A Personalized, Neon Wedding at Shoal Crossing Event Center in Austin, Texas

Jan Abasolo (34 and a senior account manager) and Gerry Mantaring’s (34 and a procurement supervisor) Valentine’s Day wedding at the Shoal Crossing Event Center was full of bright color and personalized touches. Instead of the expected palette of red, white and pink hues, the couple looked to vibrant neon colors, like orange, pink and yellow with glam hints of gold woven throughout to bring a fun, playful and unexpected feel to the decor. “As a part-time wedding coordinator, it is always important for me to ensure a wedding is a celebration that reflects the love and personalities of couples,” says Jan. “It was only right that my own wedding be just that!” A colorful, custom invitation suite made by Jan’s brother EJ Abasolo with funky fonts and illustrated dogs gave guests a taste of the fun-filled event to come. From there, Jan and Gerry immersed their guests into the pages of their unique story with a ceremony at their alma mater the University of Texas at Austin and a reception filled with details like gilded dinosaur figurines, paper flower centerpieces, salvaged whiskey bottles, colorful ribbons, a dessert table stacked with delicious treats and a late-night make-your-own ice cream sandwich bar. “I also had very carefully selected art scattered throughout to infuse eve more of our personalities into the day,” says Jan. A tip for the taking from Jan: “We made sure planning was a fun process for us. We tried to keep things simple. Our top priorities were making sure every detail reflected our personalities and that in the end everyone had fun. Our advice is to keep it simple and have fun with the planning process!”