Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Wedding

It’s wildflower season in Texas, y’all! If you’ve been looking for a glimpse of what a truly magical wedding looks like, you’ve come to the right place. In today’s blog post, I’ll take you behind the scenes of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center wedding of Jewell and Branden. Their simple elopement at Cecille’s Arch included a heartfelt ceremony and truly joyful portrait session through the gardens afterwards. Along with the photos, I’ll also share with you my top photography tips for your own wedding at the Wildflower Center, including the best spots to take photos and a few things to consider to help make the most of your wedding day photography.

Meet Jewell and Branden

Let’s start off by meeting the happy couple. Frankly, I can’t tell their love story any better than Jewell can, so here is the story of how they met six years ago: ‘We met in medical school! We were anatomy lab partners, friends and classmates. He is from Montana and I am from San Diego. We have totally diﬀerent backgrounds and stories, but we have found common ground on our love for nature, and the planet.’

‘In medical school, we took care of a large garden at home and at through a community garden plot. Then Covid happened, and the shutdown meant that we spent a lot of time together in the garden. We focused on food and growing veggies. Here in Texas, I have started planting a lot of native flowers and it has shown me a whole new side of gardening – for the birds, bugs and eyes (we still plant a lot of veggies too!).’

The Proposal

So, how did the proposal happen? As you might’ve guessed, it was absolutely in keeping with their vibe as a couple. Here is Jewell to tell the story: ‘We just got out of the water at our favorite surf spot in San Diego! He asked me right as we put our boards away. It was a gorgeous sunny day. We had a lot of fun catching waves. It was just us, so it made it very special.’

The Ceremony

After many years in med school and an epic proposal on the beach, it was finally time to say ‘I do.’ Jewell and Branden had chosen Cecille’s Arch as the location for their wedding. They had booked the Wildflower Center for two hours of time. This included a 30-minute ceremony, followed by photography throughout the gardens. Note that at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, a wedding that does not take over the entire center is termed an ‘elopement.’

The couple’s friend, Nate, served as the officiant. Jewell and Branden followed tradition, and the groom saw the bride for the first time in her dress when she walked down the Savanna Meadows staircase in her gorgeous Amour Bridal dress. Please note that this was a true DIY wedding, as the bride made the bouquet and all of the boutonnieres.

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Rain Backup Location

Unfortunately, there was a real threat of rain the morning of Jewell and Branden’s wedding. Jewell had been brave and had made the call to go ahead and have the wedding outside. Chairs had been set up and this had been enough to frighten the rain gods away. In case of rain, however, the rain backup location is the Grand Hall. Luckily, we did not have to run for cover during the ceremony.

Family Photos

Following the heartfelt ceremony, we took photos in front of Cecille’s Arch. Since it was a small group of only 25 guests, I made sure to take one large group photo with everyone.

While the rain did give me a bit of a scare in the morning, the overcast skies worked to our advantage for cutting down on the harsh overhead glare during family photos. The area around Cecille’s Arch is quite bright in the morning. Furthermore, due to the fact that it is directly under large oak trees, this area also suffers from dappled light. Needles to say, Cecille’s Arch is not ideal for family photos. If you are scheduling a wedding here, I recommend trying to schedule your wedding for the afternoon.

On my initial venue check of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, I identified other locations for family portraits. It was too bright to take photos directly in front of Cecille’s Arch because the family would have been looking directly into the sun. Instead, I would have used the back of the arch so that the family would have the sun facing behind them. During our photo shoot when the sun did come out to play, I simply turned the family at an angle so that the sun was behind the family and they were backlit.

Bride and Groom Portraits

Once the formal portraits were completed, Jewell and Branden’s family and friends enjoyed the gardens while I took the bride and groom around for photos. We started at Cecille’s Arch and took photos along the pathway behind the arch. Again, cloud cover was a definite help to shield us from the harsh rays of the sun. We then took photos on the Savanna Meadow staircase with its beautiful vista.

I’m a big fan of mixing up a photo shoot to include nature and architecture. Our next stop was the columns behind the Grand Hall and the reflective windows of the building. Finally, we ended our photo shoot, taking photos in the Woodland Garden, which is just in front of the Theme Gardens.

Other Photo Locations

If you have time, I recommend the Observation Tower. You can get several different photos from here, taking photos of your subject on the ground from the perspective on top of the tower, or taking photos of your subject at the top of the tower. There is also a mezzanine level, which if you ask me is a great spot for a surprise proposal. Keep in mind that the very top of the Observation Tower is often quite crowded, especially with children.

One other area often cited is the Family Garden and Play Lawn. Both of these areas are where you will find more bluebonnets when they are in season. At the time of Jewell and Branden’s wedding, the bluebonnets were on the wane. But you can get more meadow vista shots if you head in this direction.

A Few Things to Consider

Only one rule: don’t step in the flower beds. Yep, that’s about it. Neither you nor your photographer should ever step into the flower beds. That means you can’t go into the middle of the Savanna Meadow, nor the bluebonnet field, etc. there are some spots where garden has placed a walking path to make it look like you are in the middle of a field, but you are not allowed to step into the middle of any field, bed, etc.

There is no rain backup location in the garden, except the Grand Hall. You can use the Grand Hall as a rain backup location for your ceremony. However, for your photo shoot, you’re pretty much out of luck. There’s no place to really take cover, except maybe in the Observation Tower. If rain is predicted for your photo shoot, I recommend rescheduling.

For elopements, the public will still be roaming the gardens. Don’t plan on having the gardens all to yourself. Mind you, everyone we met while we were taking photos was absolutely kind and accommodating. However, the public is very much still present. Just bear this in mind in case you had thoughts of having the entire Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center all to yourself during your elopement.

Preview the garden to see exactly what’s in bloom. If you really want to see what’s in bloom during your photo shoot, make sure and schedule a trip two weeks or a week prior to your photo shoot. The garden does have a website link with descriptions of the flowers that are currently in season, but it helps to go in person to see exactly what (and how much) is blooming. For instance, technically the bluebonnets are still in bloom. But here’s the current state of play. If you ask me, they are not very photogenic at the moment. If you really want photos of bluebonnets, Mule Shoe Bend Recreation Area is where you need to go – and fast – because they are fading.

Final Thoughts

Weddings like this one are exactly why I fell in love with photography in the first place. A happy couple, a beautiful location – that’s really all you need to make some magic. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a naturally romantic venue, and I was thrilled to be able to capture Jewell and Branden’s wedding day. For those of you looking for an inspiring wedding location near Austin, I recommend making the trip. It’s definitely worth it.

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

Vendors

Ceremony Venue – Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Wedding Dress – Amour Bridal, Cedar Park, Texas; Morilee designer
Bride’s Shoes – Reef
Bride’s Hairstylist – Katy Reddell Beauty
Groom’s Attire – Tessuti di Sondrio
Wedding Rings – The Rose Castle

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