Romantic Wedding at Hickory Street Annex
After meeting at work, dating for several years and eventually buying a house together, Greg chose the perfect moment to finally pop the question — on a cliff overlooking the Grand Canyon at sunset. Obviously Robin said yes, and the couple got to work planning their small, intimate wedding.
Read on to hear more from Robin about their special day, including things she would have done differently as well as their full budget breakdown. Don't forget, you can always view more photos of this romantic wedding at Hickory Street Annex in the full gallery here, all beautifully captured by June Bug Co. Photography.
From the Bride:We knew from the start that we wanted a small imitate wedding with a romantic ambiance that was a little bit vintage and a little bit rustic. The most important thing was the venue and we fell in love with the Hickory Street Annex the moment we pulled up; it had the perfect backdrop and we would be able to have the ceremony on the lawn so that everyone could walk into the reception from the ceremony space.
My dress was the first dress I tried on and I knew it the moment I put it on, though I did try on 10 more just to be sure. I wanted the bridesmaids individuality to stand out on our wedding day so as long as they chose a grey chiffon Bill Levkoff dress and black suede shoes they were able to choose their dress and shoe style.
Greg wore a grey tux with black converse with blue argyle socks and a matching tie. The groomsmen also wore a grey tux, black converse, purple argyle socks, and matching purple ties.
After choosing the venue we started spending many early weekend mornings wandering the rows of vendors at First Monday Trade Days in Canton and Third Monday Trade Days in McKinney; rummaging for blue mason jars, glass flasks and whiskey jars, vintage suitcases, old beer crates, broken down frames, and everything in between. Our guest bedroom was filled with second hand goods and half the inventory from Joann Fabrics (Greg and I became very intimate with the layout of Joann's, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby).
As we drew closer to the big day we recruited family and friends to help with gluing house numbers to glass flasks, canning homemade salsa for the favors, stitch witching burlap table runners, spraying chalkboard paint to peg board, and even making our birch branch arbor. When we couldn't build it or do it ourselves, we ordered it from Etsy.
Just minutes before the ceremony was to start it started to drizzle. While watching the rain come down harder we decided to move everything inside and within moments ushers, groomsmen and family were racing between the lawn and loft moving everything inside. I was loaded into the back of a catering van to get dryly and cleanly into the building then my dad and I rode up the elevator and entered the ceremony space.
That wasn't the original plan, but I knew when the doors opened it was always the plan. The ceremony was led by Greg's uncle, Jack, and my youngest sister Brianna read a short poem "I Carry Your Heart With Me" by E.E. Cummings and by the time they were done there was not a dry eye in the room. After exchanging our personal vows and drying our eyes we walked down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. McCormack while family and friends waved us on with ribbon wands.
All the tables had white linens with a burlap overlay, an array of different bottles and flowers, mason jars filled with candles and the table numbers were various house numbers attached to antique glass flasks. The place cards were attached by mini clothes pins to various sizes and colors of ribbons and then suspended from the ceiling.
The cake was very simple with a customized wooden peg doll cake topper and a "Love is Sweet" banner above the cake. Our wedding favors were homemade salsa we canned ourselves. Our DJ kept the party going until the end of the night when we were given a sparkler farewell and sent off in a 1951 Chevy Bel Air.
Read on to learn what Robin would have done differently and to see how much this rustic wedding at Hickory Street Annex cost. Please note that costs change as the years go by, and prices are subject to change. This is just one couple’s breakdown to give you a rough estimate on how much a wedding like this may cost you.
Things I would have done differently if I could:
1. Second Dress — I would have had a short second dress for the last part of the evening for dancing and comfort. Wedding dresses are very warm – you honestly need a fan blowing under the dress at all times and I got married at the end of September.
2. Take first look photos — I wanted to take first look photos but Greg was adamant that he didn’t want to see me before the wedding. I think it would have calmed both our nerves to see each other and spend some moments together before the ceremony, but also to take most of our photos. After the ceremony we just wanted to visit with guests, eat appetizers and get a drink but we were out taking photos rushing through them so we could get to the party.
3. Don't give the wedding so much control and either hire a wedding planner or delegate duties to bridesmaids, groomsmen, family, and friends — Beginning in August almost every night was sleepless. The wedding was taking control of my life; almost all moments were spent contacting vendors, receiving emails or calls from vendors, working on RSVPs, working on DIY projects, answering the same questions to family, friends, and co-workers, working on seating charts, reworking seating charts, dress fittings, makeup and hair trials, honeymoon planning and reservations, writing thank you cards, submitting floor plans, music selection, and so on. There was so much going on that at times I lost sight of what it all was for – I was marrying my best friend. I gave the wedding too much control and should have slowed down, delegated more responsibilities, and enjoyed it all.
We spent approximately $25,000 on the wedding with $16,000 being spent on the venue, caterer, photographer, videographer, florist, and DJ. The remaining $9,000 was spent on everything else (dress, alterations, my accessories, tux, invitations, wedding transportation, ceremony musicians, cake, linen rental, favors, mason jars, small detail decorations, photo-booth setup, sparklers, hair and makeup for me/bridesmaids/mother of the bride/mother of the groom on site, and Greg's ring). That amount does not include attendant gifts or my ring.
- Bridesmaid Dresses: Bill Levkoff
- Cake: Panini Bakery & Cakes
- Caterer: Beyond the Box
- Cinematography: Candlelight Films
- DJ: Astounding Sounds & Lighting
- Dress Shop: Emma's Bridal Boutique
- Jewelry: Swarovski
- Photographer: June Bug Co. Photography
- Shoe Designer: Enzo angiolini
- Transportation: Bowtie
- Transportation: Vintage Classics
- Veil or Hair Accessories: Anastasia Strattan
- Venues: Hickory Street Annex
- Wedding Dresses: Allure Bridal