Stavana and Jacob are a pretty kick-ass couple, for lots of reasons. They’re both students at the University of Texas; Stavana studies disease ecology and Jacob studies plant evolution. Stavana proposed to Jacob at Burning Flipside, which happens Memorial Day weekend, so you’d better believe they just returned from another awesome Flipside experience!
Their wedding at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden was the perfect balance between beautiful and fun. Their colors were sunset colors (purple, pink, orange, yellow), which just so happen to be my absolute favorite color combo ever! Stavana herself featured blue, and Jacob, white. The bridesmaids wore black cocktail dresses, which I thought was so neat and unusual, and it looked amazing against the vibrant colors of the ladies’ shawls and flowers. All the groomsmen had some pretty fantastic facial hair, and Jimmie even had a purple tie on his beard – quite dignified, wouldn’t you say? Other members of the wedding party included an adorable niece and nephew, one of which proudly displayed his love of the Batman.
Fleurish Austin Events & Florals did a beautiful job with the sunset-colored tulips and irises. The table settings featured mason jars with bulbs that guests could take home. In fact, I took home an iris and it bloomed about a month later. It was gorgeous!
Since the couple are both studying living organisms, it’s no surprise they have complementary tattoos on their back. In Stavana’s words:
“The flower is Darwin’s Orchid from Madagascar and the hawkmoth is a Sphinx moth, Xanthopan morganii, also from Madagascar. Darwin found the flower first and hypothesized that a flower with such a long nectary must have a pollinator with an equally proboscis (tongue) but that pollinator wasn’t discovered until 30+ years later. We both study biology and evolution but this tattoo is even cooler as a couple’s tattoo because the moth and orchid coevolved together. By having such crazy tongue and flower parts they’re forced into “monogamy” with one another in a way. The moth can’t take the orchid pollen to another flower that the orchid wouldn’t be able to reproduce with.”
Blue Note Bakery beautifully recreated this symbiotic relationship on the bride’s cake! Their friend made a gorgeous and delicious groom’s cake that spelled out a J, and they even brought vegan cupcakes so everyone could enjoy the sweets!
Another awesome thing about this wedding was Stavana’s silver boots with rainbow stockings, beautifully displayed during the garter toss. Is she my kind of bride, or what??? She even sang “Whatta Man” to Jacob during the reception!
I just wanted to share this super sweet email, with permission:
“You’re awesome Alex. My mother, sister, and I were discussing the wonderful job you did in highlighting the beauty of the location. Not only did you capture some great backgrounds but you also really captured the energy of people, you’re a double hitter, good at landscapes and portraits! I’m just like in love with my photos. I keep thinking, “wow, was my wedding really that beautiful?” It’s like a fantasy come true or something.
