Cacti Paid Homage to Texas at this Blue-Hued Wedding at South Congress Hotel in Austin

Doing things their own way has always been paramount for Kirk Garza (38 and a property tax consultant) and Warren McAdams (27 and a physical therapist). So much so that Kirk chose to propose with a compass engraved with the coordinates of where they first met, instead of a ring. Throughout the entire engagement and wedding planning process, “the promotion of elegance, in a traditional sense, wasn’t really a priority for us,” Warren says. “For the vast majority of our attendees, this was their first gay wedding. Heck, it was our first gay wedding to attend as well. It was ours and ours alone, so we were going to include all of the aspects that would make it so. We gathered the people we love to share in the experience of great food, drinks, and music to celebrate the occasion.” 

"Instead of walking down the aisle separately, Kirk and I had our families walk us out from each side of the ceremony space at the same time. We all met in the middle for family hugs," says Warren of the couple's ceremony processional. After processing into the ceremony with their families, “Kirk and I ascended the stairs hand in hand to our officiant,” to exchange vows, Warren recalls. The duo also put their families front and center by incorporating “a call to action from our attendees, asking them to verbally affirm their support in unison rather than the usual ‘speak now or forever hold your peace.’”

“We aren’t flower guys so we went the succulent route,” Warren says of the wedding’s decor. Feathers, pampas grass and thistles added another layer of texture to their non-floral designs. Warren and Kirk even accented their blue suits with feather boutonnieres. “We still have our feather-and-succulent boutonnieres and hope to preserve them.”

“Since neither of us prefer cake, we skipped a cake cutting and had an ice cream truck instead,” Warren says. Additionally, “we opted out of the first dance and instead did a last dance prior to our send-off. The song was ‘I Am Yours’ by Andy Grammer,” says Warren. “We had a sparkler send-off in the courtyard, but it was important to us that we got to say good night to each and every guest, so we snuck back into the lobby to send our guests off one by one as they gradually left."