Shades of blue and butterfly details galore at this Austin wedding

Shelby and Reed's wedding day at THE ARLO just outside of Austin, Texas looked as if cloud nine had literally come to life; hues of blue and butterfly details were laced throughout the space! The bride herself hand wrote each placename for the head table and MICHELLE'S PATISSERIE hand crafted tiny fondant butterflies to intertwine with the delicate flowers that covered the cake! There was not a dry eye in the venue when she emerged in her iconic RITA VINIERIS gown! The bride and groom opted for a first look in which they read their personal vows to each other, and in that sweet moment the bride surprised her groom with custom cufflinks engraved with a portrait in memory of his dog.

Captured by Dallas wedding photographer SARAH BLAZE, the outdoor ceremony was framed by white floral arrangements by FLORISH DESIGNS and grand trees. The couple were showered in white petals after they said their I Dos! The newlyweds took a moment alone after the ceremony to pop some champagne and toast to their future with a champagne tower. They fluttered into the reception where they listened to sweet speeches before they danced the night away. The couple then had their grand exit under a million sparklers and were swept away in a baby blue classic convertible!

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR WEDDING STYLE? My dream wedding vision that I described to my friends, family and vendors was “end of summer, backyard Hamptons garden party soiree.” I wanted it to feel modern, romantic, elegant, and timeless, but also feminine and a little whimsical with special details that felt unique to us – including a few Texas twists. Vibrant greens and textural whites with pops of soft powder blue was our color scheme. Reed and I spent a summer interning on Cape Cod which has become a special place for us. It was so fun to bring this into the inspiration for our day.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS LOCATION? Reed and I knew very early on that we wanted to get married in Austin. I grew up going on family vacations to the Hill Country, and Reed and I have taken so many weekend trips to Austin and made so many memories there. And we were excited to show our out of state friends Austin! I had seen The Arlo on Instagram before we were engaged and it became my dream wedding venue. We took a weekend trip to Austin to look at venues, but when we saw The Arlo in person, we knew it was the perfect place! It felt like it could be a Hamptons house in the middle of the Hill Country with beautiful views. I fell in love with the outdoor ceremony space, the fireplace, the courtyard- and of course the bridal suite and groom’s cottage- and we could easily envision our day and saying our vows here!

HOW DID YOU MEET? Reed and I had been dating for nine years when we got married! We met in our senior year of high school. Reed sent me a message on MyZou, a group for incoming freshmen at the University of Missouri. We bonded over both being from DFW, sports, going to Mizzou and being interested in Journalism. We started texting, and a few weeks later Mizzou was playing in the Cotton Bowl in ATT Stadium. We were both going to the game with our own friends, and decided we should meet in person. We met up at the game, Mizzou won, and we started dating shortly after. We went to each other’s proms, dated all through college, and moved back to DFW together. 9 years later, both of those friends attended our wedding, and a few months after our wedding, Mizzou was back in the Cotton Bowl at ATT stadium. And Reed and I got to go to that game as husband and wife where we first met! (And yes, Mizzou won again)

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: In May of 2022, Reed and I went on a trip to Seaside, Florida with both of our families. We stayed in a house together right on the beach for a week. After our first full day of the trip, we were planning to take family photos on the beach and then go to dinner. Once I finished getting ready, Reed called me and said I should come down to the beach. I immediately knew what was about to happen. Our house had a walkway down to the sand, so I went first while all of our family followed. Reed met me at the bottom of the steps (as I am balling like a baby) and took my hand and walked me towards a table by the water that had champagne and blue hydrangeas set up. That’s where he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. We popped champagne and toasted with the same champagne glasses his parents toasted with at their wedding. Our parents and sisters joined us on the beach for photos, and we celebrated the night with a beach bonfire. It was perfect!

TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS/ATTIRE: I went into wedding dress shopping wanting a clean, a-line or ball gown, with a big bow in the back. This was the first dress I tried on, and it was beautiful! But at the end of my first appointment, I went back and pulled a floral applique A-Line RITA VINIERIS dress that caught my eye and it blew me away! I tried on a veil and I didn’t want to ever take it off. But I knew I wanted to visit a few more appointments before making a decision. I visited several stores in DFW and Houston, and tried on my dress at three different appointments, but kept coming back to this dress in my mind. It had everything I wanted, beautiful floral appliques, long train, a deep sweetheart neckline, and pearl buttons on the back. It was soft, romantic and elegant. I visited James at ICONIC BRIDE and I can only describe him as my wedding dress fairy godmother. They went above and beyond to make the experience special and took care of us every step of the way. (And I did still get to have my bow bridal moment at my rehearsal dinner!)

DID YOU HAVE ANY DIY ELEMENTS? I started learning calligraphy shortly after getting engaged. I ordered butterfly shaped place cards to use on our head table, and hand wrote our guests names on them. My sweet dad also made our wedding bars and our welcome sign!

DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: I was inspired by textural whites and vibrant greens that felt classic and timeless, but romantic and feminine. Our moms carried white tulip bouquets which I was obsessed with and loved the clean, spring look. The men wore single white rose boutonnieres. The outdoor fireplace was a focal point for our ceremony, and one of my favorite spots at our venue. We had a beautiful white floral mantle with cascading smilax greenery. After the ceremony, we brought these inside and added to our DJ set up. We had romantic white petals scattered down the aisle, with a petal toss as we walked back as husband and wife. Inside the reception, we had greenery wrapped chandeliers in the ballroom. I wanted the dinner tables to feel intimate, they
were mixed with crystal vase floral arrangements, various bud vases, and taper candles.
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: A special detail for us throughout the wedding was the symbol of butterflies. Reed’s family dog, Finley, passed away the February before our wedding. He was our best friend and going to be our ring bearer. In the days after he passed, I kept seeing butterflies in our yard and it felt like him comforting us. I knew I wanted to incorporate butterflies throughout our wedding to honor and have him with us, and it also fit perfectly within our theme. Ross Paper company created our custom wedding monogram and all stationary which include butterflies. Our cake had cascading flowers and butterflies. Our head table place cards were in the shape of butterflies. And my wedding day gift to Reed was cufflinks with Finley’s face engraved on them.

I was also obsessed with all of the paper goods from ROSS PAPER COMPANY who designed our invitation suites and day-of signage! Their hand drawn illustrations were beautiful and I loved incorporating our monogram in multiple ways throughout the day. (Custom cornhole boards for the grooms cottage and courtyard, in our invitations and signage, custom cups and embossed napkins, and welcome boxes).

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? You hear people say it, but it goes by so fast! Enjoy every moment of the engagement season and together on your wedding day. One thing I would recommend to anyone, hire your photographer and videographer to come to your rehearsal dinner to capture those moments if you can!

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? Our most memorable moment was our first look. This is where we read the vows we wrote for each other just the two of us and it was so special. I loved that we got to have those moments together before walking down the aisle, and share our personal vows just for us.

WHAT ASPECT OF THE WEDDING WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU BOTH? We loved having all of our friends and family come together in one place. After 9 years together, we felt so loved that we had so many people from every stage of our lives together that traveled from all over the US. We wanted it to feel like a big celebration, and we loved getting to dance all night long!

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR HONEYMOON: For our honeymoon, we went to Grand Cayman. We stayed in a bungalow at the Kimpton Seafire Resort, which was beautiful! Our favorite memories were going on a boat to swim with the stingrays, see the starfish, and snorkeling. We also loved jet skiing nearly everyday. And we went on a sunset dinner cruise our last night there which had incredible views! It was so nice to spend a week together relaxing and exploring.

A huge thank you to Dallas wedding photographer SARAH BLAZE for sharing this beautiful wedding with us. She speacializes in romantic, true to color imagery with a vibrant glow. Sarah takes pride in getting to know her clients and the people most important to them on their wedding day. She focuses on putting her clients at ease, which is reflected in the candid photos of the special, authentic moments she captures. Though she’s Dallas based, she frequently travels for her clients. You can see more of her portfolio here.