My sister and her fiancé had recently moved to Austin, Texas (which is absolutely one of my favorite cities!) with our little doggy Abby and were ready to start their lives together as husband and wife. I mean in the famous words of When Harry Met Sally "When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."
Neither of them wanted a big wedding, just something intimate between them, so why not make it happen!? I was already flying down to Texas in a week from Canada and on a spur of the moment decision it was decided that was going to be the weekend.
I had no idea how we were going to pull a wedding off but we did and it was absolutely perfect!
But before the big day there was a lot of work to do:
Step 1 - Find a Venue:
Austin has so many beautiful "elopement venues" all over the city, here's a few we considered:
Chapel Dulicea
Zilker Botanical Gardens
Mayfield Park & Reserve
LBJ Wild Flower Center
Woodbridge Square Park
We secured our number one choice; Chapel Dulcinea, a beautiful intimate chapel, perfect for small weddings or elopement. Most elopement venues had "photography fees" of a few hundred associated, with Chapel Dulcinea it was not only a stunning location but FREE. You have access to the chapel, bridal and grooms rooms, even a reception area with their security deposit that you can choose to donate at the end. The venue was simply amazing so of course we donated the deposit.
STEP 2 - Photographer:
Austin is full of talented photographers. Off a whim, we reached out to a local Austin Blogger my sister had been following since she moved to Texas @sonaliproductions and we lucked out Sonali was available. Her rates were extremely reasonable and well her photos speak for themselves, she captured the big day beautifully (all the photos in this blog post are credited to @sonaliproductions). We highly recommend her for any event!
STEP 3 - Decor:
With a chapel like Chapel Dulcinea there's not much you need to do with decor. I purchased white and pink rose pedals from Amazon to create an aisle and long stem roses (rose gold and silver) with vases from Michaels (yes I carried it all the way from Canada!). Just a small touch to enhance the natural scenery.
Let's not forget about the beautiful DIY bouquet our friend made (she's a natural DIY'er!).
STEP 4 - Officiate:
Does anyone remember the One Tree Hill episode where Haley gets ordained on-line to marry Lucus and Peyton? that was when I decided that I was adding "becoming ordained" to my bucket list - and well folks I finally made it happen!
I went through American Marriage Ministries where they provide you with an official minister number, certificate and package. (Note: if you want to go this route, double check your state requirements).
If you're looking to give a personal touch at your wedding this really does the trick, I mean no one knows you better then close family and friends. I've seen this a lot recently and I love it! It even gave me the the opportunity to surprise them with special messages from both families. The service was filled with stories, vows, personal messages and more.
STEP 5 - Bride and Groom Outfits:
This one was surprisingly so simple. In three days my sister said YES to her dream dress and the groom found his perfect suit - tailored and all!
STEP 6 - ABBY aka The Best Bridesmaid In The World:
I just needed an excuse to talk about our little baby (yes we're totally obsessed over our doggy!) Everyone knows our love for our little Abby, we can't image any monumental life moment without her, so you know she was going to be there on their big day!
With a quick search on Amazon we were even able to find her a little outfit. Abby would have pulled off a dress so the little bow was perfect for her.
STEP 7 - Music:
All you need is a Bluetooth speaker and you're good to go!
Their song: Ed Sheeran - All of the Stars (this definitely brought out the waterworks)
The day was truly magical and even writing this post I still can't believe how perfect it all was and even more so that we planned it in less then a week!
For those planning a wedding (I'm actually now planning mine right now), do whatever works for you, whether it's small and intimate, big and glamorous, or somewhere in between remember it's your day and do what works for you as a couple and never forget to be true to who you are!
Oh yes and If you're looking for an officiate for your big day give your girl a shout!
Ha just kidding guys! But if you really want me to I can make it happen ;-)
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