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Featured Wedding: Abril & Mark – Wild Horses Couldn’t Drag them Away

Why start a featured wedding with the title of a Rolling Stones song? We couldn’t resist when we saw that the Bridal Procession was to the song “Wild Horses.” Intriguing. Even better to end your ceremony with a procession to Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida.” So we were hooked before we even saw the gorgeous photography provided by Jennifer Lindberg Photography!

The setting for the wedding of Abril and Mark was held at the glorious Laguna Gloria Museum in Austin, Texas (now the Austin Art Museum – Laguna Gloria — a personal favorite and must see when visiting Austin). The couple met while at SMU. She was attending the prestigious law school, while Mark was there getting his MBA.

Her stunning wedding gown is Monique Lhuillier. “This was the gown of my dreams,” explains Abril.  “When I first saw it online, I knew it was THE dress.  I tried it on and I was right. I only tried a handful of other dresses and nothing compared.”

A few special notes the bride wanted to share. “My mom is a china painter and she hand painted every single small porcelain dish (our guest favors). Our (dog) kids, Austin and Ema, were there to celebrate with us and I individually cut by hand every Westie shaped escort card!”

Other wedding vendors include: Hair & Makeup – Tanya Carpenter, owner of TRU Salon in Dallas; Floral Designer – Prive Floral; Wedding Planner – CLINK; Cake – Michelle’s Patisserie

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 Wedding: Just say WOW! This wedding’s glamour was definitely in the details

We love Austin photographer, and StrictlyWeddings.com partner, Jennifer Lindberg’s incredible work. Our latest Feature Wedding showcases not just her photography, but the outstanding job by all the other wedding vendors to create this stunning wedding.

The following wedding details from Blair and Andrew’s wedding were shared with us by Wedding Coordinator CLINK…

The ceremony was held in the Pavilion of Barton Creek Resort and we brought in draping and chandeliers to create an elegant and breathtaking ambiance. A cross backdrop was adorned with roses in shades of ivories, peach and pale yellow and was complimented by two modern arrangements that completed the look perfectly.

The remarkable cocktail hour included an ice sculpture that served double duty as a jaw-dropping centerpiece and raw bar display. The pianist played throughout cocktail hour so there was never a lull in phenomenal entertainment.

The ballroom doors opened and WOW!!!!!!! The ballroom was transformed into a couture playland of modern floral, linens and lighting. From the cake table that had four linens layered to make it just right – to the chair ties on the head table that were tied in a rosette style to compliment Blair’s dress. IT. WAS. TREMENDOUS. Purple smoke bengaline linens adorned all the guest tables and was the perfection combination of modern and elegant. The head table had a dark lavender satin as the base, platinum crush for the middle layer and purple smoke bengaline on top. Centerpieces were all different shapes and sizes of purple and coral floral housed in mercury glass containers.

After enjoying a delicious dinner, guests danced the night away! The band was awesome and was more than willing to let Blair, Andrew and other members of the wedding party up on stage to get the crowd going.

Blair’s to-die-for gown served as inspiration for the custom designed wedding cake. Melissa Sweet herself couldn’t have designed those sugar flowers better!!! And the delicate wisps of feathers blew ever so gently all night. As an added personal touch a crystal bee was placed on the cake. Everyone calls Blair “B” so it was a great feature.

 Andrew’s Louisiana heritage inspired our late night snack – beignets!!! Complete with bags flown in from Café Du Monde in New Orleans – YUM! Guests were beside themselves with all of the fun surprises they had in store. And then the final surprise of the night, the horn section led the entire wedding out to “When the Saints Go Marching In.” FUN! Blair made a quick change into a beaded Marchesa dress and then she and Andrew were COVERED in a blanket of fluterfetti as they made their way to an antique convertible Bentley.

Venue/Catering/Cakes – Barton Creek Resort
Chairs and Linens – Marquee Rachel Church
Linens – BBJ Linen
Cocktail hour linens – Cloth Connection 
Draping – Strong Events
Lighting – ILIOS
Makeup Artist – Kandy Glass
Hair Stylist – Sasha Lemay
Ceremony Music – Arundel Ensemble
Soloist – Steve Morris
Pianist – Mac Bynum
DJ Penguin Entertainment – Josh Wilkinson
Reception Music – Professor D Scott White
Florist – The Flower Studio
Ice Sculpture – Amazing Ice
Photographer – Jennifer Lindberg Weddings
Videographer – Crescent Video
Wedding Coordinator – CLINK

Featured Wedding: Austin was their Paris

This precious couple started dating in high school and saw their romance bloom through the Eyes of Texas and for those outside of Texas, that would be The University of Texas in Austin, Texas.

Although, both Dallasites, they chose the Austin area for their wedding, Austin was their city of love. The one who explains it best though, is the bride…

“Will and I met and started liking each other in high school. We met riding the bus together to Friday night football games! I was instantly smitten by his charm and personality. Will went away to UT Austin and I attended the year later. Last June 18th, after close to 8 years of our relationship going from young high school sweethearts to growing into a serious relationship, Will proposed outside on the patio at The Mansion on Turtle Creek!

“I’ve always wanted to get married somewhere other than Dallas so that guests could have a full weekend getaway experience. After looking at weddings from the Caribbean to California to Miami, it seemed to make perfect sense for us to do it in Austin — a city we both loved to get away to and where we really fell in love. We spent a lot of time at the Four Seasons in Austin with our families when they would visit in college and loved the views and amazing hospitality. We really wanted a place that could accommodate a beautiful ceremony site AND the reception so guests wouldn’t have to navigate a new city.

“The overall theme for out wedding was chic, soft and romantic but with a fresh look. I wanted the wedding to be timeless. I was drawn to neutral palettes – cream, ivory, white, champagne, yet I still have a side of me that loves, loves, loves bright colors so we incorporated little intense splashes of color throughout the wedding. The fuchsia floral on top of the greige velvet tete-e-tetes and the pink peonies in some of the table arrangements.

“The Four Seasons was amazing at accommodating all my requests: passed champagne and berry infused water as guests arrived at the outdoor ceremony (to cool everyone off and champagne to let them know we were excited to have a good time!); personalized hand fans as our programs to cool guests off (our photo on one side and ceremony info on the other); passed cold towels for the guests as they enter the cocktail hour after the ceremony; personalized neon sunglasses handed out towards the end of the night with “Billy and BB Smalls May 14, 2011” (Smalls is Will’s nickname) on the side for everyone to use as dancing props, and a flip book station!

Bridal Gown – Monique Lhuillier – Neiman Marcus Bridal Salon
Wedding Shoes – Manolo Blahnik
Bridesmaid Dresses – Amsale, Stanley Korshak Bridal Salon
Ceremony & Reception Venue - Four Seasons, Austin, Texas
Rehearsal Dinner – Duchman Family Winery in the Texas Hill Country
Cake – The Cake Plate in Austin
Wedding Planner – Todd Events
Wedding Flowers and Design – Todd Events
Photographer – Scott Hagar