You'd Never Know That This Couple's "Bridgerton" Meets "The Secret Garden" Wedding in Texas Took Place in the Winter
Krista Noland and Jennifer O'Neil met in September if 2021 at a professional development training for first-year teachers. Even though they taught at different schools, their connection gradually grew over the course of their monthly sessions. Though they considered each other "work friends" for most of the year, both women secretly hoped that their bond would shift from platonic to romantic. In an effort to speed up their relationship trajectory, Krista changed her Bumble app settings to focus only on available women in her home city, where she knew Jen also lived. As she hoped would happen, Krista found Jen's profile and finally had her excuse to ask her crush out on a date. 'We officially began our relationship on July 1, 2022, over chocolate chip pancakes in Jen's apartment,' Krista says. 'The rest is history!' Just five months later, they were engaged.
The couple tied the knot on February 24, 2024, at the historic Woodbine Mansion in Round Rock, Texas, which they were drawn to due to the venue's architecture and neoclassical charm. Krista and Jennifer invited 150 guests to watch them exchange vows in an outdoor ceremony and celebrate with a garden party dinner reception. 'We wanted our wedding to reflect our love: full of laughter, love, and beauty,' Krista says. 'We took inspiration from three main things for our décor: The Secret Garden, Bridgerton, and most importantly, the party welcoming Spring from an episode of Anne with an E.' That episode, based on Anne of Green Gables, celebrates queer love, the brides say, which made it even more meaningful for them.
With help from Karlie Sluder of Agave Events, their month-of-coordinator, the brides pulled off a pastel-toned wedding ceremony and reception packed with flowers, vintage charm, and lots of love. Read on to see how their vision came to life in the photos by Natalie Nicole Photo.
Related: 22 "Bridgerton"-Inspired Wedding Dresses
Jen envisioned herself walking down the aisle in a vintage-inspired flowy, romantic wedding gown with a long train. "I researched for what felt like hundreds of hours on where to find size inclusive wedding dress boutiques that might carry more variety for me to find what fit that vision, but most that were size inclusive and within my budget were out of state,' she says. Jen shifted her focus to online options, and she quickly came across Selkie's bridal collection. Having a few Selkie dresses in her closet already, Jen ordered the ivory 'Queen of Angels' dress with confidence.
The organza A-line gown featured a full skirt, petticoat, long train, and sheer puff sleeves that cuffed at the wrists. Jen accessorized with blue costume earrings that were a gift from her Oma and a simple chain necklace by James Avery with a charm in the ASL sign for 'I love you.' 'My mom had owned the charm since the 80s, and then gifted it to me when I was leaving for my freshman year of college,' the bride says. 'For as long as I can remember, we have signed 'I love you' in this way when she or I was driving away in the car as a final reminder to each other before we were apart.'
She wore her favorite perfume, Glossier You, and a translucent light blue manicure to match her eye color.
Jen and Krista each held bouquets of roses, ranunculus, sweet peas, stock, and greenery, but the arrangements were made to look like sisters, not twins. 'Our bridal bouquets featured lush premium florals in the color palette with big buds and a small pop of greenery, creating a whimsical look," the bride notes.
Each arrangement was finished with an ivory ribbon.
Krista also ordered her wedding dress online because the only store that carried the gown she had been eyeing from Canadian company Truvelle in the United States was in New York. She sent her measurements to the brand and took a gamble on purchasing the ivory silk and organza A-line wedding dress with flutter sleeves and tiered skirt without ever trying it on. 'The hardest part of the shopping experience was not picking it out, but waiting on the gown to come in and crossing my fingers that the measurements we took were accurate,' she says. Luckily, it was exactly what she wanted.
She accessorized with two James Avery necklaces—one featuring the big dipper constellation that Jen gave her early on in their relationship and another chain of stars. 'They were special to me because I've always said Jen is the sun and she has always said that I am the stars, so both necklaces represented that aspect of our relationship,' Krista says. She also wore freshwater pearl earrings and light blue white Nike dunk sneakers as her something blue.
She wanted to wear her hair up to avoid getting uncomfortable in the Texas heat. 'As far as the actual style goes, I wanted something romantic and ethereal, like it could have come out of Pride & Prejudice or Bridgerton,' she says. She chose Eilish Eau de Parfum by Billie Eilish as her wedding-day fragrance.
Krista and Jen's ceremony took place in the mansion's garden, where guests were welcomed by a custom arched sign that informed attendees about the unplugged nature of the ceremony—it was important to the brides that guests were present and focused during their vow exchange. A flower arrangement in the couple's spring-inspired color palette was placed at the foot of the sign.
Guests were seated on the lawn facing a pastel rainbow-inspired floral arch. 'We wanted a ton of florals scaling the columns that centered our altar as well as florals all the way down the length of the aisle,' Krista says. The aisle was also lined with pastel blooms.
The couple's wedding party walked down the aisle to a recorded string quartet version of 'Here Comes the Sun' by Stringspace. Jen was accompanied by both of her parents as she made her way down the aisle to 'Invisible String (Stripped Wedding Cover)' by Ana Done. Krista walked down the aisle with both of her parents to the second half of the song.
The couple exchanged personal, heartfelt vows—something that felt like a natural choice for both brides. 'We are both big writers and find that we can express ourselves better in written word than off the top of our heads, so we decided that reading our written personal vows aloud would be the most fitting for us as a couple,' Krista says.
At the end of the ceremony, the newlyweds recessed back up the aisle in joy to 'This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" by Natalie Cole.
Guests moved to an outdoor tent for the couple's reception, where a blue and white checkered dance floor and hanging floral installation above it served as space's the focal point. Round tables were topped with light blue linens while long wooden tables had cream colored runners. Krista and Jen sat at a sweetheart table adorned with flowers that cascaded to the ground, and each guest table was finished with a variety of different pastel centerpieces comprised of roses, ranunculus, anemones, tulips, sweet peas, carnations, snapdragons, and more.
'We knew we wanted our wedding to feel as beautiful and fun as our love, so we prioritized tons of florals and other big and small details that felt like us, such as a fun live band, a big dance floor, and images decorating our cocktail hour and reception that honored the love stories that came before ours,' Krista says.
The brides chose an eclectic mix of different place settings with antique-style floral plates in different shapes and colors paired. Green napkins, pink embossed goblets, and silver flatware were used throughout the space for consistency.
At the start of the reception, Jen's 90-year-old grandmother, Oma, shared an emotional speech that had every guest tearing up. Then, the couple's seven-piece band kicked off the festivities with 'Do You Believe in Magic' by The Lovin' Spoonful for Krista and Jen's first dance.
Krista and Jen cut into a three-tiered ivory wedding cake with blue, pink, and green vintage-inspired Lambeth piping. They chose lemon cake with raspberry filling for the top tier and sheet cake, while the middle and bottom layers were made from white cake with buttercream filling.
The brides also used the cake cutting as an opportunity to change into their second outfits of the day. Jen traded her gown for a pink Jessa Kae dress with embellished straps and a tulle skirt while Krista wore a floral embroidered number from Ava Gowns.
At the end of the night, the couple's guests gathered outside the mansion to wave ribbons in the air as Krista and Jen's sendoff. They went on a luxury cruise to Mexico, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and the Bahamas for their honeymoon.
'Your day should feel like a reflection of your love and the life you will live together,' Krista tells future couples. 'Have fun with it, don't let the details bog you down, and focus on celebrating your love throughout the whole process of planning.'Photographer Natalie Nicole Photo
Venue Woodbine Mansion
Month-of-Coordinator Agave Events
Brides' Hair and Makeup Luxe by Lexi
Flowers Remi + Gold
Invitations and Paper Products Minted
Music Royal Dukes Band
Cake Sweet Treets Bakery
Rentals Quest Events
Dance Floor Imperial Floor Rentals
Videographer Reagan Schwab MediaUp Next: Everything You Need to Know About Booking a Honeymoon Cruise
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