An Austin Elopement
Our Austin elopement was sunny, simple, and set to a soundtrack. In March 2016, my partner Craig and I tied the knot in one of our favourite cities, Austin, Texas.
Hi, I’m Gemma, a wedding content creator based in Scotland.
You can read more about me here.
The Backstory
Within a couple of months of getting together, Craig and I made a plan to press pause on our careers to go travelling.
A few years, and an intense saving period, later, we packed our rucksacks for an 18-month trip around the Americas.
During our backpacking adventure, we partied in New Orleans, danced to live music in Austin, hiked to Machu Picchu in Peru, cycled the world’s most dangerous road in Bolivia, and skied at Whistler in Canada.
Craig proposed on Hallowe’en in Vancouver, under the fake stars of the HR MacMillan Space Centre, with a ring fashioned from a plastic straw wrapper, the same one he’d cheekily given me months earlier.
Before our engagement, I’d had a dream that Craig popped the question on Mars, and the space centre was as close as we were getting to another planet, ha!
Check out Craig’s tattoos, he’s a huge space nerd, which fits perfectly with our engagement story!
Selecting Our Suppliers
Planning a wedding in a city you don’t live in, without the luxury of picking up the phone, is a challenge.
Our Austin elopement wouldn’t have been possible without the support of two wonderful people: our officiant, Sarah Reed from Let’s Do It Vows, and our photographer, Corey Mendez.
Let’s Do It Vows
I knew Sarah was the one when she replied to my enquiry with pictures of her Hallowe’en costume.
She had no idea, but I adore that holiday.
Her website also featured couples she had married, including same-sex couples, this gave me confidence that she was liberal like us.
Because, let’s face it, this is Texas.
Sarah was absolutely the right choice.
Not only did she suggest some gorgeous free venues (like Lou Neff Point, pictured below), she went out of her way to research how two Scots could legally marry in the state of Texas.
Take a look at the name of my wedding content creation business…
The ultimate hat tip to Sarah.
Corey Mendez
Corey saved the day, twice.
We originally found a photographer through Craigslist, but she started flaking after being offered a gig with South By Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin.
At the time, we were in Granada, Nicaragua, and Craig was really sick.
But he still mustered the energy to help me restart the search for a new photographer.
I called on my family, friends, and photography contacts to help me choose from a fresh batch of six potential photographers.
Corey just felt right.
He had wedding experience, shot bands regularly, and had some really cool examples of event photography.
I created a Pinterest board with the kind of photography vibe I loved, Corey was into it straight away.
He liked the direction, and that was that.
We had found our photographer, just two weeks before landing in Austin to attend SXSW and then to get married.
An Austin Elopement
The morning began with a trip to the hairdresser for me, and a full Irish, the closest thing to a Scottish, breakfast for my husband-to-be.
Then it was a quick change of clothes, makeup application, and a glass of Champagne gifted by our lovely apartment host (thank you, Esteban!).
Feeling a little giddy, we hopped in a taxi to Lou Neff Point to meet Sarah and Corey for our relaxed 2pm ceremony.
Sarah politely asked a few people to move on, and Craig offered everyone a swig from his new flat-pack hip flask, my wedding gift to him.
A wee nod to Scottish tradition in the heart of Texas!
The ceremony was short and sweet, Sarah told our story, read a quote from Good Will Hunting, and we said our vows.
I only had three lines… and still managed to forget the second!
And there was me giving Craig a hard time for using notes on his phone to read his!
We exchanged rings to the words:
“I’m awesome, you’re awesome – let’s be awesome together!”
A wee thing we used to say back in the day.
The ceremony wrapped up with a dip and a kiss.
Introducing the new Mr and Mrs Armit!
An Unforgettable Surprise
I didn’t cry… until this point!
My friends had secretly arranged for Sarah to bring along pink Champagne, and they’d sent a card with a hilarious poem.
The bottle made for a great prop during the photoshoot, and the gesture was just lovely.
Wedding Street Photography
After the ceremony, Corey became our personal paparazzi for the afternoon, driving us around Austin to capture some fun, candid shots.
We made the most of the city’s famous street art, including the colourful walls at Castle Hill (now sadly closed).
The next stop was Congress for photos at the Texas State Capitol Building.
From there, we headed to South Congress (SoCo), until I realised I’d left my camera back at the Capitol.
Cue a quick U-turn, with Corey kindly driving us all the way back, told you he saved the day twice!
Luckily, Craig managed to retrieve it from lost and found, but he did have to go through security.
Oops!
Junior Boys at Mohawk
We love music!
A lot of our travels revolve around gigs and festivals, so it was only fitting that music played a big part in our wedding day too.
Craig was buzzing when he discovered that Junior Boys were playing at Mohawk that night — and he snapped up tickets straight away.
I changed outfits, we grabbed dinner and drinks, and then danced our socks off!
Corey even met us at the venue to take a few snaps of us and some creative shots of the band in action.
The Outfits
I wore a yellow ’60s vintage shift dress during the day and a blue-and-white number for the evening.
The yellow dress was a lucky find in Vancouver.
My friend Maddie and I were out shopping when I tried it on in a pre-loved shop, she got teary, that was enough for me to buy it.
Burcu’s Angel loved the story and knocked some money off the price, so it set me back just £25!
My cornflower blue (my something blue) shoes were a bargain from an Austin shopping mall.
The vintage bag and blue earrings were last-minute finds, picked up just two days before the elopement.
Craig looked dashing in a navy suit.
He’s a bit last-minute, his brown shoes were bought at Urban Outfitters the day before, along with his SoCo sunglasses and his wedding ring.
I loved the braces!
I bought him a yellow handkerchief to complement my dress, and his skinny tartan tie, a 30th birthday gift from me a few years back, had been tucked in his backpack “just in case”.
Craig bought me a new Swatch watch after a solid year of me moaning about never knowing the time.
Shoutout to the lovely team at Swatch who helped him pick it out!
My ’60s beehive was sculpted, and I mean sculpted, by Paul Van Dyck (yes, his real name, not the DJ!) at Topaz Salon.
When I first arrived in Austin, Mel gave me a cut and pointed me toward Paul for the updo.
It was a total stunner, a real work of art.
I also treated myself to a lash lift, Lashes de Bella made my eyes pop.
And as for fake tan?
No need after eight weeks in the Nicaraguan sun!
What About Your Families?
I know eloping isn’t for everyone.
The year before we left, Craig and I attended eight of our friends’ weddings.
They were all beautiful, but they didn’t quite feel like us.
We’d saved up £20K to fund our big trip.
At the time, the average UK wedding cost around £25K, so you can probably guess where we’d rather invest our money!
As my Gran said, “I knew it, Gemma – you’re just too cheap to spend that kind of money on one day!”
She knows her first-born granddaughter well.
That said, we still wanted to celebrate with our loved ones.
So, when we got home, we threw a big Scottish party at Thomas Morton Hall by Leith Theatre in Edinburgh.
Sarah from Let’s Do It Vows flew all the way over from Austin to announce us as the “not-so-new Mr and Mrs Armit”!
You really do remember the people who help make your wedding day special.
So, choose your team wisely.
If you have any questions about eloping or are looking for a wedding content creator in Scotland or abroad, please don’t hesitate to get contact.
