Project Wedding Blog

Laurel and Adam’s destination wedding in Carillon Beach, Florida had all the trappings of a shabby chic, East coast party… and we’re just marveling at all the details…  The couple chose a palette of red, pink, and green that displayed beautifully against the blue backdrop of the ocean town buildings.  A special thanks to Kay Meyer Photography for sharing their lovely day with us!After the fresh, daylight ceremony, Laurel and Adam cozied up on the beach for portraits. The groom’s cake was a work of confectionary art…  while the wedding cake was pretty in oh-so-shabby lace.  For favors, the guests were sent home with adorable S’more packets!

But the dearest part was, of course, family.

♥

Photos by Kay Meyer Photography

Event Coordination by Carillon Weddings

Florals by Nouveau Flowers

Bridal Gown by Jim Hjelm

Catering by Townsend Catering Co.

Cakes by Confections on the Coast

Tags: beach, blue, East coast, Florida, green, ocean, pink, red, shabby-chic.

Happy 2012 Everyone!

We’re starting the year with a gorgeous outdoor fête photographed by the very talented Rachel Thurston!

Amanda and Tom celebrated their union with a heavenly reception, featuring a classic monochromatic palette.   Enjoy the peek below (and that amazing dessert spread by Flour & Flower Designs), but don’t miss the full feature in our Real Wedding Gallery!

The maids look lovely in pale grey frocks by The Daisy Shoppe and mix and match cardigans.  The couple designed their day by first deciding on a monochromatic scheme with subtle changes in color.  They wanted everything to feel simple and flowing, very soft… with no sharp edges.

So so lovely…see more of this loveliness right over here…

Best Wishes

Amanda & Tom

♥

Photographs by Rachel Thurston

Venue: Private Residence

Bride’s Hair by Natalie Gessel

Florals by Design by Aubrey

Cake & Dessert Spread by Flour & Flower Designs

Reception Music: The Brocks

…And check out their three amazing videos by Digital Memories down below!

Tommy + Amanda: Newport Temple from Digital Memories Video Production on Vimeo.

Tommy + Amanda: “The Reception” - Laguna Niguel, CA from Digital Memories Video Production on Vimeo.

Tommy + Amanda: The Interview from Digital Memories Video Production on Vimeo.

Tags: classic, dessert spread, ivory, LDS, monochromatic, pale grey, yellow.

Wow.. it’s really that time. As we usher in 2012, we thought we’d reminisce about all the incredible real weddings we featured this year on Project Wedding.  We’re so proud of every hand-selected wedding published each week, but these ones just happen to be our favorites! Enjoy the encores by clicking on the links to the full features.  Here goes… on to the countdown!

10. {Vibrant Latin-Asian Fusion Wedding} by onelove photography

9. {A Pink Wedding and a Patisserie} by Gideon Photography

8. {Intimate, Luxury Vineyard Wedding} by Briana Marie Photography

7. {Vintage Garden Party} by Natalie Neal

6. {1920’s Shanghai Nightclub} by Robert Suckrachand

5. {East Meets West in a Garden} by Meg Perotti

4. {East Coast Elegance} by Karen Hill

3. {Lush Botanical Wedding} by Braedon Photography

2. {Fun and Playful Wedding on a Farm} by Jose Villa

and no. 1… {An Elegant Old World Party in Austin} by Q Weddings!

whew! That’s enough to keep a bride busy for a while…

Thanks to all the amazing wedding pros who keep our love and inspiration stash filled!

Want to be featured in 2012? Find out more about making a submission {here}.

Have a safe + happy New Year!

xoxo.

Tags: best of 2011.

Today, a little handmade prettiness from the heartland.

Josh and Heather married in Oakland, Iowa this past October.  It’s not often that we feature weddings from Iowa… Not for any reason of course, we just don’t hear much from the Iowan folks… so it’s such a treat to have come across this gem of a wedding, photographed by our friends Jonny and Michelle of Paper Antler.

The bride is an artist and she created nearly all of the cute little details and things shown below!  She-so kindly- sent over all of her DIY instructions too, so that you can see how she pieced everything together!

DIY Whimsical Signs
Supplies: Old wood (both flat & in stick form), paint, wood glue.
Paint a white background almost to edges on flat wood. When dry, add letters (J + H) or words
(Wedding with an arrow or Just Married or Mr. & Mrs.) using a bright color (I used teal). Glue stick to
sign with wood glue and allow it to dry. Dig hole and secure in ground or nail signs to trees.

DIY Invitations
Supplies: Card stock, bird punch, edge punch, silver thread, computer, RSVP template, glue stick.
Print invitation information on card stock for RSVP cards and wedding invites. Punch edges to give them a classy, professional look (I used Martha Steward brand for edges and the birds). Punch out 2 birds on
invites. Wrap thread around top of invites. Add a fun scrapbook paper under the bird cutout using a glue stick. I made postal stamps using my artwork (bird-themed) at Zazzle.com- easy and affordable.

DIY Happy Tears Table
Supplies: Old table, old picture frame, paper, hankies, sweet little bin, spray paint.
Find an old table, sand it down and spray paint it a color you like (I used robin’s egg blue). Make a sign
that says, “Happy Tears, Please Take One” and frame it. Arranged old and new hankies in a bin you
enjoy and place on table for guests to use during the ceremony.

DIY Treats Table
Supplies: Old-fashioned or favorite candies and treats, vintage bowls, decorative take-away bags, cloth.
Collect candy and treats (I made white/dark chocolate covered apples) and arrange them neatly in vintage, decorative dishes. Cover table with a vibrant cloth. Have guests take away candy using fun bags. If you
desire, make a fun sign to hang above table (mine said, ‘sweets’  and I used leftover paper and glue).

How lucky we are to get a peek into this DIY maven’s planning process.. Thanks, Heather!

All the best to You and Josh!

Photographs by Paper Antler Photography

Ceremony & Reception Site: Big Grove Country Inn

Paper Goods & Décor by the bride- Heather McDonald- of Wildflowers & Grace

See her etsy shop too!

From the Bride: Riding home on the airplane from San Juan, Puerto Rico, I was elated after accepting Josh’s sweet proposal to me in a garita at Castillo de San Cristóbal, a fortress built by the Spanish in 1783. We opened up my journal that I take everywhere and penned our autumn, vintage-themed wedding, “Elegantly Antique.”

We excitedly planned October 8th, 2011 and hoped this wedding would be enchanting- boy was it ever! We wanted to showcase who we are as people while making everyone who would attend feel relaxed and at home.  Joshua is a brilliant writer and I am an artist who finds creating to be my therapy, so much so that I am studying to be an art therapist; we had ideas aplenty. We put our love-struck minds together and let our creative energies flow in hopes of making the vision of our dream wedding a reality. We scoured many antique shops in Wisconsin, where I am from and in Nebraska, where Josh is from, collecting trinkets and unique finds until we ran out of space to store them. I was busy designing wedding invitations, wedding programs and much of the décor that would grace the wedding site.

We stumbled upon an adorably perfect, four acre, rustic Iowan wedding site which included a Bed and Breakfast, a 100 year old chapel, a one-room school, a quaint reception hall, horseshoes and a merry-go-round, and an outdoor patio with a fire pit and scenic cornfields as far as these excited eyes could see.

Being a lover of nature, I found myself drawn to white birch trees, whimsical birds and various shades of goldenrod and aqua. I envisioned a palate of these colors on my bridesmaids and groomsmen as they stood in the charming country chapel.

Josh’s sister was busy making yellow antique rosettes for my maids’ hair and one for me made out of a blue antique flower pin and fabric from Josh’s grandmother’s wedding dress. We gathered old-fashioned candy for our loved ones to nibble on and mason jars to make hanging lanterns out of. The summer flew by as we made paper and pom-pom garland. I printed beautiful framed 4”x6” prints of my artwork to hang from twine with clothespins that would be parting gifts for our guests- to take a small piece of us with them when they went.

The wedding plans started to come together and finally the day arrived. Everything was lovely and even the weather decided to cooperate. My favorite part of the day was the beauty of love bringing all this together, that and, after the ceremony, a vibrant rainbow appeared in the sky over the Iowa corn and we ran out in the misting rain to capture shots of the glorious moment.

Tags: autumn, country, DIY, fall, gold, Iowa, teal, vintage.

We just have to gush a little bit about this week’s Real Wedding…

The couple, Erin and Alan, just radiates warmth and love, and their goal was to plan a charming, inviting celebration for their guests.

They married on a rustic estate outside of San Francisco… it was an incredible venue.

Sara of onelove photography documented their vintage style and priceless moments.  (Her work is amazing)!

The palette was red, yellow, and white, and it couldn’t have been more perfect!The bridesmaids were glammed up in golden frocks by BHLDN and accessories by Stella and Dot.  Erin wore those cute rosy patent leather flats by Steve Madden. The day was filled with tons of stylish details like paper goods by megtab designs, mums for tossing, pennant flags, and handmade accessories for the flower girls.  A spacious setting, elegant landscaping, and Italian string lights set the stage for the reception.  The couple sourced tons of vintage décor from the Alameda Antique Show; Alan’s mom collected over 400 mason jars to use as vases and drinking glasses!

The evening ended with dancing and ice cream sandwiches!

There’s tons more to see, so check out the full feature {here}.

Photographs by onelove photography

Venue: A Private Estate

Bride’s Hair by Jenna Dyer

Bridal Gown by Trudy’s Brides

Shoes by Steve Madden

Florals by Jory’s Flowers

Bridesmaid’s Dresses by BHLDN

Paper Goods by megtab designs

Officiant: Chris Atwell of Portico Church

Lighting by LightHeaded Designs

Catering by Classic Catering

Ice Cream Sandwiches by C.R.E.A.M.

And one lovely video by Cloudless…

Erin & Alan {Walnut Creek, CA} from Cloudless on Vimeo.

From the Bride: Our wedding coordinator asked us to decide on three words for our wedding so that we could focus on making decisions for our big day around those three words. We decided we wanted to have a wedding that was intimate, charming and fun.

INTIMATE: We were so excited to have our family and friends all together in one place and we wanted them to feel completely a part of our big day rather than just sitting on the sidelines.

CHARMING: We didn’t want a wedding that was formal or stuffy. We wanted it to be warm and welcoming….CHARMING!  We love the rustic, elegant look….sort of like Anthropologie… we ran with that with the old milk bottles, pepsi crates, milk tins, burlap, garden flowers, type writers and more!

FUN: We really wanted the wedding to display our personalities and not be too uptight because our goal was just to have a fun celebration with all the people we love. When things started to get stressful, we tried to ask ourselves ‘are we having fun? Will this make the wedding more fun or does it really matter?’

Favorite things/moments:

The venue is a family friend’s home and she was SO gracious to open her home to us for our wedding. We are in love with the place and feel so honored.

My cousin Stacie made the flower girl belts and baskets, ring bearer boutonniere & pillow, and my garter. SHE IS AMAZING!

I love that our guests threw mums down the aisle at us after we were announced husband and wife.

We collected a lot of the décor from the Alameda Antique Show. There were so many vintage things there. One item was an old easel that we hung all the seating assignments on and wrote “Please take a seat.”

My Grammie and Mom made all of our burlap runners and my Grammie made all of our pennant flags : )

My boss’s dad is a bee keeper and provided all the honey favors. We made tags for the honey that said “Meant to bee.”

I loved our sparkler exit. We found them in our friend’s garage and it was all very last minute, but am sooo glad we used them!

One of our favorite parts was the ice cream sandwiches for dessert. A place in Berkeley was more than willing to fulfill this vision of having ice cream sandwiches rather than cake. We were their first wedding which was super fun and they did GREAT! Our guests loved them!

I got most of my ideas from Pinterest. I ordered some things from Etsy too - - the guy’s bowties, socks, ring bearer bowtie, guestbook, and more!

Tags: BHLDN, charming, erin and alan, lighting, onelove photography, outdoor, red, vintage, white, yellow.

Holiday weddings are just so romantic…. and so fun to share during this festive season!  Today we’ve got a classic wedding by one of our fave duos- Paper Antler (photographers and philanthropists extraordinaire). Kristen and Matt wed in Auburn, Alabama, where they met in college. The day was coordinated in navy, fuchsia, and black against a backdrop of wreaths and Christmas lights.

The church was a picturesque setting with poinsettias, Christmas trees, and garland adding to the already majestic altar.  According to their photographers, Kristen and Matt were laughing, having fun, and just purely enjoying each other’s company the entire day.  At the reception, there were classic fabrics and candelabras gussying up the space, but more than anything it was a celebration of love and fun.  Two of the highlights: an amazing macaroni and cheese bar and wild salsa dancing on the dance floor!

… And at the end, Kristen and Matt’s exit was accompanied by a gorgeous sparkler send-off!

Photographs by Paper Antler

Ceremony Site: Auburn First Baptist Church

Reception Music by A-Town A-List

Tags: Christmas, holiday, Navy, Southern, sparklers.

With the holidays less than a week away, we thought we’d celebrate with Emily and Chase’s cozy winter wedding in Atlanta.  The space and décor elements were styled reminiscent of time Emily spent as a child in her grandparent’s cabin in the Northwoods.  Earthy and organic accents added rustic beauty, while the chocolate, mocha and ivory palette was warm and inviting.  Special thanks to Nadia D. Photography for sharing these absolutely exquisite photographs with us!

See the full album in our Real Wedding Gallery…

Photos by Nadia D. Photography

Event Coordination by Peachtree Weddings & Events

Bridal Gown by Winnie Couture

Flowers by The Flower Post

Venue: King Plow Arts Center

Cake by Frosted Pumpkin

Music by The Symphony Crack Orchestra

From the Bride: Throughout the planning process, our goal was to have fun, keep it simple and focus on the important things, like family, friends and faith. Even though the wedding was not at a church, we wanted it to be centered on our faith and the beginning of our life together. I think weddings are an opportunity to celebrate a new beginning and the focus needs to be on the couple making a life-long commitment to each other. Not to say the details aren’t fun and important too, but in the end, no matter what happens at the wedding, the marriage is what is significant.

Chase and I love winter weather and being outside. We wanted the wedding to feel warm and inviting while capturing elements of our favorite style, something we started calling “rustic elegance”. Both of our families are down-to-earth, outdoorsy types so we wanted the wedding to reflect that. I grew up in the midwest playing at my grandparents’ cabin in the Northwoods and farm in Ohio so there were lots of elements drawn from those places… the farm table and flower box on the alter, the old antique bottles and the cake stand that was actually made by my grandfather from an old tree at their cabin. It made the 20 hour trip to Atlanta just for the wedding!

My gown was nothing like what I had originally said I wanted, but when I tried it on it was as if it was made just for me. It was by Winnie Couture and had Swarvoski crystal beading- like I had never seen before- all around the top and along the train. The best part about it was that it matched my family’s heirloom veil perfectly. I was the 12th bride to wear the 80 year old chapel length veil and all twelve of those marriages were, or are, “till death do us part”. We had pictures of all twelve brides at a table on display and four of the brides were at the wedding.

We did a lot of DIY: The invitations, the centerpieces, the save-the-dates, the programs, and the cake stand, among a few other things. My mom and I had the time of our lives planning this wedding together and we had so many wonderful friends who pitched in to help us. It was amazing because we were like, “Oh, we have a friend who does this, and one that does that, and can help with this…” so it was a team effort. We were very blessed in that respect.

Looking back, there is not one thing I would change about our wedding day. The things that didn’t go exactly to plan made the night memorable and added to the fun, and the things that did go right were better than I could have ever hoped for. It was the perfect party for celebrating with my family and friends. I wasn’t nervous at all until right before my dad and I started to get ready to walk down the aisle and it all felt real. During the ceremony, our two pastors, Kevin and Russ, asked both my grandfathers to stand and give a few words of advice. Both sets of my grandparents have been happily married for more than 50 years and are an incredible testament to a marriage founded in faith and love of God. It was a total surprise and it was the only time throughout the whole ceremony that I cried. Looking at them and knowing some of what they had been through together, knowing how much they still loved each other, it reminded me of what marriage was really all about and helped to put our vows into perspective.

Another unforgettable moment was when our pastor left out “you may now kiss the bride” and we didn’t know what to do so we started walking down the aisle when Chase’s aunt yelled “KISS HER” and others joined in. He planted one on me right in the middle of the aisle amongst cheers and cat calls. It’s the unexpected moments that make it memorable!

For the food, we tried to re-create a meal that Chase and I had when we were at a vineyard in Chianti wine country in Tuscany. We had Italian meats, cheeses, roasted vegetables and homemade breadsticks in a big Mediterranean display in the center of the cocktail hour room. Then the guests moved in to the reception room where we had stations set up with made-to-order pasta and Italian roast beef, salad and mashed potatoes. For dessert we had a coffee and hot chocolate bar with homemade Italian biscotti, and wedding cake, of course!

Our entertainment was incredibly unique and talented. They are such gifted musicians and played classical piano, violin and guitar for the ceremony, transitioned to the electric violin, guitar, and keyboard to re-mix popular songs for the cocktail hour, then deejayed our favorites during the reception. I had so much fun on the dance floor with my family and friends and Nadia, our photographer, got lots of pictures to prove it.

At the end of the evening, guests saw us off with bubbles and sparklers and Chase and I rode off in his big old red truck, a throw back from when we first fell in love in college.

Tags: chocolate, Christmas, cozy, holiday, mocha, rustic, winter.

Smruti and Anurag marked each day of their three day affair with traditional Indian ceremonies, family, friends and lots of vibrant color. Matei Horvath Photography was along for the ride to document all the intricate details from the celebration! The first day was for the bride and female guests to have their mehndi (henna) done. Traditionally, as the bride is decorated with bridal mehndi, the women sing, dance and perform in front of her to entertain her (bridal mehndi can take anywhere from 4 – 12 hours)!The couple opted to see one another before the ceremony, which gave the photographers an opportunity to capture intimate portraits off-site. The glamorous and richly adorned reception was held at the Indian Cultural Center in San Jose.  Anais Events designed the celebration by expertly weaving tradition and contemporary style.

Best Wishes Smruti and Anurag!

Photographs by Matei Horvath Photography

Event Design by Anais Events

Venue: Indian Cultural Center

Christina Silviera Hair & Make-Up

DJ: Fantasy Sound Events

Tags: bridal mehndi, colorful, traditional Indian, vibrant.

These photos are so fresh and very sweet…

(Just love that Paper Antler).

Jen and Charlie married at Quivey’s Grove in Madison, Wisconsin; it was a rustic, homespun fall wedding.

The couple met in Thailand while he was learning to become a scuba diving instructor and she was teaching English.  Charlie is from the Southwest of England and Jen is from Wisconsin. After having enough of the tropical heat, they moved to New Zealand where Charlie proposed!

The bridesmaids looked pretty in mix and match turquoise dresses by J. Crew and Jen was completely lovely in a dress by David’s Bridal.   Furnished with dark wood chairs, exposed beams, and rustic lighting, the ceremony took place in the stable at Quivey’s Grove.  Connie Engmann officiated.

They spent hours and hours making all of the decorations for the wedding. Jen and her mom crocheted and sewed all of the bunting used behind the alter and for the reception. Charlie painted and sewed all of the buttons for the table numbers (Jen felt like the luckiest bride)!

For dessert, there was a spread of pies from Hubbard Street Diner in Middleton.  There were ten in all: fall classics like pumpkin, apple and pecan and then some of their favorites - French silk, peanut butter silk, and black forest- YUM! A friend of the bride made a small cake for cutting. There’s more from the bride, just below!

Thanks to Charlie + Jen and Jonny + Michelle for sharing this wedding with us!

Photos by Paper Antler Photography

(psst. if you haven’t heard Paper Antler is traveling around the country ALL of 2012 photographing weddings.  Double bonus is that they’re donating $1,000 from each wedding towards an amazing nonprofit that works to rescue children who are victims of human trafficking.  There are a few dates left, so check out their route and schedule and book ‘em)!

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Quivey’s Grove

Florals by Abundance Acres

Bridal Gown by David’s Bridal

Bridesmaid’s Dresses by J. Crew

Bride’s Hair by Holly’s Salon Studio

Officiant: Connie Engmann

Ceremony & Reception Music by Krause Family Band

Cranberry Chutney Favors by Quince & Apple

Pies by Hubbard Street Diner

From the Bride: I was never one of those girls that knew what sort of wedding she wanted from a young age, but when we started planning the wedding we quickly decided we wanted a wedding that reflected us as a couple, so we wanted something rustic, crafty, colorful and intimate. Since we were living in New Zealand and weren’t able to look at very many venues, we chose somewhere we were familiar with. Once we had decided on Quivey’s Grove- so many things fell into place. The venue was beautiful - dark wood, a charming old home and very eclectic décor. - - I love food, all kinds of food, but it was really important that we sourced everything for our wedding as locally and sustainably as possible (food, flowers, services) and supported small businesses.

We didn’t have any particular color scheme - I love color, all colors and so we tried to incorporate lots of colors - especially into the table decorations. Even though we had a fall wedding we wanted to stay
away from typical fall colors - red, orange, browns… For the ceremony we used mainly white and pinks and all colors for the rest.

The weather wasn’t perfect - it sprinkled on and off during the day, but I don’t think anyone noticed - and in the evening we had a lightening storm, which I think everyone enjoyed. We had originally planned a late summer wedding - but we pushed the wedding back and decided to have an indoor wedding and I’m glad we did - I would have been worrying about the weather for weeks before the day.

Tags: crafty, fall, homespun, Madison, Paper Antler Photography, pies, pink, rustic, Wisconsin.

Mary Kate and John’s Austin wedding has that feeling of the classic South, yet the color palette and details were perfectly unique.  We were taken by the blues and greens, and of course the beautiful Barr Mansion setting.  Katherine O’Brien did an extraordinary job capturing the day in creative film and digital photos!  Each bridesmaid selected her own ivory dress, but they were coordinated with blue ribbon and the gorgeous hydrangea and succulent bouquets by  STEMS Floral Design.  Love those blue nails in the pic below!Mary Kate and John first bonded over a similar taste in music and they definitely had music on the mind as they planned their day.  During the ceremony, Barton Strings played Over the Rainbow for the processional and Here Comes the Sun for the recessional.   Along with their officiant, Sarah de la Fuente, the two designed a custom ceremony that spoke to them.  They said their vows on the scenic grounds of the Barr Mansion.  The reception, held in the Barr Mansion’s modern ballroom, featured a rainbow of rustic florals and lots of dancing to local Austin band, Soul Track Mind.  Their music was a hit with guests!Mary Kate and John married on what would have been her grandparents’ 61st wedding anniversary.  To honor them, she baked 700 peanut butter cookies (her grandmother’s recipe) to give to guests as favors!

Read more from the bride just below or {click here} to see the full feature…

Photos by Katherine O’Brien Photography

Venue, Event Coordination & Cake by Barr Mansion

Bride’s Hair & Makeup by Snodene Blakenely

Bridal Gown by Modern Trousseau from Unbridaled

Invitations & Programs by Bella Figura

Ceremony Musicians: Barton Strings

Officiant: Sarah de la Fuente

Florals by STEMS Floral Design

Reception Band: Soul Track Mind

From the Bride:

The weather was perfect considering the summer we had. The week of our wedding was the first break we had from 100+ degree temperatures all summer long.

One of my favorite moments of the day was seeing for the first time the bouquets that Abby Daigle of STEMS put together. When we met to discuss the flowers, I didn’t have a concrete idea of what I wanted. I told her the colors that I wanted in my bouquet and the bridesmaids’ bouquets and she was able to help me pick out some flowers that would include all those colors. Then she took it from there and put together the perfect bouquets. I could not have been happier with them!

We were very glad we chose to see each other before the ceremony. It calmed our nerves. And despite the fact that our wedding party was all watching with our photographers Katherine and Jeff taking pictures, it was still a very personal moment.

My father has a huge baseball card collection from his childhood that he has kept in great condition over the years. On the day of the wedding he gave John, John’s father, and his groomsmen each a baseball card from his collection. They were all cards of Red Sox players as John and his groomsmen all grew up in the Boston area and love the Red Sox.  John and the guys also toasted with John’s favorite whiskey before our first look photos.

I gave John Ghostbuster cufflinks the day of the wedding. It has been his favorite movie since he was a child. His grandmother has lots of stories of him pretending to be a Ghostbuster when he was younger.

The ballroom where our reception was held was newly built, finished just a few months before our wedding. Just before we got engaged in June of 2010, lightning struck the original Barr Mansion ballroom and burned it to the ground. It had been a beautiful structure and was a huge loss for Barr Mansion. Right away they set out to begin the rebuilding process. We were confident that they would rebuild it to be just as beautiful as the original. And they did!

Although we wanted a short ceremony, we wanted it to be meaningful to us. We chose Sarah de la Fuente to officiate our wedding because she was more than happy to help us write a ceremony that spoke to us. It was really special to know that we didn’t just write our own vows, but helped create the entire ceremony.

John and I bonded over similar tastes in music when we first met, so it was important to us to have a great band for our reception. In Austin we have a great local band called Soul Track Mind and we were thrilled that they agreed to play at our reception. Our guests could not stop complimenting them long after the wedding was over.

Our friends and family gave some great toasts during the reception. Most were planned but a few folks jumped up on stage without warning, including the father of one of my bridesmaids who told us to “live long and prosper.” John’s brother (and best man) also read a beautiful poem written by their grandfather for our wedding, as he was not able to make the trip from Massachusetts.

One of the funnier moments of the night was towards the end of the reception. My father and his friends have a history of dancing the Gator as they do in the movie Animal House during each other’s wedding receptions. They continued the tradition at our reception when our band played the Isley Brothers’ “Shout.” They were a huge hit.

As a result of the hot, dry weather we had all summer we were in a burn ban so we could not have a sparkler send off at the end of the night. In place of sparklers we bought a few hundred glow sticks. John and I have gone to quite a few concerts where we threw around glow sticks so it was very appropriate for us.

We did not want to take on a lot of little DIY projects for our wedding, mostly because the Barr Mansion grounds really don’t need much in the way of decorations. But I did know I wanted to honor my paternal grandparents as we were getting married on what would have been their 61st wedding anniversary. My grandmother was a great cook and our favorite treats growing up were her cookies, specifically molasses cookies and peanut butter cookies. So the week of the wedding, using her recipes, my sisters, bridesmaids, and I made over 700 cookies as favors for our guests. It ended up being quite a project but I am glad we did it!

Tags: Barr Mansion, blue, classic, green, Katherine O'Brien photography, rustic, Southern, succulents.