Welcome in. This is the place where I share wedding recaps and inspiration, engagement session ideas, and a little glimpse into the life of a wedding photographer and mom. I hope you enjoy reading and seeing ALL the pretty!
As a wedding photographer, I have had the privilege of capturing many beautiful moments of love and happiness. However, the spring wedding of Kennedy and Bryce at the stunning Videre Estate was truly a dream come true. The vibrant colors, AMAZING florals, and impeccable planning by Sweet Magnolia Events made this wedding a photographer’s paradise.
The wedding was my third time visiting The Videre with Kennedy and Bryce, and we FINALLY got some sunshine!! Both their engagement session and Kennedy’s bridals were overcast, and while overcast is nice for creating a soft, even glow… sometimes I just crave the sun.
Perry’s Petals truly outdid themselves with the stunning floral arrangements. The bright peaches, oranges, and blues perfectly complemented the beautiful hill country landscape, creating a picturesque backdrop for Kennedy and Bryce’s special day. Every detail was meticulously crafted, from the centerpieces to the glassware.
As the day drew to a close, the sun began to set over the Videre Estate, casting a warm glow over everything (and some gorgeous sunset portraits!).
Kennedy and Bryce’s wedding will always hold a special place in my heart. It was a beautiful wedding, super sweet couple (look at the photo of them cheering on the flower girl during their entrance!), and a really wonderful vendor team (see the full list of vendors at the end of the blog).
I love when florists give me a nice variety of flowers to play with for detail photos. Perry’s Petals gave me so many options!! If you’re planning a wedding, please ask your florist if they can leave out a few stems for the photographer. It can make a huge impact on your detail photos and really tie things together. They may charge for these stems, depending on the florist, but I do think it’s worth it! If loose florals aren’t an option, sometimes I’ll have your bouquet in the corner, or a boutonniere. It’s just nice to add a little color :).
The bridal suite at The Videre is gorgeous!! When I’m looking at a new venue I’ve never worked at, I always try to search photos of the bridal suite. Most newly built venues understand that this space is important, and The Videre definitely got the memo. It has two HUGE rooms, which is very helpful if you want to get dressed apart from the bridesmaids for a bridesmaid first look. There’s a big beautiful mirror, and plenty of chairs with mirrors to do hair and makeup. There’s also a nice patio out back, so you can get some air without worrying about guests or the groom seeing you.
I’m going to mention Sunrise Petal Co a lot in this post, but I mean, LOOK AT THIS FLORAL DISPLAY! Lindsey absolutely knocked it out of the park with these bright and colorful spring florals. Kennedy’s bouquet (in a photo below) is also absolutely gorgeous
One concern I had when touring The Videre was, “what’s a good outdoor space to take family and wedding party photos?”. The ceremony space is full sun, which is lovely, but not my preference for posed family photos (since they would be looking directly into the sun). There are a TON of gorgeous spots to bring the couple via golf cart, but I didn’t know where to photograph family and wedding party. I never want elderly family members to have to walk too far for photos. Thankfully, there’s a big green space near the bridal suite and ceremony space that has PERFECT lighting in the late afternoon/early evening.
My favorite portrait spot at The Videre is this beautiful cliffside overlook! You’ll want to jump in the golf cart for this, but it’s so worth the short ride. I love when we get to take the couple a short distance away for photos, and they usually love it as well. Getting a little distance from the crazy atmosphere gives the two of you a chance to calm down and enjoy each other’s company before getting the party started! You can also ride all the way down to the water, if you want photos down there! We did that for their engagement session, but decided to skip it for their wedding (it’s gorgeous and totally worth it, though).
As a vendor, the food and experience of mealtime at weddings is almost always the same. And there’s nothing wrong with the typical experience at all (90% of the time, haha), but on the vendor side, our experience at The Videre was AMAZING! First, it was one of the best meals I’ve had at a wedding (and my second photographer agreed). But more importantly, the staff was so nice and helpful!! They came and checked on us in the vendor room and made sure the food was good and offered us drinks. That almost never happens (and it’s not expected, because obviously they’re here is take care of guests, not vendors). It was just really nice and unexpected to be treated so kindly <3. And did I mention the food was delicious?
The vendor team at this wedding absolutely nailed it. The fun glassware, the colors, the florals, the table settings… Sweet Magnolia did an impeccable job planning out this event, and the execution was perfection. This was a large wedding at a brand new venue, so there was a lot of room for errors to happen. But no errors happened under Alisha and her team’s watch. Everyone just nailed this beautiful reception setup.
As with every single human ever, I LOVE a beer burro at cocktail hour. There are lots of wedding trends that come and go, but involving cute four legged friends with never go out of style. I noticed Alisha (owner of Sweet Magnolia) was taking control of the donkeys and knew their names. And I thought huh, maybe she’s just worked with them before. And then I noticed there wasn’t anyone else watching them. “Wait, are these YOUR donkeys?!”. Apparently Sweet Magnolia is also in the beer burro business, y’all, I had no idea. So if you work with Alisha, make sure to ask about getting some cute donkeys for cocktail hour!
Another thing I liked about The Videre is this separate upstairs seating area. There’s a huge reception space to dance and party and get crazy, but I love when there are separate spaces for people to sneak away when they need a break. There are multiple patios outside to mingle and chat, but there’s also an inside seating area next to a cozy fireplace. This is great if you want to stay inside and know what’s going on, but just need a little break from the party lights.
I love a hill country wedding, but it can sometimes be difficult to get people to and from the venue (buses are great for this!). The Videre has a renovated barn full of tons of cute rooms. This wasn’t 100% completed at Kennedy and Bryce’s wedding, but I believe it’s finished now (or close to completion). I would definitely ask about this, if you’re planning a wedding at The Videre. It’s so nice to be able to just walk back to your room after a super exciting wedding.
And thank you to the vendor team that made this beautiful wedding flow so smoothly at a brand new venue!
Love seeing wedding content from The Videre? Here is another engagement session!