Alice in Wonderland meets Pride & Prejudice? Ummm... sign me up, please! This whimsical and elegant tea party wedding set in the outdoor garden of Hummingbird House in South Austin was everything you'd expect from the fantastic stories that inspired it.

You may think you're ready for this amazing tea party-styled photoshoot for which I was asked to model, but let me tell you -- you aren't. All of the colors and details that Texas Hill Country Styled Shoots and the selected vendors put into this still have me speechless.

These images were captured by the talented Candice Dawn Shanks of Candice Dawn Photography (who I also worked with for this and this Christmas Wedding shoot last year). I'll be sharing other photos from the shoot by the other photographers in their own posts as I receive them.

First Look

 

At the Alter

Tea Time

Let's Run Away

Shop My Jewelry

Shop My Shoes

Shop My Wedding Dress

While I couldn't find this exact dress on JJ's House site, I've linked similar styles below (either for their shape, neckline, or back details) and the correct category on their site.

Photo by Eli Stack

This was not a piece designed to sit in; it was designed to be powerful and empowering.

Photo by Eli Stack // Model (standing) Maria Savoy

Photo by Eli Stack

Photo by Eli Stack

Photo by Alex Todd

Photo by Fabutainment

Photo by Heather Slusher

And because it's always fun to see the process and what's going on behind the scenes, here are some backstage photos, too. When I asked my hairstylist from KC's Bombshells Beauty Crew how many hairpins I'd find in my hair after the show, she said she used an entire can of hairspray to create this 'do and no hairpins.


 And some after the runway shots with my VIP guest in the audience :)

Photo by Alex Todd

View this post on Instagram

So my hooman didn't know it was #NationalLoveYourPetDay. 😳 Not to worry! I fixed it by being super photogenic and cuddly on this most important day of days. To all hoomans of Instagram, which do you prefer? Candid at-home shots like this one or amazing adventure + out-on-the-town photos? . . . . . . . #thatheelerharvey #boopmynose #dogsofinstagram #dogsofatx #dogsmile #thatheelerharvey #blueheelerlove #snugglemymuggle #bestwoof10k #blueheelersofinstagram #blueheeler101 #acd #barkhappy #auscattledog #australiancattledog #cattledogsofinstagram #workingcowdog #ruffpost #heelermoments #ballislife #dogsofinstagram #dailyfluff #blueheelersrule #animalnorth #instagood #underdogsofig

A post shared by Harvey Houndini the ACD (@thatheelerharvey) on Feb 20, 2019 at 4:11pm PST

His first adventures in the Pashen household involved a hike up the Pennybacker Overlook, Mt. Bonnell, and a trip to a must-visit dog-friendly brewery in New Braunfels, Guadalupe Brewing Company.

   

As he's learned new tricks -- like sit pretty, play dead, and roll over -- he's also gotten better at posing for photos. He even let me put together a Valentine's Day shoot and dress him up as "Harvey Potter!" Just look at those ears!

Shop This Post

I was 17. I had just graduated from high school and I had just been asked out on my first date. My mom’s rule when I was growing up was “no dating until you’re 16.” Of course, 16 came and went and that rule metamorphosed into “just because you're now 16 doesn't mean you can date.” So it was the night of Project Graduation and the senior class of 2011 was crammed on a stinky school bus after many supervised hours spent wakeboarding and winning raffle items, that a cute guy I hadn’t talked to until that night asked if he could take me out.

What I didn’t know during those awkward high school years was that not only was my mom protecting me from potential mistakes and unnecessary high school drama, but the Lord himself was also guarding my heart. Nothing came of that summer romance. And nothing came of the few crushes my freshman & sophomore years at the University of Texas. I did well in my classes, enjoyed connecting with the girls in my sorority, felt super special and important when I was asked to become a sweetheart for my favorite fraternity, and I switched my major (twice) because while I liked school I didn’t know what I wanted to do after graduation.

The high school drama my mom -- and bad hair and braces -- had saved me from made its entrance my sophomore year. Girlfriends proved they weren’t such good friends after all. I chose to wait until I was 21 to get a 21+ ID which excluded me from a lot of evenings out. Classes got harder and so did the social life. And those boys I’d had crushes on turned out to be immature disappointments.

When I started college, I had thought my season of waiting for boyfriends and best friends was over, but in reality I had walked into another season of waiting.

And it was during Christmas break after a stressful semester when I threw up my hands and said “God, I’m over it. If there’s a boy for me, YOU have to find him.” That must’ve been the surrender for which He was waiting, because he sent my now husband into my life. We were living in different cities, attending different schools, and *gasp* he was older. I’m convinced we would never have found each other if God hadn’t timed it just so and placed us in each other’s paths. Psalm 37:7 says “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.” And act He did! When I relinquished control of my life and my relationships, God fulfilled them more sweetly and more purposefully than I ever could have on my own.

I graduated with honors and a dual degree a semester early. We got married a year later. I started and left a job that wasn’t for me within that year. And then we moved to a new state a year after that to adventure and strike out on our own. The following year, as “planned,” we got pregnant. And two months later, we lost our baby. Queue a new season of waiting; one that, even a year later, my husband and I are in still.

Psalm 40:1-3 says “I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.”

Your season of waiting is not fruitless! Your attitude of trust and your dependence on Him while you’re in what you see as the pit of despair and impatience and unfulfilled dreams, may be exactly what is encouraging others to turn to the Lord. Your light is shining even when you feel dim. Your timeline, your parents’ timeline for you, your friend’s timelines that you’re comparing to will fall short of the good God has planned for you.

A friend shared this on Facebook: “Don’t spend your time worrying - spend your time putting love into everyone and everything you do, spend time focusing on school or a job or whatever, and love will come back to you!” She was talking about relationships, specifically dating relationships. But this principle of faith in God’s timing instead of our own is so important!  So I’ll leave you with Romans 12:12  to encourage and direct your faith during your periods of waiting: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”