Anna + Ryan

7.31.2024

St. Dennis Mission

5/10/2024

I love weddings because they bring family and friends together. I REALLY love weddings when there’s a personal connection to aspects of the celebration. In this case, the bride felt a strong connection to the venue, her family ranch. At first, Anna, the bride, and I went back and forth on the venue of the wedding. Originally, we liked the Naval Academy where Ryan went to school, but as the planning process progressed, I woke up one morning to an email from Anna describing how she couldn’t get the idea of her wedding at a mission church on her family’s ranch out of her mind.

With that, we selected the St. Dennis Mission Church on Ranch River Road near U.S. Highway 77 in Refugio County and began planning. The only issue was that the church was smaller than their guest count (it only holds around 80), and Refugio, Texas, where the church is located, is a bit of a hike from Central Austin as it is almost 20 miles from any town in any direction.

We quickly adapted plans and opted to host a smaller ceremony on Friday night in Refugio to kick off the wedding weekend, then a larger reception in San Antonio on Saturday evening. Guests were greeted at the church with a stunning program in addition to a custom bar menu featured later on in the evening, all executed by Pink Champagne. Florals in Terracotta pots provided by Expressions Floral became the unique centerpiece of the reception/rehearsal dinner, as guests enjoyed their meal and listened to live Mariachi music, the perfect soundtrack to the evening celebration in Refugio County.

After the celebration concluded, guests were bussed three hours back to San Antonio, which served as the home base of the wedding, where a larger reception took place at the Argyle on Saturday. Prioritizing the bride and groom’s familial connections created a truly meaningful evening that, in combination with the ornate reception on Saturday, made the weekend unforgettable.

XOXO,

Becky