Whimsical Vineyard Celebration | Austin, Texas | EPOCH CO+ Events

Real WeddingAustin WeddingTexas WeddingEventsBohoHeather AlanaPaige Auburn

Dec 13

Sometimes things don't always go as planned, and having a planner who you trust to translate your vision can take a stressful situation and turn it into the beautiful celebration you have been hoping for the entire time. This was exactly the case with our client Mindy. She had experienced one thing after another the months leading up to her wedding {Hurricane Harvey, anyone?} With the now daunting task of rebuilding her home, finishing the event planning process was the furthest from her mind. EPOCH was hired 2 months before her event to streamline 6 months worth of work.

I quickly got to know Mindy and her kind, beautiful soul. I loved her vision, and she was everything a dream client could be. She was thoughtful, she wasn't traditional, she wanted the unconventional details and items that were unique to her personality and vision. She wanted to be true to herself. {What a breath of fresh air!} Together, we quickly secured the best vendors in Austin, Texas. She had no interest in a traditional tiered white cake - her favorite was pie. Apple pie to be exact. Who better to serve pies than Tiny Pies?? We had them create a 3 tier pie "cake" with 25 tiny-grab-n-go-pies for guests to enjoy. Her partner Jeremy, his favorite was cheesecake, so Mindy wanted to find someone brave enough to do a tiered cheesecake. Feathers and Frosting NAILED the tiered cheesecake, with mini-cheesecake bites and organic strawberry toppings.

Food for the guests? Brunch and breakfast are the favorite food of the guests of honor. (MINE TOO!) So when brunch, mimosas and bloody mary's were mentioned, I immediately knew Peached Tortilla was who we should reach out to. Their brunch stations added a great element to the event - guests were able to hop from station to station, streamlining the serving process in lieu of one long buffet line. The french toast station was by far the best and favorite of the evening...but let's not kid ourselves, everything was fantastic!!

Bar was secured by Peached Tortilla, too. They easily served up mimoas, bloody mary's and a few beer options for guests. They created a lovely display for guests to customize their beverage of choice and had incredibly friendly staff.

The decor was brought together using a few inspiration images Mindy sent to us in the initial design stages. One thing was clear, she loved the whimsical, boho decor - heavy with moss and dreamcatchers, emphasizing green and white with pops of subtle blush pink for a feminine touch. After chatting with Urban Rubbish we took the moss inspiration and used it in various areas, using heavy greenery and blushing bride protea for the perfect infusion of subtle pink Mindy requested. Each table had a focal cloche with moss and bud vase. On long tables, cloches were flanked by eclectic clear bottles filled with various white floral elements and textured greens. We added the occasional emerald green bud vase. Stacks of books with cascading moss allowed for us to incorporate varying heights into the decor and create another visual element in the design.

To keep everyone entertained Mindy requested some special vendors that we strategically placed around the venue to provide multiple conversation areas to keep with the mix and mingle vibe she hoped for. This included two caricaturists, cocktail area lounge, cigar bar lounge and Vannagram Photo Bus. The decor was a mixture of rentals from Vestige Event Rentals and personal touches from Mindy's home.

Vannagram provided endless entertainment with their festive props and welcoming personalities. The cigar bar lounge provided a great over-flow area for guests to lounge and wait for their turn.

The caricaturists were a blast to interact with - they even provided black and white options for the kids, who eagerly colored their own faces.

Mindy, a few of her sisters and friends all wanted to have their hair and makeup done for the event. Mindy's original hair and makeup artist cancelled the day of the event, so thanks to my sweet friend with Blushd Beauty Texas, we were able to quickly remedy the situation. The ladies all looked stellar. I have to say, Mindy's silver hair and her sister's mermaid hair were my definite favorites!

One of Mindy's final wish for the evening was to light paper lanterns.When she initially mentioned these I thought, "Sure, sounds simple enough. Let's do it!"

After getting permission from the venue, we planned the lanterns to be released at the end of the evening, a way to represent a new beginning in life for Mindy. We all decided to do a private test run before inviting all the guests to join in. BOY! AM I GLAD WE DID! I started to hysterically laugh looking back at these pictures, remembering the unpredictable craziness that ensued.

The wind had picked up later in the evening - this made not only lighting the lantern tricky (those suckers are not easy to get lit!), but it made stabilizing it for the heat to fill the lantern hard without burning a hole into the edge of the lantern...or your hand. Determined to get at least *one* in the air for photos, we all took turns trying to light it, holding it upright without burning ourselves, blocking wind and jumping out of the way for pictures before immediately trying to stabilize it again. Jeremy and Mindy finally were able to get one stabilized enough for pictures and release. My assistant, Paige, and myself started to get a second one going that would hopefully fill with heat and have less burn holes in the sides that we could pass off to Mindy for better images. Mindy's sister, Kara, hops over and we pass it off to her and Mindy. We finally get it stabilized enough to take off, THEN the wind decides to hop in and mess up the perfect heat bubble they created for lift off. It takes a quick tumble in the air before repeatedly alternating between hopping on the ground and teasing us into thinking it's going to lift off again. Kara takes off without hesitation in attempts to rescue it. There are only 3 scenarios I see playing in my head at this point A) Something catching fire B) Kara tumbling down this dark abyss of a hill in her beautiful dress C) Kara tumbling down into the river or pond that is somewhere at the base of that dark abyss....none of these have a great ending.

Quickly after Kara takes off after the rogue lantern, one of Kara's friends and Mindy take off after Kara in attempts to help her catch this unruly lantern. They finally catch it at the base of the hill, just before hitting water and the tree line. They take turns helping it regain structure and heat, fighting the wind from ripping it out of their hands and holes burning into the sides...Finally, Mindy and Kara get it to successfully launch off.

Needless to say, we were all in tears from laughing so hard.

This is where hiring a talented photographer comes in handy...here are the beautiful photos Misty was able to capture amidst the chaos.

Overall, it was a beautiful evening, full of supportive friends and family helping Mindy navigate and celebrate this next phase in life. We couldn't be more honored to play a small part in this wonderful adventure, and look forward to many more adventures with Mindy in the future - professionally and personally.

Cheers!

Heather Alana

Want to see more? View the gallery HERE

Planning & Design // EPOCH CO+ EVENTS // Floral // Urban Rubbish // Venue // The Vineyards at Chappel Lodge // Photography // Misty McLendon Photography // Caricaturist // Caricatures by JJ // Catering & Bar // Peached Tortilla