Joseph and Jessica were married at St. Mary's Cathedral, with a fabulous and fun reception at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. (Thanks to Tyler Schmitt for the great photos!) I had a blast assisting this couple on their big day! Here's what Joseph had to say about the festivities:

Where's home?

Home is here in north central Austin. We've got a little house just off of 2222 and Burnet on Payne Ave. If you're driving by it's the little green one with a scorched earth front yard and a little terrier surveying the street in the window.

How long have you been married?

We've been married since 9/13/08, which was the day Hurricane Ike blew into Texas. We haven't been divorced even once!

Where did you honeymoon?

After the valiant souls at STC successfully herded the two of us dorks through our big day, we left for Zihuatanejo, Mexico two days later. We stayed at a resort (the Tides) for 8 days and despite the town being very warm and inviting, we spent most of our days camped out on beds on the beach. Though I was hopeful, we didn't see Andy Dufrain or Red anywhere in town.

What were some personal touches at your wedding?

My mother-in-law put together two different displays that were big hits. She got pictures of each of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents on their wedding day and had those blown up to 8x11 photos and framed. We had them displayed on a table during the cocktail hour. Also, she put together a massive photo collage of each of us growing up (complete with pictures of me in 8th grade with thick glasses, bad hair, crooked teeth and weighing 85 lbs) which people got a kick out of.

We also made sure that our pictures were out of the way by the time our cocktail hour started (ceremony was at 2, with the reception at 6 - the old catholic gap) so we could welcome everyone to the reception personally and mingle with the guests. While this sounds altruistic, it really meant that once dinner was served we actually got to eat a full meal which was our real goal all along.

What aspect of your wedding did you splurge on?

We kept under budget for the most part (in large part thanks to STC's recommendations), but we definitely spent the most money on food and alcohol. We figured that as long as everyone was full of both food and spirits then they would have a good time. We were right. Also we splurged on hiring buses to take people from their downtown hotels out to the Wildflower Center and then back again at the end of the night. it was worth every penny to ensure that nobody drove home after drinking.

If you had to do your wedding day over, what one thing would you do differently?

First and foremost, I would not have worried as much about any of the little things. (although I think we did a pretty good job overall) Nobody is going to care if a color isn't off-white enough or if the green beans weren't crisp enough. Everyone is there to enjoy the day and celebrate with you - so enjoy it. In terms of specific things, I don't think we would do anything differently. Well, except I would recommend to grooms everywhere that if you take your best man to get breakfast and a shave the morning of your wedding, you probably should leave early enough so that 5 minutes before you're supposed to meet the photographer in the lobby of the hotel, you don't find yourself running down Congress Ave. a solid 5 blocks from said hotel in your shorts and a t shirt. Not good times.

Were there any surprises on your wedding day?

Our entire wedding day was basically a surprise since Hurricane Ike was supposed to hit Austin around mid-day. Fortunately for us (but unfortunately for Houston) it swung to the east and missed the Austin area, resulting in the sun breaking through as the cocktail hour began. However, this meant a number of people who were planning on driving up from Houston the day of couldn't make it. In addition, because of the hurricane other people couldn't make flights in, so it became a smaller wedding than we planned. I will say that once we realized an actual hurricane was supposed to hit the day of, we stopped worrying and stressing about everything. I mean, there's not a whole lot you can do? And once we stopped worrying about things, the whole process became more fun.

Why did you hire a wedding coordinator?

Our friends had hired coordinators in the past, and while we knew we had the time to get everything set up and planned ourselves, we have seen from experience that a wedding day is busy enough for the couple without having to worry about the details. Thus, we decided to go for a day of coordinator to ensure things ran smoothly and so we could actually enjoy the day more for ourselves. We knew nobody in the Austin area, but once we had started to inquire around, STC was recommended to us.

When selecting someone to entrust with your wedding day, why did you choose STC?

We interviewed a handful of coordinators, but Jessica made us feel comfortable that she knew what she was doing. Just as importantly for us, we liked her right away and knew that we would enjoy working with her both before and during the wedding - our hunch was correct. Jessica and her trusty assistants Lorena and Sara could not have been better at their jobs or more fun to have around. Plus, STC is very well connected in town and we ended up hiring our DJ, our photographer and other folks through STC's recommendations. The thing is, some things on your wedding day won't go perfectly. However, if you've got a group like STC who not only can keep things running along, but can make sure you never lose perspective in what's important and what's not a big deal - it makes things a lot easier. Needless to say, my wife Jessica and I think they're pretty awesome.

Thanks Joseph!

sara :)