Sophisticated, Moody Wedding at The Astorian in Houston

Celeste & Brett

Mountain Cabin Girl Meets the Astorian

We first met Celeste and Brett during their engagement session at a friend’s home near Galveston and knew right away that we loved her style! And the way that they love each other and are drawn to each other is electric and made for the most amazing photos during all of our sessions and their wedding – we can’t wait for you to see these!

The classy, chic way she has about her + her sentimentality and love for details + the sexy, moody vibes and darker hues that she designed at The Astorian made this wedding day unforgettable.

The Design

When we asked about design inspiration for the day, Celeste told us that, “growing up, my family called me mountain cabin girl. I loved being in the woods (or we called it ‘the holler’ in the Ozarks, where we spent a lot of summers with my grandparents). And then I’d visit my Mom’s family in Las Vegas and on and around Mt. Charleston in Nevada… My uncle was a rock climber and lived in a cabin on a mountain. He had pets of all sorts (cat, dog, snake!) and I took to it all! But mainly the short answer is– I just love green. Bright, verdant green, the deepest olives, silky sexy green, and bright chartreuses that you just want to pour in your cocktails. And I thought that would look nice in the Astorian with some white florals too. And I wanted a lot of candlelight or lamps. I love moody vibes with good lighting.” We think Two Be Wed’s Danyett Baxter helped her pull off the vision flawlessly!

The Dress

Celeste tried on multiple dresses at Casa de Novia in Houston, just to make sure she found THE one, and ended up coming back to the very first beautiful Mira Zwillinger gown that she put on! Her mom had even called her dad already and asked him to come up and look!

She was a radiant bride on her wedding day, pairing her dress with a special pair of peridot & diamond earrings from Nacol & Co that Brett surprised her with at her bridal portrait session (don’t worry – he left them for her with the ladies at the Astorian…he didn’t see her!), and Prada shoes for the ceremony and first dance, later changing into Jimmy Choo platforms for the rest of the reception.

Favorite Details

There were so many special details that it was hard for her to choose, but Celeste picked two favorites for us:

“I loved the candles and the little scalloped lamps on the tables. I love all the mixes of greens and the prints and textures. I loved having my nephew and niece be my ring bearer and flower girl. They looked so great in their outfits and I’m so proud of how well they did. I loved the custom cocktails. Brett and I are gin fans and we love a fresh and minty southside, but we also are big espresso drinkers. We compete on who can pull the best shot of espresso or steam the silkiest milk at home, so it was only natural for us to have an espresso martini as a specialty cocktail. And for the record, Brett truly does make one of the best espresso martinis (and actually, any cocktail in general he’s a wizard mixologist somehow) and we insisted on using real espresso and not cold brew or anything else! So The Astorian’s bar manager Daniel hooked it up by brewing pods for the espresso martinis. Awesome touch and super appreciated.

Another little detail that was really special– I’ve known most of my bridesmaids for 29 years now. We all went to pre-k together and have all remained very very close. My dad was their soccer and basketball coach growing up too and our families are close so some of their parents were also at the reception. A little thing my family does is silver and gold coins.. we give them as gifts during Christmas time or very special occasions. My Dad started it and he always makes sure to include everyone. And we’ve had the coins set into jewelry before. One of these gift instances resulted in my Mom getting quite a few large gold coins (each a one tenth ounce, known as a ten dollar gold coin). So after I had chosen my bridesmaids, she had these set in gold bezels and gold chains, and gave one to each of my bridesmaids as their day of gift. It wasn’t meant to be worn that day if they didn’t want to, but some of them loved it so much or it went so well with their dress and earrings that they wore it! It was just a really special touch and my mom wrote each of them a letter thanking them for being a friend to me for so long. She hoped that they’d wear the necklace and think of me and my fam and my wedding.”

Kind Words for KH Collective

“You guys are pros! Loved how accommodating and helpful you were through the whole process. And the photos!! Goodness. Love THEM.

I wasn’t a bride that did a lot of mood boards or looked at a lot of inspiration shots online so I didn’t plan or think of that! So I was very grateful that you guys had a vision and had some shots and ideas planned!!”