Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Felicia & Ariel wanted to plan a wedding with a nod to their heritage as well as the place they grew up. The wedding was held at The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, a non-profit education and research organisation, owned by the groom’s parents. “As born and raised Austinites and the children of hippies, we knew from the get-go that we didn’t want to have the ‘usual’ wedding,” began Felicia. “Ariel and I both love being in nature and so it seemed like a easy choice to have the wedding at the site of his family’s home and non-profit organization. We wanted the wedding to have a lot of color and reflect our passions and cultures. I’m Mexican-American and loved the idea of embroidered Mexican dresses for my bridesmaids, delicate papel picado banners, and bright paper flowers.”
“The funky architecture and homages on the property also added a lot of unique touches. We loved that our wedding was truly a family affair – from the location to the favors and the cupcakes, both our families were very involved. My mother is an artist and designed the invitations and streamers and my father, a musician, asked some of his bandmates to play during the cocktail hour. Our friends and family also had the choice of dancing or playing volleyball right next to the stage.”
The ceremony took place outside and was officiated by both the bride & groom’s sisters “The ceremony felt so magical and special”, Felicia continued. “Our sisters were our officiants, we shared vows that we had written together and it was so powerful to have our relationship affirmed and celebrated by all our loved ones. As a feminist it was important to me that Ariel and I walk down the aisle together as equal partners. Our processional song was ‘Warm Love’ by Van Morrison and our recessional song was ‘Message of Love’ by the Pretenders, one of my all-time favorites.”
Utterly utterly inspiring! Don’t you just love how they were true to their heritage and the thing that mattered to them? Thank you to Felicia & Ariel and their fantastic wedding photographer Katherine O’Brien, who uses various vintage cameras alongside digital to achieve her unique images, for sharing with us today.
