Cassandra and Horacio had been together for eight years before getting married and live on the Texas border. "We never dreamt of a big wedding however, when Horacio proposed we really got carried away with the excitement of it all - especially when we announced it to our families. We both have huge families so quickly realised that our wedding would be bigger than expected and Horacio's family would also travelling from Mexico."
Three months into their planning, Cassandra and Horacio had to go into lockdown. "It quickly became clear that the situation would not change any time soon, and bringing our two families together would be too difficult and potentially dangerous. We knew we wanted to keep our loved ones safe however, we also knew we wanted to get married. That’s when the idea of an elopement began. We’d always talked about getting in our car and driving across Texas. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to do that. We decided to drive up to Austin to get married, then head west to Marfa to spend a couple of days in the desert."
Hotel Saint Cecilia was the perfect place for Cassandra and Horacio to escape the city and still be right amongst everything. "We really liked the idea of getting married under their oak tree. It was very romantic and felt like the perfect location for us." Photographer Amber Vickery captured the couple's intimate day.
Cassandra was planning on wearing a more traditional wedding gown to go with her more traditional Mexican wedding however, once she knew they were eloping, she decided to completely break away from a more traditional gown. "I kept going back to an image of a dress by Emilia Wickstead that I had saved years ago. Her pieces are sharp and modern. Unfortunately, that particular dress was no longer for sale however, when I was searching for more of her dresses I found the one. It was simple and minimal, with a dramatic open back and sleeves. I’ve always loved birdcage veils and decided to just go for it and purchased a style from Gigi Burris Millinery - because I was truly just dressing for myself! It was a lot of fun!"
Horacio was very adamant about wearing his favourite Casio watch and wore a classic black suit and tie. "At the end of the day we wanted to stay true to who we were. After having to cancel our first wedding and letting go of so many little details, we just wanted to be relaxed. We weren’t going to get hung up on whether the flowers or the cake were perfect or not. It was just going to be the two of us! Also, the flowers from Loose Leaf Design Florist and the Word of Mouth Bakery cake turned out to be perfect!"
The most important aspect for the couple was that their ceremony was in Spanish. Celebrant Short and Sweet Weddings held the ceremony in the couple's first language. Cassandra and Horacio's advice for other couples getting married, particularly during the pandemic? "Know that at the core, this is about the two of you. The time to celebrate with others will come again soon!"
Ceremony location : Hotel Saint Cecilia @hotelsaintcecilia | Photographer : Amber Vickery @ambervickeryphotography | Celebrant : Short and Sweet Weddings @shortandsweetweddings |
Flora : Loose Leaf Design Florist @looseleafdesign | HMUA : Angela Boswell @angelaboswellmua | Cake : Word of Mouth Bakery @wombakery | Bride's Dress : Emilia Wickstead @emiliawickstead | Rings : Vrai @vraiofficial | Shoes : Sam Edelman @sam_edelman | Other Jewellery : Rachel Boston Jewellery bespoke engagement ring + diamond and pearl earrings (the bride's something borrowed) @rachelbostonjewellery| Veil : Gigi Burris Millinery veil @gigiburris