Influencer Tanya Marie's Timeless Wedding at Knotting Hill Place in Little Elm, Texas
Content creator Tanya Marie Zielke, known online by the handle Life of Tanya Marie, wed Anthony Alvarez with a romantic-meets-modern black-and-white wedding at Knotting Hill Place in Little Elm, Texas, surrounded by 115 of the couple's closest loved ones. The couple, who first met on a childhood swim team and then reconnected after college, got engaged in Tulum, Mexico, and initially hoped to return and wed in Cabo San Lucas. However, because of the pandemic, the couple opted instead for a wedding in Dallas, Texas, where they are based. Once they settled on a local celebration, Tanya Marie and Anthony then found Knotting Hill Place and booked it as their wedding venue because "it gave off the timeless vibes we were looking for. We wanted our wedding pictures to be clean, chic, timeless, and enchanting," says Tanya Marie. "Those are all qualities of our venue and the decor we wanted to go with. We love estate vibes and Knotting Hill is one of the few venues in Texas that doesn’t have barn vibes. It was perfect!"
The timeless aesthetic of Knotting Hill Place in Little Elm, Texas, fit perfectly with the "romantic, timeless, and elegant" vibe the couple wanted for their Texas wedding. "We wanted to be able to look back at our wedding photos and videos and not have them age at all. We stuck to simple white with black accent design," says Tanya Marie. The influencer goes on to share that "orchids were the flower of the day and were a statement throughout all the floral for the evening. The centerpieces for the reception were made up of hydrangeas and orchids, with two very large and lush statement pieces on the head tables for the bridal party. The ceremony aisle was adorned with aisle arrangements made up of silk blossom branches as well as hydrangeas and orchids with dramatic statement pieces at the altar made with silk blossom branches."
Beyond planning a wedding that was visually stunning and memorable, it was paramount to Tanya Marie and Anthony that their day reflect their partnership and be packed with meaning. Tanya Marie explains that as a biracial couple, she is Congolese-American and Anthony is Mexican-American, and since they're high-school sweethearts, the duo wove nods to those three components into the event. "I invited guests that have a cultural background to wear their traditional wear. It was beautiful to see that represented. We had guests come from all over the US, Europe,and Africa. It was a very international wedding. Additionally, I am the great-granddaughter of Mwant Yav Ditend and past Emperor of the Lunda Tribe in The Democratic Republic of Congo. My family from back home came to the wedding to give me a traditional royal blessing during the reception. They walked us singing a traditional Lunda song and showered us with blessings and money dance. All of our wedding guests joined in and it was beautiful." The couple also went a non-traditional route with their wedding party: "Our wedding was very non-traditional and we wanted to break a lot of gender roles and let our wedding truly reflect us as a progressive couple. Our wedding party was made up of family and friends. I had 5 bridesmaids and 2 bridesmen. Anthony had 7 groomsmen and 1 groomswoman.
The unique personalization didn't stop with the couple's wedding party—Tanya Marie and Anthony added their own unique spin to each and every detail of the wedding in Texas. "We had a retro telephone that you could leave voice messages on when you sign in. This will later be pressed into a vinyl record and added to our record collection," shares Tanya Marie of the couple's wedding guest book alternative. She goes on to share that "we also had everyone take a selfie and used those photos to be placed on their cocktails at their table for dinner. All of our guests freaked out when they saw it."
Reminiscing on their beautiful wedding day, the couple can't select just one favorite moment as there were too many memorable highlights throughout the celebration. Notably, the duo recalls loving that they "had both of our parents walk us down the aisle because they both raised us equally." Tanya Marie also shares that instead of a traditional garter toss, she used that moment to playfully prank Anthony while also introducing the late-night snack they ordered for guests to enjoy. "We had In-N-Out instead of a garter under my dress, which lead to late-night In-N-Out food being passed out—it was epic. During the reception we also had a 360° photo booth that got the people going," says Tanya Marie.
Looking back on her wedding day at Knotting Hill Place in Little Elm, Texas, Tanya Marie encourages other to-be-weds currently wading through the wedding planning process to "trust that what is meant to be will be. We planned the wedding we wanted and prayed on it. We knew that if the wedding we planned was meant to be, it would be and if it wasn’t that we would do with what we could do. As long as you find ways to share the moments with your family and you're surrounded by support and love that is truly all that matters."