Weddingbee Blog

I’m pretty excited to share this wedding with you guys. I was in the interesting position of attending a wedding with my friend—you may remember her from my wedding recaps as MOH Deniz—who was visiting from New York to go to this wedding. I tagged along as her plus-one, even though I didn’t really know anyone there. It was the perfect wedding to crash, as the vibe was so relaxed and welcoming that I didn’t feel too out of place. And I got the chance to really observe instead of really participating—good for journalistic reasons, I suppose!

I love the fact that the bride and groom did both their save the dates and invites by video.

Miah And Christie’s Save The Date from miah petersen on Vimeo

Harvest Wedding Invite from miah petersen on Vimeo

So this wedding took place on a gorgeous ranch property out in McDade, Texas, about 45 minutes outside of Austin. The wedding night coincided with an annual harvest party that takes place at this particular ranch, and guests were invited to bring along camping supplies and join in the harvest festivities for the night. (Deniz and I opted to head back in to Austin, as we had plans for the next day and didn’t want to be completely wiped.)

Guests began arriving in the early afternoon and congregated at the reception and harvest party site, while the wedding party began to set up at the ceremony site. The reception was potluck style, so guests brought their favorite dishes, desserts, and beer. Deniz made a giant vat of mac & cheese with jalapenos that was gone before the end of the night!

We wandered around the property taking photos of the ranch before the ceremony.

*All photos in this post by MOH Deniz*

Then we happened to snag front-row seats for the first look!

Reception site, taken from the ceremony site

As the ceremony time grew closer, guests began to wander up the hill from the reception site, and everyone mingled for a bit before the ceremony started.

This lovely gentleman played and sang all the ceremony music. So perfect.

There was no seating, as the ceremony was fairly short and informal. Dogs were just as welcome as people at this wedding. This one in particular looked just like a proper wedding guest.

One of the bridesmaids held onto the bride and groom’s dog, who was a participant in the ceremony.

Apparently, the couple held an open casting call for flower children. They were all amazing.

The gorgeous bride walking down the aisle

The ceremony was lovely. The officiant was a friend of the couple, and his words were completely heartfelt. He broke down into tears as he spoke while watching his wife in the audience. Aww.

Married!

After they were married, everyone headed back down the hill toward the reception site as the sun set. October weddings can be somewhat of a gamble in Austin, but the weather was absolutely perfect—mild temps and almost no humidity.

Dragon bouncy castle!

The wedding cake

Beer pints that doubled as wedding favors!

The bride and groom opted to take some photos in the bouncy castle while guests began to pile their plates with food.

I was super excited to see the disco ball hanging outdoors in the reception space. I feel like every wedding deserves a disco ball.

As the night wore on, there was toasting and cake-eating and an adorable first dance to Ingrid Michaelson’s “You and I.”

Yay, harvest moon!

Congratulations, Miah and Christie! Thanks for allowing me to share in your day and to write about it here on Weddingbee.