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Vintage Vineyard Wedding In The Texas Hill Country

Bride and Groom, Rachel and Greg, met at work where they both work at Marquee Event Group, an event rental company in Austin, Texas. Rachel is an outside sales representative; Greg is a member of the inside sales and marketing department. The attraction started over their love of dogs.  After initially blowing Greg off with a “I don’t date my co-workers excuse,” Rachel returned several weeks later from a trip to Ireland to attend a friends wedding, with a different perspective. Rachel asked Greg on a date to the dog park and that was the beginning.

Now, the juiciest part of the story is that they never told anyone at work they were together until Rachel walked into work with an engagement ring on her finger several years later. They blew everyone away! They were both nervous about people’s reactions. Yet, it turned out that everyone was so excited (and so shocked). In the end, it was the greatest surprise and their “family” at Marquee threw them a great wedding!

The wedding theme – Vintage Vineyard Elegance – was due to Rachel’s work. As a vendor in the events industry she had been fortunate to be a part of some truly amazing weddings. She wanted her wedding to be something she’d never seen. She wanted something unique that was her own. That’s why Rachel and Greg chose Flat Creek Estate in Austin’s Hill Country. Food was a big part of the wedding as well. They wanted to have a nice dinner party with a ceremony thrown in. Thus creating a family reunion with elegance, and they felt the vineyard was the perfect venue to create that experience.

Rachel used her wedding dress as her first item for décor inspiration. Marquee’s Owner, Damon Holditch, had her butter taffeta linens made from scratch. Damon also agreed to make the plum faux silk cocktail tables linens tied with a butter taffeta sash around the base as well as the plum silk button cake table. Purple is Rachel’s favorite color but she didn’t want to go too crazy with the purple.

The tent was also a very important design element. It can be difficult to maintain a vintage look in a tent and it’s even more difficult for someone who rents tents for a living to be wowed by a wedding tent! The goal was to have the ceiling treatment low and bring the top of the tent lower and cozier. Rachel also wanted eclectic and mismatched lighting. The tent went right on top of a parking area with paver stones that made it feel antique. Marquee’s efforts brought tears to the bride’s eyes when she finally saw it all come together.

The Bridal Bouquet was a mix of fluffy white hydrangea, white ranunculus, white sweetpeas, white majolica roses, white spider tulips, white hyacinth and white lilac. On her bouquet, “The Key” is the badge of the brides’ sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. The sapphire is recognized by Kappa as the symbol of truth, sincerity and constancy. Although the bride graduated from college in 1996 Kappa is still close to her heart. There were 7 Kappa’s at the wedding, including the Matron of Honor who was a sorority sister and college roommate.

Final notes from the bride …

“Photographer Jennifer Lindberg is amazing! She is truly dedicated to her craft and she is incredibly talented. It was a dream come true for her to photograph our wedding. In my mind there was no other choice. We were lucky and deemed it fate that she was available on our wedding date. We knew she would bring a personal view and photo journalism style photography to our wedding. That is what I wanted. As soon as I saw our “sneak peak” slideshow that Jennifer put together I was in tears. She is brilliant!”

“Take my advice … Hire a wedding planner and trust them! Use strong and reputable vendors because they really will make a huge difference in your wedding execution. Try to make decisions and stick to them. Because our engagement and wedding planning was only 3.5 months long we could not waiver on decisions and that really was a blessing. If any part of your wedding is outdoors be prepared for Plan B and be comfortable with it. I think our final plan was Plan E but it ended up perfect. If you’re planning your wedding on a budget set priorities on what is most important. For example, catering and décor was a high priority for us but that meant that music and paper goods had a lower priority.”

Featured Wedding courtesy of Jennifer Lindberg

Wedding dress: Forever Yours
Grooms attire: Black suit – Jones New York Collection
Bridesmaids: J Crew
Wedding Coordinator: Clink Events
Location: Ceremony & Reception – Flat Creek Estate
Rentals: Marquee Event Group – the bride & groom’s employer.
Floral: Prive Floral
Caterer: Primize
Wedding Cake: Simon Lee Bakery

A Red Wedding – Drama! Glitz! Glamour! – Amanda Alexander & Matt McMurphy

Red! Red! Red! Who says weddings should be “Pretty and Pink” …certainly not Amanda Alexander. When she and fiancé Matt McMurphy began making plans for their March 3, 2009 wedding, visions of “Blush and Bashful” never entered Amanda’s mind. “Drama! Glitz! Glamour! Passion!” exclaimed the bride-to-be at the couple’s first meeting with DFW Events in-house Designer, Nelson Robinson, who quickly seized upon one word that seem to say it all: RED!

After their initial meeting, Nelson presented Amanda with a detailed sketch that illustrated her ideas. “He captured Amanda’s dream to perfection,” recalls Mindy Rives of DFW Events, who coordinated Amanda and Matt’s wedding. Amanda took one look at Nelson’s rendering and said, “That’s it!”

Nelson joined forces with Junior Villanueva at the Garden Gate and together they made Amanda’s ideas become reality.  The beautifully dramatic locals of Christ the King Catholic Church and The Ritz-Carlton Dallas were the backdrops for their elaborate plans.

For her own gown, Amanda found the perfect “princess dress” in a bejeweled soft white satin Kenneth Pool. It featured a strapless neckline softened by a flutter of pleated organza and mermaid silhouette. The entire gown was opulently embellished with silver and gold bullion, Austrian crystals and caviar beds.  A gown fit for a princess! She gowned her attendants in black satin, ideally suited to showcase eye popping red bouquets.

After the formal ceremony, Amanda and Matt’s guests were treated to a sumptuous five course seated dinner where the couple’s characteristically singular attention was focused on the menu.

Amanda and her design team considered every detail. The Ritz pastry chef, Morgan Wilson, created a magnificent wedding cake that replicated Amanda’s gown and was topped with a glittering marzipan M. Ornate mirrored stands supported the massive bouquets of white lilies and cascading orchids embellished with crystals tear drop votives. Stands of crystal beads extended from the ceiling. Diamantes encrusted the cake knife and server.

Luxurious red was integrated into almost every glamorous feature. An embroidered canopy hung over the expansive head tabled swathed in red linens where the bride and groom were seated on a tufted red brocade love seat. Guests danced away the evening on the red Lucite dance floor flanked by curved red silk sofas festooned with throw pillows. The band, Bullet Proof Brass, played in front of a red backdrop screen decorated with a distinctive AM monogrammed designed especially for the occasion. The monogram was repeated on the wall behind the cakes as well as the napkins and menu cards. The entire ballroom glowed red with a dramatic wash of lights.

By the time the couple made their late night getaway in a stunning vintage white Rolls Royce, every guest’s eyes glittered with the sparkle of Amanda and Matt’s perfect evening.

Source: Nina Nichols Austin Weddings

Photography by Karlish Photography