What better way to follow a New Years Eve wedding than spending New Years Day at Barr Mansion! Pierce and Blake have a great story and Pierce has graced us today with being the guest blogger to tell us all about it. You can find that right after the pictures, enjoy!
Blake and I met in 2011 during our junior year of college while he was attending West Point and I was finishing up my biology degree at Texas Christian University (Go Frogs!). My twin sister, Megan, who was one of Blake’s closest friends at the academy, thought that we would make a perfect match and decided to set us up (thanks, sis!). We met one snowy weekend in January during a West Point military ball and, like they say, the rest was history! We dated long-distance for 3 years and then decided to move to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where I would attend Methodist University Physician Assistant Program and Blake would start his military career as a 2nd Lieutenant Infantry Officer at Fort Bragg.
A few months after we moved to North Carolina in 2014, Blake and I decided to take a trip to Napa, California. Little did I know what was in store for me in the wine country. Blake had planned a secret proposal at my favorite winery, Delectus, and invited my family and closest friends to watch him pop the question. It was by far the biggest surprise of my life!
After the engagement, Blake and I knew that we wanted to get married in Texas, and since Austin was so close to my hometown of La Grange, we decided it would be the perfect place to start our journey together. We set a date for January 1, 2016, knowing that we could not ask for a better way to start out the New Year!
Blake and I started looking for a venue that encompassed everything we wanted for our wedding: great food, beautiful scenery, and an amazing place to party! After visiting a few venues in Austin, we discovered Barr Mansion and knew right away that it was the perfect venue for us. The best part was that we didn’t need to endure the hassle of booking multiple vendors; Barr Mansion did everything! They prepared the food, most of which is sourced from their on-premises gardens, offered a variety of décor options, and also supplied a day-of-coordinator. All of the big planning decisions were already done!
The only thing left to do was to find the right photographer. After researching several options in the Austin area, we discovered Mike Reed and knew he was the man we wanted to capture the special moments of our wedding day. His pictures were just so fun and vibrant and really captured the carefree, party vibe we were looking for. We also decided to hire Rosehip Flora to take care of our flowers and décor. Erin was so wonderful during the planning process and brought the image I had in my mind of our wedding day to life. ILIOS lighting provided up-lighting and festoon lights in the ballroom, which gave a soft, candle-lit feel to the entire space.
In order to achieve the party atmosphere that we wanted, Blake and I knew we needed great live music. After researching several bands, we decided to hire the Royal Dukes Band and are so happy that we did! The band played at the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception and we could not have asked for a more vivacious or upbeat group of guys. They really brought the party to life!
Our wedding day went off without a hitch thanks to our day of coordinator from Barr Mansion, Shanna. She made our evening run so effortlessly that Blake and I were truly able to enjoy every moment of the wedding. I can say without a doubt that our wedding was everything that we dreamed it would be and more. We were so blessed to be able to share that perfect day with all of our family and friends. It was the best start to the New Year and a new life together!