1. Real Weddings

Aimee & Chris: A Ballroom Wedding in Austin, TX

After exchanging vows at a church overlooking Austin's hill country, the couple celebrated with a reception at the Barr Mansion's Artisan Ballroom. T

After exchanging vows at a church overlooking Austin's hill country, the couple celebrated with a reception at the Barr Mansion's Artisan Ballroom. The Bride Aimee Fagel The Groom Chris Wiley The Date April 2 After a six-year courtship, Aimee Fagel was convinced her boyfriend Chris Wiley was planning to propose during a romantic trip to Europe. But as the trip drew to a close with no ring in sight, she’d pretty much given up until Chris surprised her by popping the question on Prague's Charles Bridge. They wed in a Catholic ceremony 15 months later, and celebrated during a reception at the Barr Mansion.

The bride's cake was a champagne and Cointreau-flavored angel food wedding cake with raspberry filling and vanilla cream icing topped off with pink and ivory roses. For the groom's cake, Aimee and Chris chose a midnight chocolate torte with chocolate ganache filling covered in pieces of dark chocolate and shredded white chocolate.
Aimee and Chris exchanged their vows in Emmaus Catholic Church, a site overlooking Austin's hill country. The bride walked down the aisle in Melissa Sweet's 'Moriah' gown, which is a strapless modified A-line with ivory-beaded tulle over ivory charmeuse.
Aimee's six bridesmaids wore two styles of pink tea-length dresses by Jessica McClintock.
Following a garden cocktail hour, Aimee and Chris' guests made their way into the Barr Mansion's Artisan Ballroom for the reception. Though the couple loved the site right away, Aimee says they were won over even more when they learned more about the space's philosophy: Everything about the place is organic, natural, or recycled! she says. The ballroom itself is an ecologically sustainable building with a framework made with timber from a colonial barn in the Catskills and reassembled in Texas. Aimee and Chris filled the space with soy candles and flowers.
As guests held sparklers aloft, Aimee and Chris made their grand exit and hopped into a waiting limo.