Accessories
Casey the Bride: Hair piece by
Donna Crain - by this time we were going for a more Robin Hood in the English woods style, so I thought something more organic would be a nice match with the dress.
Necklace and bracelet were heirlooms my mother lent me, along with her locket with my grandmother's photo in it.
Stuart Weisman shoes - I (Cassie) love rose gold and chose these mostly for comfort, since no one was going to see them. I also wanted shoes that weren't too fancy to wear in my day to day life, nothing makes a day happy like walking around in your wedding shoes. This is the only part of my wedding day look Ruben saw beforehand and he thought they were too shiny, he had the grace (or good sense?) to admit on the day that he was wrong and they were perfect.
Rings
Custom designed by an absolute gem of a human that lives just being just down the street from us in Austin: Dean Fredrick. I (Ruben) interviewed many local jewellers secretly on a trip here before we were engaged. He was the one I felt understand my ideas the best. The matching twine detailing on the rings was a nod to the Disney's Robin Hood themed proposal I had planned.
Venue
Northbrook Park - found by the maid of honor, we were looking for something that had an English garden feeling and wouldn't require too much additional detail. Since there were about 50 Americans coming over, we had also wanted somewhere with easy access from London, but that still retained a truly rural feel. The light filled, brick paved orangery and the accompanying flock of peacocks were the deciding factor.
Catering
White Truffle Events - the in house caterer at the venue. Since we were planning the wedding from abroad we wanted to keep things as simple as possible, so going with caterers that knew the venue implicitly seemed a good choice. Once we had a chance to peruse their exquisite menu, it was a deal breaker. They offered a great amount of customisability too, to find the perfect selection of dishes for some picky eaters.
Florist
Owen Lavin at
Little Lillies. Setting out to find a florist that disliked cut flowers as much as Ruben seemed like a daunting task. We found one. Owen's extensive use of more unusual plants, sandblasted drift wood and minimalist but striking use of flowers perfectly fit the vision we had which drew in elements of the sea (for the groom) in the sandblasted wood and mossy plants, and touches of Texas (for the bride) in the succulents and air plants. Knowing the Bride's obsession with all things Disney, he even went the extra mile to include some '
hidden Mickey's' throughout the table decorations. Also, once we found out he had custom designed a "champagne tree", how could we choose anyone else?
Make Up
Sarah Thorne at
Thorne Brides - found on Instagram, I was looking for someone who did very natural, light make up because I don't really wear make up on a daily basis, wanted to me sure Ruben recognized me.
Dress
Hailey Paige - I originally tried the dress on because it looked too 'Disney' to be real and thought it would be fun while I was with my sister and my mom, as soon as I put it on I knew that was the one, I'm still surprised I went with something so overstated, but I absolutely adored it and have never seen a wedding dress like it.
Suits
Ruben the Groom: Searching around London for suits for myself and the groomsmen, I had struggled to find the right combination of sharp and rustic.
Ted Baker had the perfect thick weave, tailored cut suit, that almost had a tweedy feel to it. The internal detailing and attention to detail on all their suits had always drawn me to them in the past. Although not initially intending too, I ended up sourcing the ties, pocket squares and the groom's shoes all from their too. When buying in bulk for a wedding party, the discount they offered was unbeatable for the quality.
MIkimoto pearl tie pin was a gift from the bride's mum to the groom.
Music
Casey the Bride: From first contact I knew
Damien at Red Wall Events was the right organiser for this part of our wedding. We originally spoke looking for a guitar/cello duo to play some light music during the reception. A short phone call later, and we had booked the duo for the ceremony too, a 5-piece band for the evening's entertainment and a small DJ set by him as well. His extensive experience made me (Ruben) feel totally at ease. They custom arranged a beautiful rendition of "So this is Love' from Cinderella for Cassie to walk down the aisle too.