Congratulations Cody and Rachel

What a wonderful day for a wonderful wedding for a wonderful friend! The Rachel in this wedding is one half of Houston’s famous Girls With Pearls Photography. We met Rachel and Jamie almost two years ago and quickly became friends. We were honored and so excited to be a part of Rachel and Cody’s wedding!

Rachel was so beautiful in her ivory gown. It had spaghetti straps and a wide dark ivory lace sash. The back fell to a chapel length train which was bustled for the Reception. As the night got cooler, Rachel put on a taupe colored cardigan which matched her dress perfectly. She carried a full bouquet of pink vintage looking roses. Rachel had her hair pinned back behind one ear with an ivory rosette which was attached to a short, loose ‘cap’ of netting. Her Bridal Party wore very pale lavender, one shoulder, floor-length gowns with detailed sashes. They carried large bouquets of baby’s breath tied with raffia. Cody wore a black tux with a white shirt and ivory vest and tie. The Groomsmen wore similar attire but no jacket. They wore bow ties and had their sleeves rolled up. Rachel’s children were the Ring Bearer and Flower Girl, and they came down the aisle together. She carried a bird’s nest with paper petals punched from old book pages, and he carried an old wood sign that said ‘Here Comes the Bride.” So cute!

I’m going to spend waaaay too much time telling you about the details, because they were amazing! The theme was outdoor/country/shabby chic/vintage/rustic/casual elegance. Or at least that’s how I’d describe it. lol The Ceremony was in a field in front of an arch Cody made from branches and baby’s breath. The aisle had old canning jars holding flowers hanging from shepherd hooks. There was an old French door leaning against a tree between the Ceremony and Reception, and it had the guest’s table assignments hanging from it on twine with little clothes pins. There were vintage suitcases underneath. There were other trees in the clearing that had vintage or antique furniture underneath, and the one nearest the Ceremony site had the guest pages next to an old window with scripture taped to the panes. There were also empty vintage picture frames scattered around the property. After a beautiful Ceremony, guests passed an old chair with a chalkboard on it saying “Eat Drink and Be Merry” with an arrow pointing the way to the Reception.

Upon entering the Reception, which was on the home’s amazing three-level patio, guests were greeted by an old claw foot bathtub filled with drinks. They were also offered a signature drink in a vintage-style soda bottle with a straw. The round guest tables had white floor-length linens with burlap runners down the center. White wooden chairs completed the look. Cody and Rachel’s chairs had tin signs saying “Mr.” and “Mrs.” hanging from them. The centerpieces consisted of old bottles and jars with ivory and pink antique-looking roses, old books, and old silver candlesticks. The beige napkins were tied with a brown ribbon holding a pink crepe paper flower.

The rest of the patio was perfectly decorated for the theme. A large tree, which overhung half the patio, had long strings of vintage looking crystals hanging from it. There were large crepe paper flowers hanging over the whole patio, underneath the restaurant style white lights. Over the cake table, a lit chandelier hung from the tree. The favors consisted of small bottles of honey with Cody & Rachel, Meant to Bee” on them, as well as small burlap bags of potpourri with a bee stamped on the front. The favors matched the Ceremony program, which was made of brown kraft paper with antique typewriter wording and a bee design on the top.

After the First Dance, Father/Daughter Dance, and Mother/Son Dance, guests enjoyed their meal. Then we went on to the toasts and cake cutting. The cake table was covered in an embroidered tablecloth and featured a cake for the newlyweds, along with fruit tarts and Italian cream cupcakes for all. The wedding cake was one small white layer topped by a birds nest holding three small blue eggs. That layer was brought out to a small table on to the dance floor so all could watch. Then, party time!

This crowd was so much fun! They danced to everything and loved to have a good time. The dance floor got a bit crazy, with kids and grown men doing The Snake, people doing The Robot, The Vogue, Reeling in a Fish, and every other goofy dance you can think of. There was even crawling on the dance floor like in the Dirty Dancing movie. lol The whole time was just fun, fun, fun! And, as an added bonus, since we’re personal friends of Rachel, we got to let our hair down a bit and I got to have fun dancing as well.

After everyone had time to eat their cake, we did the Anniversary Dance. The longest married couple has been married 32 years! Since there was no bouquet or garter, we then had fun dancing until the end. After a long and perfect day, Cody and Rachel slipped away to head off to their honeymoon. Congratulations to you both – we love you and are so happy for you!!