Elegant Hotel Van Zandt Austin Wedding

Stephanie and Robert are actually from Chicago, but chose to have their special day in Austin, Texas, where Robert's parents live. Because most of their guests flew in for the wedding weekend, they chose the elegant Hotel Van Zandt for the seamless and stress-free convenience they provided. The Hotel Van Zandt was able to conveniently host the rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception, all in one place while allowing their guests easy access all the wonderful Austin, Texas food and entertainment.

They had their first look in the a quiet and private gathering space at the hotel as the natural lighting poured in through the windows. They each wrote beautiful, heartfelt letters to one another and read them out loud to each other. It was such an intimate moment and it was so sweet to see them connect with each other prior to the ceremony.

Sparkle and Inclusivity

Being able to share their special day with their family and friends while being inclusive of all genders was of most importance to Stephanie and Robert. The happy couple took an untraditional approach to their bridal party. Instead of having bridesmaids and groomsmen, they created a new concept entirely. They asked their siblings to be maid of honor and best man, and then invited the remaining bridal party to be "bride-kicks," - a mix of "bridal party" and "sidekicks."

Their pre-wedding festivities even included a superhero and sidekick themed party in their hotel suite. Something I thought was so special about this, was that Stephanie and Robert asked their bride-kicks to wear something with sequins, beading, or glitter, because of how they bring so much sparkle into their lives. It was so heartfelt and touching to see how they made sure to find ways to honor the most important people in their lives.

Breaking Free From Tradition

Stephanie and Robert did not hesitate to break free from tradition to make their special Hotel Van Zandt wedding perfect. Instead of having the bride-kicks stand up front with them during the ceremony, they chose to make the entrance a big deal. They also gave the bride-kicks the responsibility of keeping the dance floor rocking.

Stephanie and Robert chose a cake with decadent chocolate frosting and a dark chocolate drizzle. Inside, the flavors were cinnamon churro cake with brown butter frosting in the middle, and a dark chocolate cake with salted caramel frosting in the middle. The hedgehog cake toppers were true whimsical nods at one another as Robert’s nickname in high school was “Sonic” (because he was captain of the track team), while Stephanie is well known for her love of sunflowers (thus the sunflower crown on the bride topper).

Advice For Wedding Planning

The happy couple shared some words of advice for those of you also planning a quick wedding.

"If you’re planning a wedding quickly, consider a hotel wedding, there’s fewer different vendors to coordinate because you’ll have the same vendor for accommodations, venue, and catering. Plus that hotel will probably go the extra mile to make sure everything runs smoothly."

"It's your day, if there’s a wedding tradition you don’t love, change it. Create a clear vision of what you want, explain it to your family and friends, and let them know how they can help make it a success"

Planning your own hotel wedding and looking for more inspiration? Check out this Hotel Ella Wedding!

Talented Wedding Vendors

---