Ellie and Drew traveled from Texas to the beautiful Capen House on Lake Osceola for an intimate wedding with their closest friends and family. Pixies and Petals ran with Ellie’s vision of a Lilly Pulitzer-inspired English garden with florals in vibrant shades of peach, raspberry, coral, and fuchsia and created a lush pink garden wonderland in the ceremony and reception space. Along with stunning florals, their day featured 3 different musicians, an epic grazing table, and even a few fun pranks! These photos by Kristen Weaver Photography are guaranteed to brighten your day so be sure to check them all out and read more about the amazing details of their wedding in Ellie’s own words below!
In their own words
How did you meet?
Drew and I met on the Venice Pier in 2014. Drew overheard me telling my friend about how I had just broken up with my ex-boyfriend. Drew then asked me for my phone number, and the rest is history!
What is your proposal story?
Drew proposed on April 7, 2017. Drew had told me he had a work issue come up and he was gone for a few hours. When he came back, I asked about where he had been. Drew has never been good at surprises- he immediately got down on one knee and proposed- he was just so excited to ask me to be his wife.
What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?
Drew and I decided that music, food, flowers, and photography were super important for our wedding. I have been in music lessons all my life and originally went to college on a music scholarship, so we decided to have three different musicians play during ceremony, cocktail, and dinner. Drew and I chose dulcimer players for our ceremony, a flamenco guitarist for our cocktail hour (and for our first dances), and a harpist for dinner. Food was also key! Drew and I are big self-professed foodies, and we knew Arthur’s catering was our best option in Orlando. We asked for a huge grazing table during cocktail hour and Arthur’s did not disappoint. Arthur’s put together a 3 course plated dinner together, and it was absolutely delicious. As for flowers, I saw Jennie Maretti’s florals on instagram and fell in love! I knew I needed lush flowers on my arch and in other areas of the venue in order to get a more garden, “outdoorsy” feel! Photography was also a major key element for our wedding. Kristin Weaver takes the most amazing photographs, and I knew I wanted her to capture our special day.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
Honestly, the entire day was phenomenal from start to finish. The ceremony and vow-readings were a definite favorite part for both Drew and myself. The ceremony was so special. I loved our unity ceremony. We chose to weave together a braid to symbolize our relationship with each other and with God. I really enjoyed our first dances as well as the father-daughter dance. The music for this, as well as the entire wedding, was absolutely amazing. Also, Drew and I played a few pranks on the wedding day. What’s a celebration without laughter? I got my man of honor (my brother) a white maxi dress and sent him off in lieu of myself for the “first look.” Drew was expecting me when my brother daintily tapped him on the shoulder. Both my brother and Drew shared a good laugh.
What did you do for favors?
So this is both a personal detail and favor: On the cake table we decided to do a few additional sweets for our guests. I had asked Morgan Hunter to create these extra desserts. Morgan pulled through and made these amazing hand-painted cookies of our dogs! It was so cool that we could incorporate our two pups into our wedding. Our two dogs are such a big part of our life. The hand-painted dog cookies were individually wrapped and set out along with heart cookies for the guests to take home as favors. Morgan even created dulcimer cookies to help us thank our musicians.
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
I’m pretty sure everyone probably says this- but don’t sweat the small stuff in the planning process. Surround yourself with seasoned people that know what they are doing. I was so glad to have a plethora of helpful people in my planning sphere. Also try to be as present as you can on your special day! My wedding day felt so fast, but I’m glad I was able to be in the moment and was able to cherish it.