“I was at lunch on a Friday, counting down the minutes until the weekend in Louisville, Kentucky. Matt was procrastinating on his MBA project, searching for ways to distract from the work ahead. Just like in the fairy tales, the stars aligned when we both sent fire emojis. I quickly sent a simple “Happy Friday” message on Grindr. Matt replied, "Happy Good Friday" …it was Easter Weekend. And we began chatting!

“We agreed to have lunch the next day at a local pub. I remember the weather being beautiful, so I decided to bring my dog for a couple of reasons. 1) A dog is a great way to break the ice and distract a little. 2) If I needed to bail early, I could blame it on the dog.

“The conversation was great, and it felt like I had known Matt for years. Our lunch lasted a couple of hours and we immediately made plans to hang out later that evening.”

We recently wrote about the story of how Matt and Ryan first met, fell in love, and got engaged. You can find all the details by reading the story here. This story picks up where we left off, planning the wedding.

“When we looked at the calendar and started discussing dates we didn't exactly know if we wanted the wedding in the Midwest to be closer to our families or in Austin. We did know early on that we wanted 10-10-2020. Not only does that date sound amazing, but it also falls directly between our birthdays. This meant a long engagement.

“After touring several venues in Chicago, we quickly realized that it was going to be difficult to plan a wedding outside of Austin and it was their marathon weekend. Which meant that prices for everything were inflated. It was an easy decision from there to choose Austin.

“We spent several weekends looking at local Austin venues and landed on Barr Mansion for several reasons. It has a ton of space to have the ceremony, dinner, and reception all on the property in different areas; amazing food that was locally grown and sourced; and it is a picture-perfect golden hour location.

“Planning a wedding during a pandemic had its unique challenges. We relied on the Barr Mansion staff and local guidelines to help us navigate a smaller wedding during COVID-19.

“The venue is beautiful with lush gardens and amazing backdrops. We fell in love with the history of the Mansion (built in 1898), their fantastic food, and their mission. Barr Mansion is the first USDA-certified organic venue in the country and also a zero-waste facility. It was also a positive that we could have the entire evening at one venue.”

The wedding day started with Matt and Ryan taking a quick swim in the pool. “I was nursing a slight hangover from the night before celebrations with our closest family and friends, but the amount of excitement and butterflies easily overshadowed that the minute I woke up.”

After making their way to Barr Mansion in the afternoon, they enjoyed the company of their parents and siblings while they finished getting ready and started their wedding photos. “Once we got to our venue and finished putting on the final tie and pocket square, that’s when the nerves kicked in. Not that Ryan may leave me at the altar, but would I be able to get through express my deepest love to the man I love during my vows in front of loved ones.”

Around 5 pm, the guests started to arrive. Greeted by a bourbon barrel guestbook, they were served glasses of sparkling rosé to take with them as they made their way to spread-out seats to keep some distance during the ceremony.

“For me, I had so many emotions. I will say I was anxious as we were getting ready and seeing everyone arriving. Asking things like: ‘Did I forget anything?’ or ‘Will I say everything I want to say in my vows?’ My emotions then evolved to excitement and pure joy. I wish there was more time to enjoy the day. At one point I saw Matt and looked at my watch. We had one hour left and I said, ‘we are going to the dance floor to enjoy the band.’ And we stayed there until the sparkler exit.”

“The ceremony began outside at 5:30 pm under the Grand Pecan Tree. We asked Garrett Hyer to officiate our wedding. Garrett and I are fraternity brothers who met at our first job after college. In recent years, Matt and Garrett have become friends too.”

Matt was escorted down the aisle by his two sisters and Ryan was escorted by his mother to the acoustic version of John Legend’s, Conversations in the Dark. “As soon as I saw Ryan walking down the aisle, hand in hand with his mom, the nerves completely left. I knew I would be holding his hand, looking into his beautiful blue eyes, and speaking from my heart. The nerves turned into complete bliss and enthusiasm that we made it.  A little over 8 ½ years after our first date, we were saying ‘I do.’”

“We asked two of our friends to each give a reading. In addition to the readings, we each wrote and read vows. They were aspirational and simple.” Matt and Ryan were soon announced husband and husband, and they walked down the aisle to begin the party.

The reception kicked-off around 6 pm at the Barr Mansion Ballroom patio. A band played while guests helped themselves to hors d’oeuvres and craft cocktails. “Matt and I were busy taking golden hour photos as the sunset around 7:05 pm. Oh, we also had an outfit change. We ran back to the Mansion to get into our green custom threads.”

“One cocktail was a Kentucky-inspired old-fashioned. The old-fashioned is the state cocktail of Wisconsin and we made sure it had Kentucky bourbon as the main spirit. Our second craft cocktail was an Austin Mule. We subbed the "Russian" vodka for a local favorite: Tito's Handmade Vodka.”

The cocktail hour lasted until 7 pm. In the Ballroom was a mixture of farm tables and rounds. “Stems did an amazing job with the floral and decor. Tiffany was our design lead. The tables had a mixture of candles, greenery, and flowers. Behind the head-table was a gorgeous space to display our cake surrounded by candles and greenery. The cake was a charcoal color frosting with our flowers displayed. It was an apple spice cake made by the pastry chef at Barr Mansion.”

The menu consisted of nothing but the best: bread baked in-house, fresh garden salad, Sriracha green beans, creamy green chili cheddar mac, brown-butter miso potatoes, and beef tenderloin.

“After dinner, guests moved over to the Farmstead. It has a pavilion vibe. A large brick wall on one side and sliding doors on the other three. The brick wall was behind the 7-piece band, Royal Dukes, and we chose to install twinkle lights and greenery down the entire wall. It made it so romantic in the space.” Matt made his own mix for the first dance. He also found a local dance instructor who helped choreograph a 3-minute routine. “It wasn't a perfect dance, but we sure had fun performing!”

“Another treat we had for our guests was a silhouette artist. Cindi Rose is from Houston and travels all over the country doing silhouette art. She even holds the world record for most silhouettes in one hour. Our guests could go up to her table and get one silhouette for them to take home and the other to put in a photo book and write a note to us. Everyone still talks about how unique this was.”

The party went until 11 pm when guests made their way outside for a sparkler exit. “While they were outside getting set up, Matt and I enjoyed a private last dance. The band sang "Can't Help Falling in Love". It was great to take those few minutes to absorb the final moments of a perfect day. 10/10 would recommend.”

Matt and Ryan made their way outside and ran toward their ride back to the hotel. Their friends and family cheered and waved sparklers as they made their way. A magical ending to a beautiful night celebrating.

“There were so many special moments throughout our wedding day but if I had to pick my favorite, it was during the reception when we were surrounded by so much love.  Looking around, seeing everyone’s true excitement and support for us was magical.  We both had family, friends of ours from all times of our lives new and old, and seeing them all mesh together was such a joy to experience.  It was honestly a night I’ll thankfully never forget!”

Matt and Ryan reflected on the wedding-planning process, “the most surprising part for me when planning the wedding was how quickly costs add up. Getting married in October in Texas is at a premium, so all vendors had a minimum. That is something we didn't consider when choosing the date. We had a budget but blew past that pretty quickly. Don't do that.”

A couple of things they advise are: “Create a budget and stick to it. There are a ton of resources online you can use. The second would be to make sure you meet with your vendors in real life before booking them. And read their reviews. We're so glad we did this. The photographer is going to be key to a happy, less stressful, day. They keep you on schedule and are with you all day. You want to vibe with this person.”

Matt and Ryan did not go on a honeymoon due to COVID-19 restrictions. But they do admit that Cape Town, South Africa is on their list! “We are planning to wait until it's safe to travel internationally.” Follow Matt and Ryan’s adventures on Instagram!

Venue — Barr Mansion & Artisan Ballroom
Photography — Main Squeeze Photography (Instagram)
Videography — That’s Amore Films
Wedding Planner — Cori Teague
Officiant — Garrett Hyer
Invitation Design — Fine and Dandy Paperie
Apparel — Men’s Wearhouse & Book a Tailor, Austin
Floral Design — Stems Floral
Live Music — Royal Dukes Band
Hair Stylist — Minna Kim