1. Real Weddings

A Vintage-Inspired Garden Wedding at Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas

Ivy Poye (26 and an interior designer) and Mark Pierce (31 and a landscape designer) met in the back of a taxi leaving a fraternity party. Ivy was a f

Ivy Poye (26 and an interior designer) and Mark Pierce (31 and a landscape designer) met in the back of a taxi leaving a fraternity party. Ivy was a freshman, while Mark was a “super senior.” He asked her out, but she was dating someone else at the time. A few years later, they reconnected through the University of Oklahoma’s College of Architecture, where both were studying. Ivy's ring was inspired by Grace Kelly's. The bride wore a custom-made gown made of oversize ruffles and carried a vintage-inspired bouquet of pale pink gladiolas. Ten bridesmaids wore tea-length satin gowns, while the three house-party attendants wore long blush gowns of their choice. Mark wore an ivory dinner jacket with his tuxedo for the ceremony to fit with the vintage theme, topped with a gardenia and ivy boutonniere. The groomsmen and ushers wore the same boutonnieres with classic black tuxedos. Their bow ties were gifts from the groom, and he had their monograms embroidered inside. The wedding took place in Fort Worth, Texas (Ivy's hometown), at Fort Worth Botanic Garden, which she visited as a child. Her father and stepfather walked her down the aisle as Henry Mancini’s “Moon River” played in the background. The aisle was draped in flowers, and the gazebo served as a focal point. Audrey Hepburn’s classic film "Sabrina" inspired the design motif, from the white dinner jackets to champagne and chandeliers. At the reception at the Fort Worth Club, guests dined on filet and salmon while the couple danced to “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire. Dinner concluded with a red velvet cake with pale pink buttercream frosting and a custom-made crest. Ivy and Mark exited to their alma mater’s fight song, played by their band’s brass section. Guests showered them with plastic confetti poppers filled with dried rose petals as they left in a horse and carriage. “It was definitely a surreal moment,” Ivy says. —Caroline Eubanks

"In the end, we used small asscher-cut diamonds with an illusion setting between each stone. I am thrilled with the result, and know it is something I will cherish for a lifetime," Ivy says. "Mark’s ring was pretty much a copy of his dad’s—a simple gold band. I never knew Mark was such a stickler for tradition, but he really just wanted what he grew up seeing on his dad! I had it engraved with my initials and the wedding date as a little surprise."
"My bouquet was in the glamelia style—a style that was popular in the 1940s and '50s," Ivy says. "It is made of pale pink gladiola petals, but I have seen them done with rose petals and other flowers as well. The bouquet starts with one single gladiolus bloom, and the florist surrounds that with several layers of matching petals. The result is a giant single bloom the size of a dinner plate! I love how the pale pink contrasts against my gown."
"I had 10 bridesmaids and three ladies in my house party," Ivy says. "The morning of the wedding, each was given a set of pink polka-dot pajamas to wear while we ate pancakes and mimosas and got ready."
"My dad used to take me to the Botanic Garden in Fort Worth all the time when I was a child, and as a result I have always had romantic fantasies about a garden wedding," Ivy says. "Luckily for me, Mark’s passion is landscape architecture, and he loved the gardens as much as I did. We set our wedding date for late June in hopes of avoiding any rain showers."
"The bridesmaids dresses were another creation I dreamed up based on a Hubert de Givenchy sketch from the 1950s," Ivy says. "I knew I wanted the girls' dresses to be full and to mimic the style of my gown without copying it exactly. My mom and I turned to Etsy to find a vendor that would customize the dresses for us. We ultimately decided on a tea-length full skirt made of blush satin with a bateau neck bodice in black satin. The back of the dress also has a plunging V, like my gown, and a little black bow at the waist."
The house-party ladies wore a long blush gown of their choice, which complemented each woman. They also wore bracelets of ivy and gardenias as they handed out programs.
"Growing up, I always knew I would wear an uber-feminine ball-gown-style dress on my wedding day," Ivy says. "Years of watching "Gone With the Wind" and "Breakfast at Tiffany’s" definitely influenced my personal style. I also have been sketching wedding gowns for as long as I can remember."
"We had 10 groomsmen and three ushers. They all wore classic black tuxedos," Ivy says. "We selected rental tuxedos for the guys, but some opted to wear their own. You can’t tell the difference! Their bow ties were a gift from Mark and had their monogram embroidered on the inside."
"All my life I have dreamed of having my reception at the Fort Worth Club, so that was a given," Ivy says. "It has all the classic architecture and grandness that a classicist such as myself could ever want. The building is over 100 years old and has a fantastic history."
"My overall design motif was inspired by the original "Sabrina" film—the Audrey Hepburn version, of course," Ivy says. "I have always loved the Larrabees' party scene—dozens of handsome men in white dinner jackets sweeping glamorous ball-gown-clad ladies around the dance floor on an open-air terrace. Champagne was flowing, and the soft sounds of a saxophone carried guests across the dance floor. To me this scene has always epitomized a glamorous evening."
"The cake was buttercream cream cheese frosting with red velvet cake," Ivy says. "I love red velvet and felt it would be fun to do something different from the traditional vanilla. Our custom crest was added to the central layer of the cake—a touch I truly appreciated. The topper was a nest of ivy. "
Also on the menu were dishes like salmon and filet, along with miniature chicken and waffles, roasted vegetables and lobster grilled cheese sandwiches, the favorite late-night snack.
"We did have a grand exit—our band’s brass section led us out of the Fort Worth Club while playing the OU fight song," Ivy says. "Guests were given plastic confetti poppers filled with dried rose petals, and they showered us as we raced toward our white horse and carriage. We drove around downtown Fort Worth in our carriage and marveled at the fact that we were finally husband and wife. It was definitely a surreal moment."