Elegant Blush, White and Green Garden Theme Wedding

WEDDINGS IN HOUSTON Spring 2015 | Real Wedding Feature

Kelli & A.J. ~ May 17, 2014

Having begun their courtship at the University of Georgia, it’s no surprise that Kelli and A.J. wanted their wedding to “feel like an elegant garden party at a Southern home.” As the bride describes, “The ambiance began with a drive up scenic River Oaks Blvd. with Houston’s most beautiful homes,” and continued with a gracious country-club setting, decorated with soft-pink peonies, mercury-glass votives, twinkle-lights and French armchairs. A reception menu filled with Southern favorites—fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, pulled-pork sliders—nourished guests for a night of dancing to live music. As the night progressed, guests enjoyed hand-rolled Cuban cigars on the starlit patio, and late-night chicken-and-waffle bites. Jo Ann Schwartz Woodward (of wedding consulting firm Schwartz & Woodward) was great at listening to our vision and implementing it flawlessly,” Kelli says. “It was truly the wedding of our dreams!”

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Photos: Sarah Austin Photography ~ Proposal: Brennan’s Houston ~ Consultant: Schwartz & Woodward ~ Invitations: Katie & Co. ~ Flowers & Decor: Plants N’ Petals ~ Linens: EB Inc ~ Cake: Who Made The Cake! ~ Lighting: Bright Star Productions ~ Registry: Bering’s, Kuhl-Linscomb & Williams-Sonoma ~ Honeymoon: Turks & Caicos

White, Red and Black Wedding at the Crystal Ballroom at The Rice

WEDDINGS IN HOUSTON Spring 2015 | Real Wedding Feature

Lisa & Joel ~ September 20, 2014

As Houston Rockets director of broadcasting Joel Blank recounts his initial blind date with KHOU-TV anchor Lisa Hernandez: “We had our first date, and knew we had gone on our last first date.” The couple made it official with a lovely late-summer wedding at the dazzling Crystal Ballroom at The Rice, where guests dug into fajitas, indulged in a decadent “dessert gallery,” and danced the night away. We don’t know who’s luckier—the bride, who, dressed in her stunning Ines Di Santo mermaid gown, tearfully exchanged vows with the man of her dreams, or the groomsmen, who each went home with an NBA game ball signed by Dwight Howard, James Harden, Kevin McHale, Calvin Murphy, Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon. You be the judge!

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Photos: Morgan Lynn Photography ~ Wedding Dress: Ines Di Santo from Ivory Bridal Atelier ~ Venue: Crystal Ballroom at The Rice ~ Catering: Sambuca Catering ~ Decor & Rentals: EB Inc Events ~ Cake: Susie’s Cakes & Confections ~ Invitations: Katie & Co. ~ Videography: 31 Films ~ Honeymoon: Turks & Caicos

Sweet Summer Peach and Blue Wedding

WEDDINGS IN HOUSTON Spring 2015 | Real Wedding Feature

Lara & Nick ~ July 12, 2014

We like to think of Lara and Nick’s meeting as a bright silver lining on a very dark cloud: The couple first encountered one another in July 2011 in Fort Payne, Ala., where both were volunteers assisting in tornado relief efforts. Their long-distance relationship—he was in North Carolina, she lived in Houston—blossomed, and in 2012, Nick moved to Houston. With its cornflower-and-peach color scheme and steak-and-lobster menu, the pair’s summer wedding was true Houston classic. The gracious bride adds, “It was also Nick’s brother-in-law’s (he was Nick’s best man) birthday, so after his speech we gave him a cheesecake and sang him, ‘Happy Birthday.’ It was pretty cool to see all 150 people join in and celebrate.”

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Photos: Sarah Ainsworth Photography ~ Wedding Dress & Accessories: La Rêve Bridal Couture ~ M.O.B. Dress: T. Carolyn Fashions ~ Groomswear: Al’s Formal Wear ~ Flowers: Dream Bouquet ~ Cake: Who Made The Cake! ~ Invitations: Katie & Co. ~ Lighting, Entertainment, Photo Booth: LG Entertainment ~ Registry: Williams-Sonoma ~ Honeymoon: Ireland

Red, Gold & Black Wedding at Hotel ZaZa by Select Studios

WEDDINGS IN HOUSTON FALL 2014 | REAL WEDDING FEATURE

Brittany and Ryan ~ November 23, 2013

“I’d never given much thought to the idea of ‘love at first sight’—until the moment it happened to me,” says Brittany. The bride first locked eyes with her hubby-to-be at a country-music festival in Steamboat Springs, Colo.—an instant that, she says, “felt like a movie” and changed her life. Eleven months into their long-distance relationship (he was in Austin, she in Houston), Ryan proposed aboard a gondola at Las Vegas’ Venetian Hotel. The couple’s Catholic ceremony was intimate and spiritual; their red-gold-and-black Hotel ZaZa reception was all about fun. “Since our love story began at a music festival,” Brittany says, dancing ruled the day—the highlight of a celebration “designed to include all of our guests; we wanted them to feel how much we loved them.”

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Names: Brittany Tiner & Ryan Deck ~ Number of Guests: 300 ~ Venue: Hotel Zaza ~ Invitations: Katie & Co. ~ Flowers & Decor: Darryl & Co. ~ Cake: Who Made the Cake ~ His & Hers Signature Cocktails: Whiskey Press; Dirty Martini ~ Wedding Dress: Ines Di Santo from Ivory Bridal Atelier ~ Jewelry: Zadok Jewelers ~ Photography: Select Studios ~ Registry: Bering’s; Williams-Sonoma ~ Honeymoon: Dominican Republic   

Plum and Lavender Wedding at La Colombe d’Or by Joshua Tyi Photography

WEDDINGS IN HOUSTON FALL 2014 | REAL WEDDING FEATURE

Lana and Bojan ~ February 1, 2014

Sometimes it takes a wedding to inspire a wedding. Take the case of Houston lovebirds Lana and Bojan, who traveled to New Mexico for a friend’s nuptials. “The day before the wedding, Bojan surprised me by renting a car and taking me sightseeing through gorgeous forests and snow-covered slopes,” Lana recounts. On the way back to their hotel, Bojan stopped, got out of the car, and told Lana to close her eyes. “When I opened them, he was standing next to a snowman. He asked me to look inside the snowman, and when I did, I found the engagement ring. Truly one of the happiest days of my life,” the bride says. Another happy day? The day of the couple’s magnificent La Colombe d’Or wedding, of course.

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Names: Lana Ljuboja & Bojan Muranovic ~ Number of Guests: 190 ~ Venue: La Colombe d’Or ~ Invitations: Katie & Co. ~ Lighting: Bright Star Productions ~ Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero From Weddings by Debbie ~ Groomswear: Al’s Formal Wear ~ Photography: Joshua Tyi Photography ~ Registry: Williams-Sonoma ~ Transportation: Sam’s Limousine ~ Honeymoon: St. Lucia