the colors of the sunset as the foundation of their design inspiration. Flowers, linens, lighting, and even the candy table all reflected yellows, reds and oranges to reflect the color palette. The four floral towers that surrounded the couple during the ceremony each represented the sunset concept, and the bride’s sisters wore dresses of bold yellow and red. Event Design/Coordination by LBB member~CLINK!  Floral Design ~ David Kurio.

From a lush and luxurious outdoor ceremony …

… to a posh indoor party at The Four Seasons!

In lieu of a traditional exit, Molly & Alec opted for an “after party” in the foyer just outside of the reception ballroom at the Four Seasons, that was transformed into a lounge complete with a DJ, orange suede couches and ottomans, late night snacks, and ceiling draping–as well as lounge style lighting to convey that “club feel”.

It goes without saying … (but I will anyway) ~ a GORGEOUS wedding from the ever-talented Jennifer Lindberg!

* * *

I know you think you’ll NEVER forget certain moments of your wedding day. Life is full of extraordinary moments, though, that thru the years, might lose their crispness.  Some will be worn away or even (God forbid) forgotten.  Jenn’s new blog has coined the phrase “Most of all I Remember…” and includes some really poignant moments that her brides recall from the wedding day. What a terrific thing to do.  Wish we had thought of that!

Most of all I Remember …

from Jacky ~ … the overwhelming joy and peace I felt the moment I woke up the morning of our wedding…

from Courtney … our beautiful personalized vows and how at the end of the ceremony, James kissed and hugged me and whispered into my ear how beautiful I looked and how happy I made him…

from Abigail … seeing the face of my nearly-husband-to-be standing on the alter, and thinking, I will never get sick of looking at this gorgeous man …

And of course, their most recent wedding published in the Dec/Jan issue of Modern Bride ~ Guilyn & Troy’s Exqisite Ranch Wedding in Wimberly (with a super-cool cake!).

Wedding Credits: Jennifer Lindberg Weddings (photography), CLINK (event design), Four Seasons Hotel~Austin TX, Michelle’s Patisserie,  Live Cigar Rollers, Townsley Designs, Strong Events, Lounge 22, Cort Event Furnishings, David Kurio, Rochelle Rae (Hair), Nisa Nicole (Makeup),  Amazing Ice Designs, Ilios Lighting, Inviting Pear, Penguin Entertainment,

We ASKED our LBB cinematographers to send us their favorite clips from this past year. We are die-hard wedding video people. No kidding, right? After a week full of wedding films … from simple and pretty to elegant and posh … you have to know that!  Seriously.

I ASKED Joe Simon to let us post this short December wedding film. Because, to me, this IS what “it” is all about. These two people, Amy and Chris, epitomize every couple out there. Their love, their spunk, their very being is ALL OVER this film. Not to mention their perfect dimples!

This film is a wee bit longer than the others we’ve shown you this week, but it’s totally worth the extra load time. If this film doesn’t bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eyes … nothing will.

{Remember, click play then pause for about a minute to load; then play again!} A Short Film from Joe Simon Films on Vimeo.

As Joe said on his blog, you never know what a December wedding in Texas will have in store for you! Amy & Chris were married at St. Louis Catholic Church with a reception following at the Barr Mansion. Their wedding was filled with what EVERY wedding should have … LOTS of huge smiles … LOTS of family and fun … LOTS of LOVE!

Congratulations and the very Happiest of New Year’s to you, Amy & Chris.

You, too, Joe! {ps … can’t stop watching this one. Seriously!}

While we hear the term vintage in the wedding world alot, I think that the quaint elegance of the Barr Mansion ~ the site of Rick & Jennifer’s November wedding ~ is more accurately described as antique chic! Maybe that sounds silly. Vintage vs. antique? But from someone who grew up amid rustic Texas primitive homes, there’s a huge difference to me.  Anyway … this Victorian home was built in 1898 by WB Barr who owned a storefront nearby. The classic beauty and simple architecture of the structure gives character and warmth that I personally find immensely appealing for a wedding!  Take a look at Elite Video Productions’ film of the day …

Rick & Jennifer – Barr Mansion from elitevp.com on Vimeo

This past October and November were some of those golden days for weddings that you dream about! Congratulations Rick & Jennifer!

* * *

Blogging etiquette doesn’t allow me to re-post words from Elite VP’s site, but I really wish I could! Here’s just one phrase that caught my eye on their ABOUT page ~ “…a desire to make every wedding the best one yet…”

Kind of sums it up! Happy New Year to the Elite Video Productions team!