Caroline & Brennan | December 8, 2023 | Deep Winter, Personal Touches
Here’s the tea – Caroline and Brennan are one of those couples that you never forget about. From flip cup for their wedding party grand entrance to an epic rendition of “The Zephyr Song” by the RHCP for a first dance, C&D made their wedding uniquely them. Let’s hear more about their winter wedding at One Eleven East from their point of view!
How did you two meet?
We met in college at Stephen F Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. Caroline was a Rose for Brennan’s fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi. We were just acquaintances for a while. Brennan graduated and we hadn’t seen each other for about a year. During Caroline’s senior year, Brennan came back to Nac to visit and the two of us hung out the whole weekend. After that we started talking more frequently and became a couple about a month after that – and the rest is history!
What was the inspiration for your wedding day?
Our inspo was to have a night that no one could forget. Our main goal was to have the most fun possible – the Brennan and Caroline way. Hence why we played flip cup for our grand entrance! The other inspo was to have a wedding that fit our aesthetic and personalities.
We tried not to play too much into trends that didn’t fit with us.
Why did you choose One Eleven East as your winter wedding venue?
We fell in love with One Eleven East as soon as we stepped in the door for their open house weekend. It reminded us of Downtown Nacogdoches where we went to school and met. Downtown Hutto has the same kind of small town charm.
Tell us more about your wedding style and theme!
We went with a romantic vibe with some vintage aspects thrown in. We wanted something that would be timeless and memorable for the two of us and wanted to make our venue feel warm and welcoming to our guests.
What was the inspiration behind the colors you chose for your wedding?
We would say the time of year was the biggest inspiration for our colors. We had our wedding in December but we didn’t want a “Christmas Wedding.” Caroline wanted her bridesmaids in a dark olive green and Brennan wanted to be in a navy suit. We planned our secondary colors based off those two decisions. We wanted our florals to bring together the rest of the colors.
What were you struggling with when it came to finding a wedding planner for your wedding?
We honestly didn’t struggle at all! We met Sydney when we attended One Eleven East’s open house and connected with her instantly and knew the search we hadn’t even started was already over!
Why did you decide to work with our company?
We just loved Sydney and her vibe so much. We knew that with her by our side, that it was possible to not lose our minds during the planning process and being able to enjoy it to the fullest, along with the wedding day as well.
What was your favorite part of the planning process?
Caroline’s favorite part of planning was colors and decor. She loved figuring out all those little details that truly make it their own.
Brennan’s favorite part was the ending of the planning process and seeing all of our hard work come together on our wedding day.
What was your least favorite part of the planning process?
Caroline’s least favorite part of planning was the budget. Trying to make everything you want work and sticking within the budget is really hard. We did it and were able to have all our wants!
Brennan’s least favorite part was the entire planning process because it was hard and stressful at times. But is so thankful that we had Sydney to ease the stress and concerns and making it all happen.
What were some meaningful touches you incorporated into your winter wedding at One Eleven East and why?
We had quite a few meaningful touches to our wedding. This is how we made our wedding unique to us. Our newspaper wedding programs were an ode to Caroline’s job and her family’s business. Her something blue was her dad’s classic car that she’s helped him work on since she was a child. This was also used as our getaway vehicle at the end of the night. Our officiant was Caroline’s childhood best friend and now one of Brennan’s. We had a Polaroid guestbook so that we could have physical photos of our guest along with their written well wishes. On our dessert table, we had our favorite dessert, cheesecake, for us to cut. We also had macarons, one of Caroline’s faves. And we had various fruit snacks, one of Brennan’s faves. Brennan’s mom made us koozies that were of the two of us put into the Red Hot Chili Peppers album that our first dance song was off of. Our grand entrance game of flip cup was a throwback to our fraternity days in college.
What has stood out to you about our work together?
Caroline – Sydney’s attention to detail and her calm and collected personality was what stood out to me the most. She asked us questions during the planning process that we hadn’t even thought about! Her personality made us calm and not overstress about everything throughout the day. We were able to enjoy every part of it. She also went above and beyond the day of the wedding. She stopped at the grocery store and managed to buy the last bouquet of white roses for our flower man to toss down the aisle during the procession.
Brennan – Sydney really made the process a lot less stressful. After every meeting I felt more and more confident in the fact that everything was being taken care of. It was big feat that we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish alone.
What would you say to someone thinking about hiring us as their wedding planner?
We would tell them everything they’d miss out on if they didn’t hire In Ink Weddings and Events and would recommend them 100% every time. We had such a wonderful experience and want everyone to experience it as well.
What was your favorite moment from your winter wedding day at One Eleven East?
Caroline’s favorite memory from the day was her and Brennan’s first dance. They tried to practice dancing for a couple weeks before the wedding and we were horrible! We decided to just wing it instead. We were goofing around after we decided to just wing it and we had the idea for her to spin Brennan at one point rather than the traditional other way around. So we did it during our first dance and it just gave that Brennan and Caroline twist. She could hear everyone giggling and it just made it a special moment for her dancing to their favorite song.
Brennan’s favorite memory was when it got time to enjoy the wedding festivities after the ceremony and being with our family and friends. He loved seeing everyone enjoy themselves and have fun.
Vendor Team:
Photo: Diana M. Lott Photography
Venue: One Eleven East
Catering: Peached Tortilla
DJ: Premier Entertainment
Florist: Stems
