Wedding | Darby & Ben

Tell us a little about yourselves!

It feels so special to share our wedding as we met at a wedding exactly six years prior to our own! Ben was a ski instructor in Telluride when we met while I (Darby) was living in Austin, TX. We stayed in touch and our first “official” date was me flying to Telluride to ski with Ben.  Once COVID hit, Ben ended up in Austin and our story continued. We got engaged early in the morning on Ben’s birthday at our favorite place, Barton Springs. Ben, myself and some of our guests jumped in the natural springs on Wedding Day morning. 

We love walking our two golden retrievers, over caffeinating ourselves at local coffee shops, trying new restaurants and the perfect mix of travel/time at home!

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We wanted our wedding to feel as authentic to us as possible, so we opted to stay local in our city. A full weekend doing our favorite things with our favorite people in our favorite city was pretty epic.

Justine's Secret House offered a unique wedding space with their fun walls and décor. And of course, as a French restaurant, they specialized in our favorite foods (steak, fries and martinis). It felt like the perfect backdrop for our “epic dinner party” wedding.

How many guests did you have?

84 guests.

What was your budget?

$50k.

Tell us about your outfits.

I knew I wanted to wear as little white a possible (oops). I chose Tory Burch for our Rehearsal Dinner because I finally had an excuse to buy it. My friends surprised me with a custom shirt from Klein Design. to get ready in for wedding day. My wedding dress was Project Bridal, and I layered a custom bolero from Harriett Falvey. My friend Kara let me borrow her Danielle Frankle veil as my something borrowed.  I changed into a red revolve dress and hot pink shoes, matching my wedding linens, for our time on the dance floor.

Ben wore the tuxedo he already owned, and we picked up his loafers a week before at the mall. If you know Ben, this makes complete sense. 

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

We really wanted everything to feel like “us”. When you’re spending so much money, time, thoughts on a singular weekend, it is easy for the train to get off the tracks quickly. I wanted our guests to feel like they were at a house party with delicious food, plenty of drinks, and an electric dance floor. While we kept some of the traditional wedding elements, we encouraged our guests to dress loud and fun! We chose hot pink and red cabana linens and told our DJ to imagine the dance floor as his own Boiler Room set. 

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

We really wanted to incorporate our people throughout the wedding. Our two best friends co-officiated the ceremony. Ben’s mom, Krista, designed our Save the Dates and Invites. Our best friend Ali made pretty much everything else capturing our special places and, of course, our dogs. 

We also wanted to incorporate color. My bridesmaids - aka my small army - set the tone for the FUN. We leaned into blues, reds, and pinks with pops of other colors. 

Something else that was really important to me was the music. During our engagement era, I made various playlists for each element of wedding day. I felt like our music carried the vibes of the evening. 

Oh…and having a martini bar was crucial. Ben is a gin martini guy, and I am a vodka girlie.

Any tips for couples getting married?

There are so many opinions, advice, inspiration out there. Stick to your guns- talk to your partner about what feels realistic and authentic. And don’t forget to enjoy it! Once wedding weekend hits, just let go and let everything fall into place. The energy of the wedding is set by the couple. The more fun you’re having, the more fun your guests will have too! We have zero regrets and countless memories!

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Ally Rabon Photo and Hunter were the most dynamic duo with our photos and videos. They fit so effortlessly into our weekend, made us feel comfortable and we put our full trust into their vision. They captured the feeling of the wedding. We’ll never be over the photos and our wedding video!

Justine's Secret House was a dream venue. Their coordinators made everything flawless. It was easy and flowed perfectly. It wasn’t in our budget to have a full planner, but their staff made all my dreams come to life (Thanks Aly!). 

Malory Verre and Hannah Kirkland made me feel like the most gorgeous version of myself and kept the happy, fun vibes while we got ready. 

DART Collective let me be an absolute animal with the playlists and DJ Cory kept everyone on the dance floor. We joke that we’d like to spread our ashes on our wedding dance floor…. truly never wanted it to end!

Betty the Wedding Bronco…our escort to get married! They played our favorite music, drove us down South Congress, and let Ally capture it all. Having 1:1 time with Ben just soaking it all in while we cruised around our city was just so special.

Photographer & Videographer: Ally Rabon Photo @allyrabonphoto | Floral: Pollen Floral Art 

@pollenfloralart | Ceremony & Reception Location: Justine's Secret House @justinesbrasserie | Celebrant: The couple's two best friends | Rentals: Lola Valentina Linen Rentals @lolavalentinadesigns | Makeup Artist: Hannah Kirkland @hannahkirklandmua | Hair Stylist: Malory Verret @maltvhair | Catering & Beverages: Justine's Secret House @justinesbrasserie | Cake: Butter Days ATX @butterdays_atx | Stationery: Ben's Mother | Entertainment: DART Collective @dartcollective | Wedding Details: by Darby's best friend | Dress: Project Bridal @project.bridal | Veil: borrowed, Danielle Frankel 

@daniellefrankel | Wedding Rings: Goodstone Inc.@goodstone_inc