Real Weddings | Alicia + Daniel | October 19, 2019
Alicia and Daniel’s fall wedding at the Cliff House last year was the easiest celebration and most joyful day. The warm tones and flawless details still leave us swooning. As perfect as their wedding was, the true highlight of the day was watching these two in their element: in love, surrounded by their favorite people, remembering all they have experienced together and looking forward to what is still to come.
With yesterday being their first anniversary, we couldn’t wait to talk with them about their favorite parts of the day. Enjoy!
From Alicia and Daniel:
After we both moved to Dallas the Summer of 2010, we met the following January (2011) while we were working retail at Forever 21. Ha!
We usually say that we just started hanging out as friends and have never stopped. Both being new to the Dallas area, we got to explore the metroplex together and discover all our favorite places. This led us to the East Dallas neighborhood where we have lived for almost 8 years with our Golden Retriever, Audrey Hepburn.
Because we’d already been together for so long, our main goal was for the night to just feel celebratory start to finish. We were determined to have each event flow organically and not feel like your typical wedding “to do list”. The mood we were looking for was that of a great dinner party where we were able to invite 100 of our favorite people.
For our venue, we were looking for a place that could take the wedding from ceremony to reception on site but keep the party flowing for our guests. Unfortunately, those venues can often feel sterile and empty. Cliff House couldn’t be further from that! We love the history of the building and alone it is already so romantic and beautiful that you can’t help but have a gorgeous wedding. The warm natural light of the space allowed us to keep decor minimal, but sophisticated and lent itself to a really intimate setting.
Both our wedding parties got ready at the Belmont Hotel right down Tyler/Sylvan where we each had suites that allowed us to spread out and make that an event of its own. My glam team (Lashes & Lace) came to the hotel and spent the day getting my ladies and I in gorgeous Vintage inspired looks while we sipped champagne and got to hang out on a patio overlooking Downtown. Daniel and his guys went out to Brass Tacks Barbershop for classic straight razor shaves and haircuts before returning to the suite for their own libations.
Our first look was definitely a highlight. It was such a perfect moment just between us to spend some time together really taking it all in before the big show. It also set such a relaxed tone from that point on because everyone was able to hang out having fun & laughing rather than hiding out from each other!
What we remember most is just how incredibly well everything came together. It really was a day of magic. To see all our planning and the things that were important and dear to us create the most amazing day just to celebrate our love & life.
AND our people had FUN! We could see the cocktail hour while we took photos and the energy was electric.
For our ceremony we had asked 3 of our closest friends to
1) Create a macrame altar
2) Officiate
3) Do a ceremony reading
These small elements made the formality of the ceremony feel so much more special and unique to us.
The reception was a blast! What sticks with us is seriously just how much fun everyone was having, and to see all our little circles colliding and seeing people from all across our 8 years together meeting / connecting.
We would describe the day as buoyant - everything was so unbelievably perfect that it felt like Daniel and I were floating through it all. Exceeded every expectation we could have had.
Advice for couples in the planning stages; find a way to make each step fun, don’t let the stress overwhelm the fact that you’re getting married! And if you take dance lessons, which I recommend, stop for martini’s first and make it a date night. Go with the best vendors you can, it will be an investment that you appreciate tenfold when your wedding day goes unimaginably smooth. Get to know them and they will get you.
And if you go with Cliff House, grab Happy Hour at Tiny Victories after meetings!
Thank you, Alicia and Daniel, for sharing these sweet memories with us! We are so thankful to have our Dallas Chapel as the backdrop for your wedding day, and we wish you nothing but the best in years to come. Cheers!
Vendors:
Christina Childress Photography
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