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Featured Wedding – Sunshine & Grant

Last summer we posted the precious engagement photos of Sunshine and Grant by Thisbe Grace. Now we complete the circle with beautiful photos of their wedding reception under the stars at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Downtown Dallas.

Sunshine & Grant toasted and danced the night away with guests from all over the world. Under the direction of wedding planner Jordan Payne, it was a garden inspired wedding with autumn florals (her colors were purple, peach and ivory), including an array of foliage, bringing it all together with gold details throughout. It was complete with modern details like a white dance floor at the foot of the 40 foot garden sculpture and white lounge furniture under crystal chandeliers hung in the trees.

The ceremony was at SMU’s Perkins Chapel. Grant went to SMU, which made it more personal. They were married by one of their closest friends. According to Sunshine, her ceremony was the perfect balance between the celebration of the day and the reality of the commitment the couple was making. They almost vetoed the Nasher (even before they saw it!) because Sunshine didn’t want an outdoor reception, yet they fell in love with the modern art, the water, and all the beautiful trees once they saw it in person.

The idea of the three cakes came from a picture of three, single layer wedding cakes on cakes stands that Sunshine found. She and her sister found a store in Venice Beach with stacks of vintage glass cake stands and bought two for the wedding. The third cake stand belonged to Delicious Cakes.

Bridal Gown – Romona Keveza
Wedding Planner – Jordan Payne Events
Photographer – Thisbe Grace
Bridesmaid Dresses – Jim Hjelm
Entertainment – Andy Austin
Cake – 3 cakes by Delicious Cakes.

Rehersal Dinner – Sammy’s BBQ – We wanted to serve authentic Texas cuisine and our friends love to dress up, so the invite said “hats, boot and belts encouraged.”

Hair & Makeup – Mo Bowers of Fairy Godmother Bridal. About my Makeup – “I love purple eye shadow and when I saw a photo of a bride wearing it for her bridal photos, I was inspired to wear my favorite color, Beautiful Iris by MAC. Mo suggested a red gloss for my lips, and I questioned her suggestion, until a fabulous sales associate at Blue Mercury in Philadelphia helped me fine Chanel 106, which is my new favorite lip color.”

Camp Lucy Wedding – It Took This Couples’ Breath Away

StrictlyWeddings.com partner, Photographer Jennifer Lindberg, is one of our fab wedding resources who recently clued us in on the greatness of Camp Lucy (recently talked about in StrictlyWeddings.com’s blog) as a Texas Wedding Destination. To be able to showcase one of our featured weddings at this Texas Hill Country wedding venue, is even better.

Emily and Matt met at the Monkey Bar at Mi Cocina in Highland Park Village in Dallas. She was there with friends and he was too; fortunately, their friends overlapped. Years later, he rented out the Monkey Bar and proposed to Emily in the exact place they met. Matt told Emily they were meeting his work friends for happy hour, she was late and very surprised! Lots of their friends and family joined later to celebrate their engagement.

The wedding took place at Camp Lucy in Dripping Springs, Texas. The couple did not want to get married in Dallas and The Texas Hill Country is one of their favorite places. Emily’s 90-year-old grandmother, who lives in a retirement community in Austin, suggested they make a stop at Camp Lucy. “Lucy” (the Lucy) is a good friend of the grandmother’s at the retirement home and she had recently toured it with her. As soon as Matt and Emily drove up, it took their breath away. They had found the spot. It was also pretty special that her “sweet grandmother” played such a role in it, too.

Melissa Sweet was the designer for her gown. For tradition, the bride’s “something old” was a brooch from her grandmother who had passed. For something new, her parents, knowing she cries, gave her a lace handkerchief embroidered with the couple’s wedding date. She wrapped the handkerchief around her bouquet and pinned it with her grandmother’s brooch.

• Verve Austin/ Barbara Shorts - Event planning and coordination
• Photographer – Jennifer Lindberg Weddings
• Marquee Rental – Tents, Chandlier, Stage Furniture & Heaters
• Westbank Flower Market – Florals
• Crescent Video - Film
• Arundel Ensemble – Strings
• Hair and Make up - Mandy Ray Hernandez
• Transportation Consultants – Valet
• R& R Limo – Shuttles
• Sight – Ceremony and Reception – Camp Lucy Dripping Spring Texas:
• RK San Antonio – Catering & Linens, Displays
• Dripping Spring Rental – Table and Chairs
• Strong Production -Tent Draping & cocktail tables
• Lighting – illios Lighting

Featured Weddings: A Love So Special – Rachel & Greg

Dallas StrictlyWeddings.com partner Thisbe Grace Photography shared this romantic wedding of Rachel and Greg held at The Mansion. The bride, Rachel, took time to share with us the couple’s “love story” as well as various wedding details.  Dallas wedding planner Paige Chenault was valuable in making the couple’s vision come to life.

It all began back in August 2004 at a local hospital in Detroit, Michigan, where an adorable man asked me, “Are you on my team?” I had no idea at the time how much this man would impact my life. I was a fourth year medical student, and Greg had just started his medical residency. First a friendship ensued, followed by a romance. We were madly in love and one year later began a long distance relationship between Detroit & Cleveland for three years, while we both completed our respective training. Here we are 7 years later, living & working in Dallas, with our 2 cats and dog.

We both wanted an intimate gathering of our closest family and friends. I grew up in Minnesota, and Greg grew up in Michigan, but we decided to have our wedding in our new home of Dallas. We decided to have a welcome party, following the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, in the gorgeous penthouse suite at The Stoneleigh Hotel, which reminded us of a beautiful historical home.

On Saturday, we had our wedding ceremony and reception at The Mansion on Turtle Creek. We visited a few potential sites in the city and ultimately chose this venue because we considered it to be quintessential Dallas. The location was just the right balance of luxury along with an intimate setting. I gave my bridesmaids customized fashion illustrations of them in their beautiful dresses, which were drawn by an amazing and talented artist, Dallas Shaw.

It was so comforting to see Greg before the ceremony and be in the arms of the man I love. As a Minnesota native, I loved the idea of having birch branches for our altar centerpieces during the ceremony. As a pleasant surprise, our fantastic florist went the extra mile and created magical centerpieces of crystals, white orchids, and candles, all interlaced and hanging from the birch branches to create two breathtaking trees around the altar.

Greg and I are from the Great Lakes and both share a love and appreciation for Lake Superior. We decided to purchase stones from Lake Superior, which we then shaped and polished for weeks in a rock tumbler. As each of our guests entered the ceremony, they were given a small stone to hold throughout the ceremony and give well wishes and special blessings. Upon exiting the ceremony, each guest placed his or her stone in a vase that we now keep on our fireplace mantle.

We hired a live-event artist to capture the scene of our first dance. The painting is absolutely gorgeous and is displayed above our fireplace as well. The reception tables either had cascading floral centerpieces or glass tops with flickering candlelight. The ambiance was absolutely romantic! Our custom white dance floor, a must for me, really made the center of the room.

Because of our love for Sprinkles red velvet cupcakes, by far the most delicious dessert imaginable, we decided to have the cupcakes designed to look like a tiered wedding cake, situated on a floating cake base. We ended the night with a huge confetti celebration to our song “Don’t Stop Believin”.  A very special thank you to our absolutely wonderful wedding planner, Paige Chenault, who worked countless hours in bringing all our ideas and loves to life. We will forever be thankful to all our family and friends, for travelling the distance to celebrate our wedding with us.

Bridal Gown: Romona Keveza – The Bridal Salon at Stanley Korshak
Bridal Shoes: Jimmy Choo – Stanley Korshak
Bridal Party Makeup & Hair: Absolute Radiance
Bridesmaids’ Attire: Bella Bridesmaid
Wedding Planner: Paige Chenault – Paige Chenault Events
Wedding & Reception Venue: Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek
Rehearsal Dinner & Welcome Party Venue: The Stoneleigh Hotel & Spa
Florist: The Wildflower
Photography: Thisbe Grace Photography
Videography: Hakim Sons Films
Music: Beyond & Serenata Strings
Lighting: Beyond
Cake: Sprinkles Cupcakes
Invitations: Stamped Paper Company – Jill Efrussy
Décor/Rentals: BBJ Linens, POSH, & The Wildflower
Live-Event Artist: Posta Bella – Jaime Pickerell

A White Wedding – Casey and Noah

We expect love at first site between a bride and groom, but a wedding gown?

According to Casey Silverman, she saw the gown long before she ever got engaged to Noah Weiss. When that moment did arrive, she actually looked in both Los Angeles and New York City, yet it was back home in Dallas that she returned to her first love – a unique-one-of-a-kind at the Carolina Herrera bridal boutique in Highland Park Village. The wedding gown was originally made for the Carolina Herrera bridal designer’s daughter. They made one sample and kept it in the Dallas store. Only one other person besides Casey commissioned the dress to be made and a painter “hand-painted” all of the floral on the layers of tulle. (Unfortunately for others the dress has since been discontinued).

As the photos below clearly show, the gown is breathtaking, but nothing outshines the love and joy so apparent between the bride and groom.

Bridal Gown: Carolina Herrera
Invitations: Jason McDaniel, Missing Q Press
Shoes: Classic Manolo Blahnik
Reception Dress: a fabulous Amsale mini-ivory strapless dress
Entertainment: Hunter Sullivan, reception and Emerald City, late nite
Photographer: Scott Hagar
Wedding Location: Ritz Carlton Dallas
Reception: Todd Event Design
Flowers: Todd Event Design
Cake by: Dallas Affaires

Featured Weddings: Elle & Brent

At first glance, Ellen “Elle” Warren and Brent Harman are every bit the modern couple: he is the president and CEO of a successful barbeque brand, Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse, and she is the co-owner of a high-end bridal salon, Warren Barrón Bridal. But their relationship, along with their March Dallas wedding, was spotted with details that made for a perfect combination of old and new.

The couple’s first meeting, a blind date coordinated by their shared banker, lasted twelve hours and was a virtual culinary tour of Dallas starting with lunch at Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse  and ending with stops at Fearing’s and Charlie Palmer. Their courtship lasted a year and a half, and Brent planned for a proposal that played off of one of his favorite dates with Elle – an evening where bad weather and a craving for dancing led the two to Elle’s boutique to dance to music played by an antique record player until three in the morning.

The day of their proposal, the couple planned on watching the Cowboy’s game with some friends at a bar, but thanks to some creative genius and a little fibbing from Brent, they ended up back at Elle’s boutique. The original site of their impromptu evening of dancing was set up with flowers and champagne. After she said “yes,” Elle opened a sealed letter that Brent had written years before, meant for his one true love to open on such an occasion.

Elle was perhaps uniquely suited to find the perfect wedding dress because of her experience in the industry, previously working for top gown designers Ulla-Maija and Angel Sanchez and then opening her own Dallas bridal boutique with friend Cecilia Flores-Barrón in 2006. She chose an Elizabeth Fillmore gown and accented the ensemble with a black birdcage veil from Leah C., “something borrowed” diamond earrings from William Noble, a Meridith Griffin for Elizabeth Fillmore necklace and Chanel shoes. Not to be outdone by his bride, Brent wore a Balenciaga suit with an Alexander McQueen shirt.

Dean Fearing, a close family friend of the groom, opened up his restaurant Fearing’s at The Ritz-Carlton for the couple’s reception and personally created a menu and unique wedding cake for the affair. The rest of the details for the couple’s intimate wedding (the 60-person guest list included mostly family and close friends) were made easy by Alison Baker of DFW Events.

Photographer/Studio: John Derryberry Photography

Flowers: Bella Floral

Hair & Makeup: Sonia Trevino Wedding Stylist (hair) & Mayra Rams-Sanabria of My Fabulous Faces (makeup)

Featured Wedding – Eve & Philip – StrictlyWeddings.com

Our new StrictlyWeddings.com Dallas photographer partner, Anne Silverman, shared her beautiful photos of her daughter Eve’s wedding. The bride is a buyer for Gucci hence the handbag name card holders. The groom works in FInance, hence the bull and bear favors. Eve’s dog, “Lexi,” a Lhasa Apso was also an important member of the wedding party!

The bride’s diamond bracelet was a gift from her father from Bachendorf’s.

Couple – Eve Silverman and Philip Tedeschi
Church – Highland Park United Methodist Church/ Ritz Carlton Hotel, Dallas
Gown Designer – Pnina Tornai
Salon – Kleinfield Manhattan
Hair – Dawn Martin, Richard Hayler Salon, Neiman Marcus
Makeup – Mayra Rams Sanabria – My Fabulous Faces
Groom’s Attire – Polo Ralph Lauren
Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Vera Wang: Vera Wang New York
Flowers – Bella Flora of Dallas
Cake – La Gateau Cakery (Red Velvet)
Band – The Grooves from Austin
DJ – Ryan Kelley, Dallas
Lighting & Video – Lite Dallas
Rentals – BBJ Linen, TLC Event Rental
Bull and Bear chocolate favors – Morgan Chocolate