Audra + Stephen's Ma Maison Wedding | Austin Wedding Designer & Full Service Planner→

October 5, 2021 Melanie Richardson

Audra and Stephen’s wedding weekend was a bit of a different one for us for two reasons. The first being that is was a second marriage for them both, showing us that you can find love after loss and heartbreak. But the second reason was because our “planner” was the groom! Stephen was so great to work with, he had the perfect balance of knowing what he wanted and also trusting us to know what was right. He was also just a funny and down to earth guy, having left a life in the high stress corporate financial world to become a math tutor, in order to enjoy himself and have time for family and friends.

Family and friends were the theme of the weekend. They both had family all over the country and with COVID many of them had never been able to meet each other in person, so the wedding weekend was going to be very special. Stephen wanted a laid back and comfortable event (two words that 100% described this happy couple) but also wanted a beautiful wedding for his bride to be, and one that would make his guests feel special, especially since they were all flying in from out of state.

We helped plan all elements of the weekend, from the hotel room block, to the rehearsal dinner, to sending out invites and getting the RSVPs, to the wedding, Stephen never had to worry. As guests arrived in Austin on Thursday and Friday, they all stayed at The LINE to experience a bit of Austin downtown life, before heading into the beautiful Texas Hill Country for the rehearsal dinner.

Every guest was invited to the rehearsal at The Texas Hill Country Olive Co for a delicious buffet from local favorite The Salt Lick. Stephen had very few requirements for the weekend, but one was that the rehearsal had to be authentic Austin BBQ, so The Salt Lick was the perfect fit. The private room with its two long wooden tables doesnt need much decor (very much like Stephen being a man of little words) so Stems Floral brought in some bud vases with lavender, olive branches, and assorted white florals to run down the center of the table, and it was just what he didn’t even know he wanted!

After a wonderful evening spent with newly introduced family and friends, it was time for the wedding at one of our favorite venues, Ma Maison. This was the only vendor that Stephen and Audra selected without our help, and it was no easy task. Audra wanted water at her wedding, she wasn’t too specific as to what form, it could be on a lake, on the gulf, have a beautiful water feature, just as long as it had water. With that being her only request, Stephen made sure she was going to get that. They looked at over 100 venues before finding Ma Maison, where they found the beautiful water that Audra wanted along with the comfortable yet elegant atmosphere they wanted for their guests.

Both Audra and Stephen had been married before, and both marriages ended differently. Stephen’s was ended mutually, but Audra’s was ended not too long ago when her husband of many years passed away. Audra is one of eight children, and while her first wedding was beautiful and happy, she never really got the wedding she maybe had always dreamt about as a little girl. With them both being so lucky to find love again, but especially Stephen just so incredibly happy to have found Audra, he wanted to give her whatever she wanted.

Ma Maison happen to have a date open just two months away, so we got a call along with four pictures; her ivory lace dress, the rust bridesmaids dresses (picked out by the bride’s daughter), and two bouquet ideas, and got right to work! Stems Floral took our design board of warm fall tones and added their own little twists, which including custom dying florals to match the colors Audra wanted. We wanted warm, comforting colors and florals that looked elegant but also liked you picked some from the side of the road. And greenery, lots and lots of greenery. The end result was breathtaking. The names of the florals alone just make you feel warm and fuzzy; peachy juliet garden roses, golden caramel antique garden roses, dusty blush quicksand roses, peach ranunculus, terracotta sweet peas, burgundy dahlias, chocolate queen anne’s lace, dark pink astrantia, ivory astilbe. It just screams fall!!

Audra is a beautician by trade, so the bridal suite was packed all morning with all her friends and co-workers making everyone beautiful for pre-ceremony photos. The wedding party was made up entirely of family, with the maid of honor being Audra’s daughter, and other bridesmaids included one of Audra’s sisters, Audra’s daughter in law, and Stephen’s two daughters. The groomsmen were lead by Stephen’s brother as best man, Audra’s son, Audra’s brother-in-law, and Stephen’s two son-in-laws.

We carried the warm fall tones onto the Trellis for cocktail and inside the Great Hall for dinner. We drew inspiration from velvet and greenery, but added in lots of metals, textures, and pops of color to make it unique. We mixed ivory florals with touches of burgundy, orange, and blush, with dark and light wood, lots of candles, copper, gold, bronze, mirrors, crystal, ivory ceramic, black textured ceramic, leather, with oatmeal, orange, rust, gray, and hunter green velvet; it truly represented the unique tastes of Audra and Stephen, and made for a comfortably beautiful party as well!

They chose to get married at The Grove, one of the four ceremony locations at Ma Maison, because they loved all the natural greenery found there. Audra made the touching decision to have her late husband’s mother walk her down the aisle as the music of Terra Vista Strings filled the air. And while all eyes should be on the bride, it was hard to not pay attention to Stephen’s many reactions to seeing his bride walking towards him. Al Gawlik captured his many expressions, and they are some of my favorite photos of the entire wedding. As the ceremony ended, nothing could stop these two from smiling, they were on top of the moon with joy!

After the ceremony as guests enjoyed delicious appetizers from Crave Catering, including the groom’s favorite mini chicken and waffles, Audra and Stephen took so many beautiful photos where you could really see their love for each other shine. Since the fountain was such a big reason they chose Ma Maison, we had to make sure to capture it for their forever memories.

The rest of the night was spent visiting with all their newly joined family and friends in the Great Hall. Josh Giles of Exodus Sound Co played keyboard and crooned the guests as they enjoyed a plated dinner of grilled flank steak, pecan crusted chicken, or stuffed acorn squash. They wanted a laid back reception where people could enjoy themselves but also still hold a conversation, so we utilized the trellis with additional lounge sets and kept the music on the quieter side. A lot of the traditional wedding events were skipped, like parent dances and bouquet toss, but there was no way Stephen was going to skip the wedding cake. Their three flavors of cake from Simon Lee Bakery (orange with strawberries, pina colada, and white with lemon) was served with Bluebell’s homemade vanilla ice cream so everyone could experience that Texas treasure.

After a quick dress change, Audra and Stephen finally got to use the photo booth from Oh Happy Day with their custom backdrop, before heading out for some late night photos at the Green Cathedral (often called the birdcage). It was the perfect ending to their perfect day.

It was a pleasure being part of this new start, cheers to many more years Mr & Mrs Turner!!