Jessica + Marcelo // St. Mary's Cathedral + DoubleTree Hotel Wedding

Weddings

Nov 17

Jessica is really kind and calm, and Marcelo is super outgoing, smiley, and ready to party. They met at a Texas Stars hockey game, and I met them in June when I shot their big Catholic wedding ceremony at St. Mary's Cathedral in downtown Austin and reception at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Austin.

It was the biggest wedding I've ever photographed- three or four hundred people- and I have to say, I was a little nervous. But it ended up being a great day, full of all the traditional wedding things, including a mass at St. Mary's, with all of their families and the people important to them.

Right after the ceremony, we took a few photos in and in front of the church and then went to The Long Center because they wanted something super Austin and kind of epic. The center has an outdoor platform for concerts and event open to the public, so we headed up there and tried not to melt. It was super hot, but kind of windy which is always good so the photos turned out great.

The reception at Doubletree was fun and traditional-- a bouquet toss, garter toss, all of the dances, including a money dance which I'd only heard of recently. It's where the DJ puts on a song and someone is holding a box people can put a dollar into to dance with the bride or groom. One of Jessica's sisters gave a speech, and both of Marcelo's brothers gave speeches (his little brother did his with a piece of toast).

Other little touches I loved were their sparkler exit, the boxes of mints with little photos of the couple on them for favors, and Jessica's unique bouquet. She made it herself by attaching all these meaningful pins, pendants, and necklaces to what I think was a styrofoam ball. It was beautiful and it's going to last forever.

They had a videographer from The Wedding Theater there, who was super nice and easy to work with. You can check out their incredible wedding video here. Other vendors included EGB Mueller florals, Classy Cakes by Lori, and Look No Further Entertainment.

Scroll down to look through photos of this big, beautiful wedding (including her special bouquet and of course, the piece of toast).