This is one of my favorite weddings and I am so honored to have it featured on The Knot, Wedding Wire, Borrowed and Blue
From the Bride: Our wedding at Becker Vineyards was the most amazing day; I wouldn’t change a single thing! I never really had a vision for what I would look like as a bride or how everything would unfold, but I knew we wanted a causal elegance that would be simple but beautiful. And that’s exactly what we got. Cristol Corpus, Becker’s wedding coordinator extraordinaire, was such an amazing help and inspiration for a lot of what we ended up doing. The guidance she provided in the planning was invaluable and the way everything was executed the day of was impeccable, she enabled Matt and I to truly relax on our wedding day and just enjoy every moment! (scroll down to read more) The day began with Matt and I parting ways, so looking forward to seeing each other again just before our ceremony. My amazing girl friends took me to a wonderful brunch, while Matt joined his friends and family for an afternoon of eating and lounging at Hondo’s, a local restaurant in Fredericksburg. After brunch, all the girls went back to the hotel where my fabulous hair stylist, Jene, from Austin was all setup for hair and makeup. It was so much fun getting to see all my friends and relax while getting pampered. Once we were ready to go, a few of my closest girls, Ashley, Emily, Meredith, and I loaded up and headed to Becker to finish getting me ready. Emily brought snacks for the cabin and even made a special cocktail for us to enjoy a toast before the ceremony. They got me ready, Emily gave a touching toast, there were some tears and hugs and I was ready to see Matt. We opened the front door to the cabin and he was standing there with his back to me, even so I could immediately tell how handsome he looked in his suit. I walked up, touched his arm, and as he turned I could see the tears forming in his eyes. It was wonderful getting to have that private moment (we totally forgot Svetlana was even there taking pictures). Then my girls came out and we took some pictures all together. At this point, I got my first glimpse of the ceremony area setup outside and it was breathtaking. The big oak tree where we would stand to get married was decorated with ornate weaved balls hanging from it. The white wooden chairs setup in front, parted by an aisle lined white rose pedals and shepherds hooks with beautiful flower arrangements hanging in mason jars. It was perfect and better than I had ever envisioned. The guest book table was setup on an old farm table that guests would pass as they arrived. We had decorated the table with an engagement photo taken by Svetlana along side wedding photos of each of our parents and a book of pictures of the Texas Hill Country for our guests to sign. After pictures it was almost time for our guests to arrive so I went back to the cabin to wait for the ceremony to begin. Having already lost both my parents, my brother Ryan made the perfect choice to walk me down the aisle, and now I can’t imagine it happening any other way. When Cristol gave us the cue, Ryan walked out of the cabin and waited for me to join him, and then off we went. I could faintly hear Andrew beautifully playing the violin but my nerves got the best of me and most of the background seemed to fade away. Once we got to the back of where the guests were seated I could finally see Matt, he was so handsome standing there watching me. My nerves melted away, and I couldn’t wait to get to the end of that aisle. Finally we were there, I hugged my brother and was ready to get this show on the road. Matt and I wrote our own vows, which he insisted we actually write and not just steal from the internet, and I am so thankful he did. They were beautiful, so us, so meaningful. We asked our friend Mike to perform the ceremony, he is married to one of my best friends Meredith, and is such a great friend to both me and Matt. He was the perfect person to ask, and he did an amazing job. The ceremony went off without a hitch, well, almost. Mike did drop Matt’s ring when he went to hand it to me and had to dig around a bit in the grass to find it but all was well. Then, I went to put the ring on Matt’s finger to say my vows and, it didn’t fit!! I pushed and pushed, and finally just had to laugh and get help from Matt, who also struggled to get it on. At this point we were all laughing, and I told Matt I didn’t think that ring was EVER coming off! Mike finished up the ceremony, pronounced us husband and wife, we kissed and back down the aisle we went. Once we were to the back, we stopped and kissed again – we were married!! We wanted a group photo of the entire wedding so asked everyone to join us for a few pictures. We had a pretty small wedding of just close friends and family, these pictures are some of my favorite from the whole day. We had most everyone head to the patio for music, appetizers, and more wine while Matt and I took our families for a short round of family pics. Once we had a few great shots, it was out to the lavender fields for us for just a few more photos while the sun was setting. Being April the lavender fields were in full bloom and we played off that as a central theme to a lot of our decorations. Matt and my brother wore lavender boutonnieres we’d found on Etsy. Our place cards at the dinner table were also bunches of lavender tied with a name card, custom created for us by a vendor also found on Etsy. Next it was off to our reception. As we walked through the Lavender Haus where we would eat dinner in a bit, I was able to see the final product of the decorations for our family style dinner. The table was spectacular, it was simple, casual, elegant, all the things I wanted but wasn’t sure we’d pull off. One long dinner table set for 30 people, simple white table clothes made one with a long burlap table runner down the center decorated with clear glass rectangular vases filled with simply gorgeous white hydrangeas. Scattered about the table were votive candles providing the perfect amount of light so you could see the lavender bunches tied with place cards on top of each place setting. I was so thankful for the team at Becker along with my florist for getting it all just so perfectly right. On to our guests…we walked through the doors to the patio as our friend Michael announced us to the group. The music started playing Ray LaMontagne’s “You’re the Best Thing” and we immediately began our first (and only planned) dance. We are not what one might call the BEST dancers but I think we did a pretty good job, we had fun with it for sure, and it’s a dance we’ll both remember forever. Matt even managed to get in an impromptu butt grab during the dance which made everyone laugh.. After our dance, we finally got to hug and kiss all our friends, me getting to say hello to some for the first time that evening. Once we’d appropriately mingled, it was dinnertime and we were off to the inside to sit around that beautiful table. Dinner was family style and each course was paired with a Becker Vineyards wine. It was a fun idea, and it turned out even better. I never expect much of catered food in terms of it being really flavorful or the right temperature but our caterer did an absolutely amazing job. The pork and asparagus was perfectly cooked, the potatoes were creamy, delicious and warm and everything went together amazingly. Rave reviews from everyone in attendance! Everyone chatted and laughed and as the wine was flowing freely we even got a little sing off between groups of friends on the two ends of the tables. It was loud, not really in tune, but hilarious. At this point the food was all gone and desert had been had, it was time for champagne and toasts. My brother toasted first, telling an embarrassing story about me when we were growing up. He’s a great speaker and storyteller so it was, of course, an amazing toast. Then, to my surprise, we spent another 45 minutes with almost everyone getting up to offer a toast. Matt and I spoke last, words really not enough to say how thankful we are to have the love and support of all the people in that room but we tried our best to thank everyone for making our day so special. After that people mingled again for a bit until it was time to go. Matt’s dad pulled us each aside separately, for a little personal toast, which was so touching. I immediately thought how lucky I was to have this whole new addition to my family. Shortly after we said our goodbyes and took off for the cabin so we could make our exit. Our guests lined the walkway out the front of the cabin with sparklers in hand and we took off for the limo, come to wisk us away to our wedding night B&B. We stopped half way for one more kiss and a photo op of course, then off we went. What an amazing day, just perfect in every detail. We are so grateful for the people that made it happen and for all our family and friends for making it such a beautiful day. How and when did you two meet? We met in Nashville in 2010, both on separate trips there – Matt on a bachelor party weekend and me on a girl’s weekend getaway. Our groups met at a bar one night and I was immediately taken with Matt. We only spoke briefly but we clearly made an impression on one another, finding out later that we each often thought of the other over the years. Matt stayed in contact with a friend of mine and upon relocating to Texas he immediately thought to get in touch with me. He is nothing if not persistent when he wants something, one of his amazing qualities. So we finally went out and after the first night it was clear we were taken with one another. Our first kiss was make-your-knees-weak-magical, and within a week, we both knew we had found something special. We lived in separate cities, he in Dallas and me in Austin, but we were inseparable. He made every effort to come to Austin to be with me in his free time, and I back to Dallas whenever I could. At the time my dad had terminal cancer, a few months in to our relationship my dad took a turn for the worse and after a couple of the longest weeks of my life he passed away. I’ve never felt more supported and loved, Matt was such an amazing partner through that experience. I had already fallen in love with him before that but after, I had no doubt he was the man I wanted to marry and spend the rest of my life supporting and loving, the way he’d already shown me he would to me. How did he propose? Matt had been not so secretly working with a local jeweler on, what I might say is THE most beautiful engagement ring. He was working to keep it quiet but I knew he was up to something. One random weekday night when he was in town from Dallas, I had suggested we try to get last minute tickets to go see The Book of Mormon. He agreed and I thought we could make a fun date night out of it with dinner and the show. Little did I know, he had come in to town because my ring was ready. He’d picked it up that day thinking he’d do something elaborate at some point, maybe take me to the spot where we’d first kissed to propose. However, it seems a few hours with that ring and it was already burning a hole in his pocket. He was dying to get it on my finger, as soon as possible. That evening I was running late home from work and called him to say we’d have to cancel our original dinner plans and just grab something quick if we were to make the show. I asked him to be ready to go as I planned to quickly run into the house to change and then we’d leave. So, upon arriving home, I flew inside, straight by Matt and was a whirlwind of changing and switching purses, etc. I’m pretty sure I did it in 2 minutes flat and was walking out the door when Matt called me back to the living room for a kiss, making me realize I hadn’t even stopped to say hello. As I turn around, he dropped to his knee and I think I went into absolute shock and was utterly surprised when I realized he was proposing. Frankly, I don’t even remember exactly what he said, but it was perfect and so sweet, and of course I said yes! Then we jetted out the door to one of the most amazing evenings ever!
Wedding Ceremony and Reception Venue: Becker Vineyard near Fredericksburg| Photographer: Svetlana Photography | Florist: Eye Candy Floral, Designs by Devon | Ceremony Music: Andrew Green, Violinist | Caterer and Desserts: Delicious Details | Hair and Makeup: Jene Maroney, Topaz Salon in Austin | Invitation: Minted | Ring: Calvin’s Fine Jewelry | Dress: J.Crew | Veil and Jewelry: Unbridaled | Bride’s shoes: Toms | Suit: Bonobos
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