“I want everything to look like this,” Hannah Persia told her wedding planner Abbie Oswalt after showing her a picture of a very feminine, floral-motif gown from Carolina Herrera’s fall 2018 bridal collection.
The Beaumont native was newly engaged to TCU alumnus Kevin Smith, and it only took one flip through a bridal magazine for Hannah to say “yes” to the dress.
“I did not even bother trying on any others,” says Hannah. “We move fast.”
Fast indeed. Hannah met Kevin on a blind date arranged by her cousin — a weekend on the lake in the Texas Hill Country with mutual friends — and just two weeks later, they exchanged “I love you’s.” Hannah knew a proposal was on the way when Kevin took her on a trip to Banff, Canada just a few months later.
“I worked really hard on my outfits and made sure I was always camera-ready,” she says. “I told all of my friends and then came home empty handed. Very humbling.”
But Kevin popped the question the very next weekend over a casual lunch at Joe T. Garcia’s, and the happy couple celebrated with friends and family all the way into the night.
“It was perfect,” Hannah says.
They were married on August 25, 2018, exactly one year after they met. The couple decided on an indoor wedding venue considering August’s sweltering heat, and both the ceremony and reception took place at Shady Oaks Country Club.
Inspired by Hannah’s romantic Carolina Herrera wedding gown — which featured floral appliques, ruffled sleeves, and a matching veil — Oswalt created a garden fantasyland. Floral arrangements, designed by Tami Winn Events, dripped from every angle of the reception, with flowers draped across the stage and table arrangements that seemed to skyrocket to the ceiling.
Even the five-tiered wedding cake, which came from Crème de la Crème, matched Hannah’s whimsical dress.
For dinner, the couple opted out of a buffet with long lines and instead chose an array of tray-passed hors d’oeuvres and a few food stations.
“I wanted to make sure there was something for everyone,” Hannah says.
Guests noshed on luxurious menu items like raw oysters, stone crab claws, crab cakes, seared scallops, bacon-wrapped quail, empanadas and lamb chops. Interactive stations included a mac-and-cheese bar, a nacho bar with pulled pork from suckling pigs, and an elotes bar.
After dancing and playing a rowdy round of limbo to the tunes of the In10city Band, sliders and French fries were served, along with coffee and doughnuts.
“No one went hungry,” Hannah says.
Under an archway of glitzy sparklers, Hannah and Kevin set out to their awaiting departure vehicle — a classic 1936 Chrysler Airflow. A honeymoon to Kauai, Hawaii followed.
Hannah’s most memorable moment of the magical day?
“Marrying my husband, of course!”
Event planner: Abbie O Events
Ceremony & reception venue: Shady Oaks Country Club
Photographer: Skylar Reeves
Bridal gown: Carolina Herrera
Wedding cake: Crème de la Crème
Floral: Tami Winn Events
Reception music: In10City
Lighting & live video feed: Absolute Entertainment
Videographer: Turquoise Video Productions
Paper goods: Lola Lorena
Hair: Ammy Lopez
Makeup: Kari does Makeup
Linens: BBJ Linen, La Tavola
Rentals: Elegant Designs, Perch Décor, DFW Dancefloors, Quest Events, Taylor’s Rental
Departure car: Chandler Smith
Transportation: Silverwest Limousines
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To submit a wedding for consideration, email stephanie@culturemap.com. Weddings must have taken place in the Fort Worth area since July 1, 2018.
The bride and groom share a sweet moment on a golf cart.
Maestro Robert Spano leads the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra on opening night at Bass Hall.Photo by Randal Vanderveer
