Southern Hospitality Reigns in this Wedding Walkthrough with Westcott Weddings

Dana and Sam’s sweet, Southern wedding was packed with pretty details and a gorgeous spring palette. Guests were greeted by classical string music and a glass of blackberry honey iced tea or mint lemonade before taking their seats at the ceremony — Southern hospitality at it’s finest! A cocktail hour on the lawn followed with an elegant lounge, champagne escort card display, yard games and delicious appetizers. At the reception, a family style feast was enjoyed on vintage china hand-selected by the bride and her mom. The tables were topped with gorgeous blooms complete with peaches, kumquats and clementines for added Southern flair. Read on as Austin wedding planner Ellen Westcott from Westcott Weddings shares her insider tips in this Wedding Walkthrough of Dana and Sam’s Southern spring wedding!

Photos // Jen Dillender Photography

From the planner: “Sophisticated, personal events — I’m always aiming to strike a balance between elegant and comfortable. (Like a beautifully designed, thoughtfully curated dinner party that you never want to leave!) Most of all, though, I want to be sure that the day feels like my couple — not just like my interpretation of them — so that their guests leave and think, ‘that couldn’t have been anyone else’s wedding!’ I LOVE this color palette, and I’ve never had the chance to design in it for a wedding before. It feels so quintessentially ‘spring,’ and I am thrilled that it was Dana’s vision!”

“Christin with Clementine and her outstanding team outdid themselves. The arrangements were the perfect balance of refined and whimsical, and the colors came together in a way that felt so right for a spring wedding!”

“Following the ceremony, guests were invited to cocktail hour on the lawn where they could grab one of Dana and Sam’s signature cocktails (named after their pups!) lounge on one of the beautiful vignettes from Loot Rentals, play yard games, and enjoy delicious appetizers from Royal Fig, like savory bread pudding with roast duck and smoked paprika.”

“We used a mix of rectangular and round tables in the space to add visual interest and varied the linens too. Rectangular tables received swiss dot table linens with ivory napkins and round tables received ivory table linens with Swiss dot napkins. Clementine added gorgeous blooms and seasonal fruit like peaches, kumquats and clementines to every table, and the Carter’s vintage china completed the look.”

“We placed the cake table in the middle of dance floor, which also happened to be in the middle of the room, so that everyone would have a chance to admire it before cake cutting. We wanted to pull the full wedding palette into the cake table, and the two different flavors – earl gray cake with honey lavender buttercream and carrot cake with brown butter buttercream – were delicious!”

From the bride: “Thanks to Ellen I never once felt stressed during wedding planning. My mom and I loved working with her and appreciated her thoroughness, attention to detail and organization. Planning my wedding with Ellen was one of the most fun things I have ever done!”