Sarah was a senior in high school when she befriended Derek, then a freshman at UT Austin, and her brother’s best friend. “We were friends for 10 years before we started dating,” she says. Which, incidentally, didn’t happen until Derek asked Sarah’s brother for permission to take her out on their first date. Not too long after that, “My best friend became the love of my life,” she says.
The proposal: “My family had planned our family vacation to Napa Valley and San Francisco for a week in August. Being surrounded by family and in beautiful wine country was the perfect scenario. Derek planned the surprise and everyone was in on it except me. Jack, the driver and wine guide, showed up extra early for the first tour of the day at Cakebread Cellars in Napa. There, the events manager ‘happened’ to greet us and offered to show us around the property while we waited for our tour to get started. Telling us about the Cakebread family, he guided us back to the gardens on the property which were accompanied by a beautiful fountain. Derek asked me to take a picture at the spot and had me set my things on the ground. When I looked up, Derek’s parents had joined the group. In a moment of shock, I asked, ‘What are your parents doing here?’ I then turned around and Derek was on one knee with my grandmother’s engagement ring, and I of course said, ‘Yes!’ It was a beautiful rest of the day, celebrating with loved ones while drinking great wine and traveling around Napa.” For their early summer Austin wedding, the couple looked to the site of their engagement for inspiration. Notes Sarah: “Our families helped us collect wine corks for the wedding, and we used them as escort-card holders. We also used corks that were made into a bride and groom for our cake toppers.” Along with nods to Napa for their winery inspired Austin wedding, the couple hired a cigar roller to handcraft premium, custom-labeled cigars for guests, on one of their venue’s elegant balconies. “It was a huge hit!” Sarah says. But her favorite wedding memory is one of quiet intimacy: “getting to spend a few moments alone with Derek before our cocktail hour, holding hands and cherishing the fact that we had just got married,” she recounts. We’re delighted to feature their wedding here, in radiant images from Jessica Frey Photography, whose talents are available to wedding couples in both Austin and Houston…so…jump on that!! Congratulations, Sarah & Derek. Wishing you joy and love always!
“Winery Inspired Austin Wedding By Jessica Frey Photography” Spotlight Houston Vendors – Photos: Jessica Frey Photography
Contributors: The Driskill | Eclipse Event Co. | Bouquets Of Austin | Monarch Event Rentals | Bee Lavish Vintage Rentals | BHLDN
