Guenther House Wedding

It felt like spring for Natalie and Austin on their wedding day this past weekend. Their Guenther House wedding began with a ceremony at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens underneath the Wisteria Arbor. Though just a few weeks ago, the garden was quite frankly dead to the naked eye, it had sprung back to life and was ablaze with color just in time to see the couple walk down the aisle. In today’s blog post, I’ll give you all the details of their DIY nuptials. From a do-it-yourself doughnut wall to a bar, overflowing with espresso martinis, this post will make you into a morning person.

Meet Natalie and Austin

At this point, you should know Natalie and Austin quite well. I photographed their engagement shoot in downtown Boerne, as well as Natalie’s bridal portrait session at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.

Just to refresh your memory, the couple met through friends of Natalie’s ex-boyfriend three years ago. The proposal took place in epic fashion on Coronado Beach in San Diego.

A Very DIY Wedding

Let me start off by saying that Natalie and Austin’s wedding is a completely DIY affair. Austin’s mother, Bonnie, served as coordinator for the event. With the exception of myself and the makeup artist, there were no other outside vendors for the wedding. Every other vendor – from the officiant to the DJ – was handled ‘in house.’

San Antonio Botanical Garden Getting Ready Bridal Suites

The day began at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens for the wedding ceremony. I was the first person on site, and I took great pleasure in seeing the gardens wake up. From the gardeners watering the plants, to the leaves being taken off the front lawn, it was intriguing to see what goes on behind the scenes at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. Did you know that they remove the leaves from the front lawn for weddings? I don’t know why this was so fascinating to me. Even more fascinating is how quiet these machines are. (No, they are not lawn mowers, but basically lawn vacuum cleaners.)

To me, the ‘getting ready’ photos always predict how well the wedding photos will go for the day, and Austin and Natalie’s getting ready photos were both intimate and fun. Austin got ready with his father in the catering suite. He shared some sweet moments with his dad and had fun putting on his Dungeons and Dragons-themed socks. Later, his mother put his boutonniere on for him.

Meanwhile, Natalie and her gaggle of girls got ready in the much larger bridal suite. Bonnie and her sister assembled her gorgeous bouquet by hand. The bouquet truly turned out to be a stunning work of art. Her mother put on her veil for her, while her sister zipped her into her dress. There were some wonderful last moments, especially right at the end just before she walked down the aisle. You can tell that this wedding truly united both Natalie and Austin’s families into one cohesive unit.

San Antonio Botanical Garden First Look

Since the Wisteria Arbor was such a momentous location for the ceremony, it only seemed fitting that this should be the site for Natalie and Austin’s first look. I had Austin face the rose garden and Natalie descend the stairs to tap him on the shoulder. The mothers, of course, could not be far away and they watched just underneath the arbor.

After Natalie and Austin had there epic moment right in front of the Wisteria Arbor, they presented the mothers with gifts of gold bracelets. These bracelets were to signify the couple’s thanks for all that their mothers had done to bring about this wonderful day for them.

San Antonio Botanical Gardens Bride and Groom Portraits

I had about 30 minutes for bride and groom portraits, so there was no time to venture very far into the gardens. I chose to stay in the old-fashioned gardens area since this was where the most colorful flowers were located. Austin and Natalie walked the aisles in between the cute little snapdragons, and were game to allow me to pop underneath the veil with them.

Family Portraits at the Betty Kelso Center

Thanks to the horrible weather we have been having in San Antonio, I had my final venue check at the San Antonio Botanical Garden one day before the wedding. Unfortunately, I found that the early morning hours in the gardens had dappled light just about everywhere. The one area that was not affected was the back patio of the Betty Kelso Center. Thankfully, we had access to this patio, and I used this area for the family portraits.

While the family portraits went very smoothly, this little one was a bit unhappy when she was held by Uncle Austin. Fear not, her smile quickly returned when she was back in the arms of her mama.

Doughnuts and Coffee on the San Antonio Botanical Garden Lawn

During the 30 minutes that we spent taking family photos, guests were treated to coffee and doughnuts on the main lawn in front of the Wisteria Arbor. Natalie and Austin had built a doughnut wall. The wall was strung with Krispy Kreme doughnuts of varying flavors. The garden staff served coffee provided by the couple. It was the perfect morning wake up call for an early wedding ceremony.

San Antonio Botanical Gardens Wedding Ceremony

When the time finally came, Natalie and Austin could not have been more ready for their dramatic walk across the lawn. Austin and his mother shared a poignant last moment during their walk. When he reached the arbor, Austin then got to see his bride walk with her parents as she approached. I’ll note that Austin’s father served as the officiant.

The ceremony was touching and included both a ring-warming ritual and a handfasting ceremony. While the lighting inside the Wisteria Arbor is a bit tricky due to the fact that the arbor is quite dark inside and very bright outside, the photos still turned out lovely.

There was so much joy afterwards, and luckily the weather was warm enough for everyone to relish the lawn a bit before leaving for the Guenther House. With a guest count of only 38, I made sure to take a large group photo before we all headed off to the reception.

Guenther House Wedding Reception

The Guenther House was the sight of yet more photos of the couple, plus a grand brunch reception. Bonnie and her coterie of friends helped decorate the room with precious centerpieces and hand-rolled napkins. The menu for the day was a delicious full breakfast. The wedding cake was pull apart cinnamon rolls. Topping off the menu was a very popular beverage bar serving all different sorts of mimosas and espresso martinis.

For their guest book, the couple had guests sign a handmade, wooden plaque. Finally, instead of cards or gifts, the couple requested that guests simply make donations to their New York City honeymoon fund. While there was no special dances or cake cutting, there were two emotional speeches by the sister of the bride and the bride’s mother.

Everyone had a great time, and as Natalie and Austin’s photos prove, you can absolutely achieve an elegant, sophisticated DIY wedding within budget.

Enjoy the images, and I will have more photo adventurous for you next week!

Vendors

Wedding ceremony venue: San Antonio Botanical Gardens
Wedding reception venue: Guenther House
Caterer and wedding cake: Guenther House
Wedding dress shop: I Do the Dress I Do
Makeup artist: Love, Lipstick and Lashes

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