Hill Country Ranch Wedding

Hill Country Ranch Wedding

Miller Squared

Tell us about your wedding!

"We looked to Louisiana to inspire the fun, festive feel we wanted our wedding to have. We toned down Mardi Gras' color palette of purple, gold, and green to plum, gold, and sage to make it more fitting for early fall. Robert hails from Baton Rouge and I from the Gulf Coast of Texas, so settling on Cajun-inspired cuisine was a no-brainer for us: bacon-wrapped shrimp, tilapia with crawfish sauce, and southern green beans and cornbread were among some of our down-home delicacies. Continuing the color scheme, my wonderful friend Ande McBay of All the Best Catering created a lavender cake with blackberry filling, adorned with golden constellations mirroring our invitations. The other big inspiration for our wedding was our mutual nerdiness. Our officiant Sara, a college friend, called marrying two fellow neuroscience majors her greatest act as a neuroscientist! The unity ceremony had us build a LEGO set together that doubled as our cake topper. Test tubes displayed our color scheme, and scientific glassware centerpieces held fresh flowers in precisely 800mL of water."

How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?

Part of the reasoning for picking the CW Hill Country Ranch as our venue was that it is absolutely gorgeous as-is. The scenic hill country backdrop, the "rustic meets elegance" barn interior, and the sweet country touches here and there took our decor a long way. Borrowing an idea from Robert's cousin's wedding, we opted for cream and gold ribbon wands for guests to cheer us down the aisle and out of the reception, rather than messy confetti or bubbles. We tucked them into the side of each chair at the ceremony, creating a festive scene for our arriving guests as the ribbons gently glimmered in the breeze. They doubled as a bonus favor, too!Our biggest DIY project was our table centerpieces--my mom, her friend Kelley, and I constructed wood slice bases on risers with battery-powered lights hot-glued to the bottom. The elevated bases and underlighting created a floating effect that, when finished off with gold mercury glass tealights and scientific flasks, created a unique and magical ambiance.Not to be outdone, my sister and matron-of-honor Ashley added custom plum-and-gold table numbers, each with a unique floral design. She also transformed an illuminated box from a craft store into a ring box for her adorable son to carry down the aisle. In a stroke of genius, she created a heartbeat logo on the front with an electrical signal in the shape of an M, a nod to our medical professions. This logo also appeared on our homemade programs and was echoed in the lining of our cake.Finally, we assembled our wedding favors, which consisted of Jordan almonds and golden Sixlets in apothecary bottles. My sweet and thoughtful mom had a rubber stamp of our address made, so we stamped that on a tag and affixed it to the bottles with gold tulle. Our guests not only had a sweet treat to enjoy, but a handy card to add to their address books!

How did you both choose your wedding day look?

My first thought was to wear my mother's wedding dress, which was also her mother's wedding dress, but the aged silk was too delicate. Instead, Mom and I headed to I Do the Dress I Do boutique in San Antonio, where Lisa helped us find a beautiful vintage silk gown by Watters. The creamy eggshell color and lace matching the lace in my mother's gown helped capture the classic look I was going for. My Mom personally embellished the lace with crystals and pearls, adding subtle richness and tying in the crystal-and-pearl-lined veil. I started accessorizing with a glittery golden shoe by Naturalizer for a rewearable option with a comfortable, low heel. I borrowed a gold and pearl bracelet from my sister and found some faux gold, crystal, and pearl earrings and hair accessories on Amazon.com. The gold locket I wore was worn by my mother at her wedding, and her mother at her wedding, allowing me to continue a family tradition! Finally, my wedding band was my great-grandmother's, inscribed with her and her husband's initials and their wedding date of October, 1919.Robert's look was much simpler: a three-piece suit in bone from JCPenney with a sweet green and white floral tie and brown leather wingtips. He even snuck in some fun pineapple socks! His simple white gold wedding band is from Costco.

How did you meet?

Robert and I met as undergraduates at The University of Texas at Dallas--we both majored in neuroscience. For years we were study buddies, then friends, and eventually very close friends. He confessed his feelings for me by renting a Hello Kitty bounce castle for my going-away party when I got a job in San Antonio. It was spontaneous, fun, and a huge hit at the party! That's how we kicked off five years of long-distance dating. Robert initially wanted propose on a weekend getaway to New Orleans, but the stars didn't align. Instead, after making a gourmet dinner together and watching a movie for a nice quiet evening at home, Robert made a simple but heartfelt proposal. After being long-distance for so long, getting engaged at home was symbolic of our grounded and committed relationship.