Interview with the adorable couple, Ramie + Shayne:
HOW DID YOU MEET? We went to the same high school together in Bitburg, Germany (our parents were both in the military) back in 2001, but never actually interacted. Fast forward to 2008, while I was a senior in college at UMass and he was working in NYC, I saw his profile under “Friends you may know” on Facebook, recognized him and decided to add him. One little comment at a time, we grew into talking every night until one day, he wanted to officially meet me in person, bought me a bus ticket to NYC, and I left the very next day. We have been together ever since!
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU THE MOST TO YOUR HUSBAND/WIFE?Ramie: Since we starting talking online first, I was automatically drawn to how much he made me laugh. He was so witty and funny! He was so easy to talk to. When I actually met him in person, he was such a gentlemen, and had such GORGEOUS green eyes! Turns out he’s also smart, driven, conscientious, and is able to simply be a dork with me
Shayne: She was very kind, fun, had a great sense of humor, is obviously beautiful, and she just pushes me to be better and takes me out of my comfort zone from time to time (which I need).
HOW DID HE PROPOSE? One weekend in October, due to my job in the Army, I had to work a weekend out in the field. His treat for me was to take an overnight trip down to San Antonio the following weekend, but he wanted to be cute and wanted to keep things a surprise.
First stop was picking up some snacks, and I soon figured out we were going on a picnic. After getting the snacks, he took me to the Japanese Tea Gardens, where he told me to grab a table while he gathered the items. When he met back up with me, he actually placed all the food in a picnic basket (which I didn’t know he had), had flowers for me, and a bottle of wine. Since we didn’t know if we were allowed to open the wine in the open, he said to grab it and take a walk in the woods, where, once safely out of sight, he told me to turn it around and read it. I did, and I saw a custom wine label saying “I love you to the moon and back…Will you marry me?” with the date of October 9th, 2010. When I looked up from the bottle, he was down on one knee with the ring.
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR VISION FOR YOUR WEDDING? Initially I was trying to find the right color for the wedding, and the color I kept coming back to was yellow, and BRIGHT yellow at that. I would describe it as “happy, sunshine yellow”. Soon, though, I was figuring what color complements yellow, and then I kept thinking grey. Then that soon molded the bright, sunshine yellow, to more of a deep, mustard yellow and thought it had such a rustic feel to it, so I started going down that route. I didn’t go completely rustic, but I did want some rustic flair to the wedding.
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR VENUE: We knew we wanted it outdoors and in Austin, so I started to do some research online and compiled a list together. We made some appointments one weekend to see a couple of those options, and the first one we saw was Vintage Villas. Right away we were blown away about how beautiful it was, with the lake as the backdrop to the ceremony site. We decided to check out the other two we had left, and nothing compared to Vintage Villas. We drove back later that day and booked the venue.
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST PLANNING CHALLENGE? I never really experienced weddings before (I’ve only been to one) so I had NO idea what I needed to do, how a timeline goes, the traditional events that take place…none of that! Shayne has been to a couple of weddings before, but never really noted how it all went. I had to do a lot of research to figure out how we wanted the wedding to go. It also didn’t help that I am the most indecisive person when it comes to anything about designs and decoration. I always second guessed everything, and since we had a two year engagement, my mind changed constantly. Finally, towards the end, whatever I had, I just had to go with it!
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE DESIGN ELEMENT OF YOUR WEDDING?Ramie: Even though it was a pain, the DIY was probably my favorite, such as the Photo Booth poster, the party favor tags, and escort cards. A lot of the guest said they appreciate all the personal touches we did.
Shayne: I really liked the whole ceremony site set up. The gazebo itself was amazing, but with everything put together, I thought it all looked great.
DID YOU HAVE ANY DIY DETAILS? Like mentioned above, we did! In additional to the poster, party favors and escort cards, we made welcome bags for the guest and a couple of other small things. Unfortunately, a lot of our friends and family didn’t live near us, so that left a lot of the work for us to do. “Luckily” I had to pull 24 hour shifts at work a couple of times so I had a lot of time to kill to knock some of those out!
WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF YOUR WEDDING DAY?Shayne: When Ramie got bit by ants an hour before the ceremony!
Ramie: Besides the ants (lol!), I think the most memorable moment for me was reading Shayne’s letter before the ceremony. It was extremely touching, and made me feel like this was absolutely the best decision in my life.
DESCRIBE YOUR CAKE: We had a two tiered wedding cake from Sugar Mama’s Bake Shop in Austin (AMAZING by the way!). The top tier was strawberry, and the bottom was a traditional vanilla.
As far as design, they made the outside had a ruffle look to it, and we got the toppers and banner from the place where 90% of the weddings items were bought… Etsy!
We also had a grooms cake (a Mac computer, since Shayne is a Software Engineer) and that was a traditional chocolate.
HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER? Absolutely AMAZING. They actually were the photographers for Shayne’s brother’s wedding, so Shayne got the chance to meet them first and said they were the nicest people. They also shot beautiful photos, so we knew we needed to book them for ours! They are extremely personable, and they make you feel so comfortable when taking photos (Shayne and I are the most awkward people ever when it comes to taking posed photos! They worked with us to ensure we get the best photos we could get). They have such a beautiful eye when it comes to everything. Definitely one of the best decisions we made!
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND AS A COUPLE? My Army commitment is coming to an end, so we are figuring out where we want to move next and buy our first house. Austin is currently the top contender!
CAN YOU PLEASE LIST YOUR VENDORS:Photographer:
Concept PhotographyDJ:
Complete MusicCake:
Sugar Mama’s Bake ShopPhoto Booth:
Central Texas J-BoothOfficiant:
The Knot Tyer – Scott PayneFlowers:
Bouquet of AustinInvitations/Programs:
Inviting AffairsMake up and Hair:
Lucie MarieDay of wedding planner:
Pearl Events – Jessica Brightwell“Get away” transportation:
Capital PedicabVenue:
Vintage Villas