How special would it be to have your Papa officiate your wedding and use the same vows that he used with your ééòGrammy’ back in 1959? Incredibly special I would say ééò not to mention emotional! This beautiful Tulsa wedding captured by WATSON & PAYNE had a subtle bohemian and whimsical vibe, which resulted in a fairytale like wedding for the couple. After visiting VIVE LE RANCH they fell in love with the rolling landscapes and vintage French style barn so it was easy to envision the wedding of their dreams there. Gorgeous bride Ava tells us a bit about their day.
HOW DID YOU MEET? Bruno and I met at a blood drive at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, we both were going to school there. He is from Brazil and was playing soccer for OKWU, and I was studying graphic design. It was a huge fear of mine to give blood and I wanted to conquer that fear, and Bruno gives blood frequently. We got to talking in the waiting area because I was really nervous to give blood and he did a great job of calming me down. At the end of the day, neither of us ended up giving blood because I was dehydrated and he had recently been out of the country! We saw each other again on campus the next day and the rest is history.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: Watson and Payne Photography reached out to us to model as a couple in a styled photoshoot of theirs. Little did I know Bruno contacted them after they reached out to us and asked them if it was okay if he proposed at the end of the shoot. Amber and Leah of course agreed, and during the last few frames of the shoot, I turned around and Bruno was on one knee! I was so surprised, and of course I said yes. Amber and Leah were so thrilled to be there to capture the moment, and we asked them to continue their involvement in our love story and be our wedding photographers.
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: I had been to a few wedding boutiques with my family and bridesmaids, and didn’t have any luck. Then, one day, I was shopping with my Grammy and we stumbled upon Bridal Elegance in Tulsa. We went in just for fun and started looking at their selection. I fell in love with a form fitting, long sleeve lace overlay dress (a completely different style that I had originally thought I wanted). I immediately called my mom and she met us there and agreed that it was the one! I ordered it right away and it came in a few months later. I love that dress.
ANY DIY ELEMENTS? I am an artist so I love to DIY. I also have the curse of expensive taste, so to accommodate that with our budget, I found wedding elements I loved from BHLDN and other wedding sites and created them myself. I loved BHLDN’s “Mr. & Mrs.” chair banners, so I found some mauve pink curtains at the thrift store that matched our color scheme and hand sowed and painted them to replicate theirs. Also, the dishes that were used are all vintage china that I had collected at thrift stores over this past year for the wedding. This saved some money on renting plates, gave the wedding tables a unique eclectic look, and left us plenty of pretty plates for our new home. I also collected most of the gold and brass candle holders and vases from thrift stores for the tables.
My mom also helped me with creating for the wedding. The beautiful arch that was used during our ceremony was created by her and her fianc with small trees and branchesthey found on their acreage. The morning of the wedding, my mom arranged greenery and white flowers she collected from her acreage onto the arch. For the dessert table, my mom made our wedding cake from an old family recipe; it was so special. I also wanted both sides of the family to bring their favourite desserts as a way to show our combining cultures. Bruno’s family made their favourite Brazilian desserts, and my family made their favourite American desserts. The dessert table included deserts like Toll House Pie, Buttermilk Pie, Pecan Pie, and Brazilian Passion Fruit Mouse. The wood pieces that held up each dessert were cut from trees from my mom’s acreage.
For my bridesmaids, I collected 9 vintage white handkerchiefs and embroidered “No ugly crying” on the edge for them to carry to blot their tears during the ceremony. For our grand exit, with the help of Bruno’s family, we made 150 gold sparkly ribbon wands out of wooden rods and sparkly ribbons that our guests waved was we exited.
DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: Our floral was done by Ever Something. I fell in love with their floral on the day of the engagement photo shoot. They contributed to the floral and styling of the shoot that Bruno and I got engaged. Their floral style is so effortless and natural, I knew I wanted to use them for our floral. We also had Ever Something do our event planning and styling. I really gave them free reign with the floral design, I viewed all of their work and loved it all. I told them we wanted whites, pinks, and burgundy with pretty greenery and they did the rest!
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: I just asked Bruno what his favourite detail of the wedding day was and he said “you!”. Haha if I had to pick one detail I would say the fact that I carried my Grammy’s handkerchief down the aisle. This is the same handkerchief she carried down the aisle at her wedding, and then my mother carried it down the aisle and her wedding also. I was honoured to continue that tradition with my wedding.
MOST MEMORABLE NIGHT? I think the most memorable moment of the day was when Bruno and I were taking our vows, we both messed up on the same exact part. It was so funny, we laughed.
Photographer WATSON & PAYNE / Planner & stylist EVER SOMETHING / Videographer TWO PLANET PRODUCTIONS / Cake BRIDE’S MOTHER / Florist EVER SOMETHING / Stationery WEDDING PAPER DIVAS / Venue VIVE LE RANCH / Dress Designer MAGGIE SOTTERO / Shoes DILLARDS / Jewellery J DAVID JEWELRY / Hair STERLING SALON TULSA / Bridesmaids make-up MAKEUP BY MAGGIE COTTINGIM / Bridesmaids’ dresses RENT THE RUNWAY + DAVIDS BRIDAL / Groom’s attire CALVIN KLEIN / Caterer MCNELLIES GROUP
