A Sunken Garden Wedding at Commodore Perry Estate

What do you do when you’re a couple who have known each other since middle school and started dating in high school? You throw a stunning wedding weekend centered entirely on the people who have been there all along. Margy and Wilson’s wedding at the Commodore Perry Estate wasn’t just a celebration of the two of them. It was a reunion of every chapter: childhood friends, high school memories, college years, and family.

Rehearsal Dinner at Uchiba Austin

The weekend opened Friday night at Uchiba, one of my favorite rehearsal dinner spots in Austin. An izakaya-inspired evening of Japanese whiskies, yakitori, and Uchi favorites, paired with heartfelt speeches and a room completely full of love. It felt less like a dinner and more like an experience. This is exactly why I love capturing full wedding weekends. By the time the wedding day arrives, I already know the people in the room, and that changes everything about the images I’m able to make.

Rehearsal dinner at Uchiba in Austin, Texas, with custom flowers in bright colors A bride and groom walking into their wedding weekend welcome party at Uchiba, in Austin Wedding welcome party, with guests toasting, at Uchiba

Garden Wedding Ceremony at Commodore Perry Estate

One of the best parts of the Commodore Perry Estate is that family and wedding parties can stay on the property, which, for Margy and Wilson, with their large and beloved wedding parties, made all the difference. The morning was its own celebration. Getting ready together, surrounded by the people closest to them, set the tone for everything that followed.

Margy and Wilson said their vows on the steps of the sunken garden, surrounded by some of the most painterly florals I have seen on a wedding day. Florist Maggie Peterson brought the brief to life beautifully: lush, layered, garden-inspired arrangements building into height at the altar, nothing too tight or symmetrical. Saturated greens from sage to chartreuse, blush pink, deep burgundy, soft coral.

A custom wedding invitation suite in rose, with calligraphy, next to wedding perfume, with a bride putting on her Mark Ingram gown A bride getting ready at Commodore Perry Estate in Austin, in the pink wallpaper LaVerne Suite Bride and groom first look, with the bride and groom smiling, the bride in a beaded and lace gown by Mark Ingram, the groom in a white tuxedo Wedding party pictures in Austin at Commodore Perry Estate, with the bridesmaids in shades of burgundy and sage green, posing next to each other, holding white wildflower inspired bouquets Wedding ceremony on the steps of the Sunken Garden at Commodore Perry Estate, with large burgundy and blush floral arches on either side A bride and groom at the alter at Commodore Perry Estate, sharing a first kiss

A Tented Wedding Reception

Dinner took place under a tent in the sunken garden, where the florals continued to set the tone and the design team truly came together. From there, the celebration moved into the restored chapel, a 1,600 square foot space with stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings, and stone floors, where The Drywater Band took over and kept the energy alive all night. The contrast between the organic, garden-inspired ceremony and the chapel’s architectural grandeur made for a reception that felt dynamic and alive. Wilson had curated playlists that set the atmosphere all weekend, and when the band stepped in, the room responded.

The whole weekend was orchestrated from start to finish by Whitt Ross, whose work ensured that Margy and Wilson never had to think about anything other than being present. When a couple has this much history, this much genuine love in the room, my job is simply to stay close and pay attention. The laughter, the tears, the dancing, the quiet moments between events. As an Austin-based wedding photographer specializing in full wedding weekends, I get to see all of it. And with Margy and Wilson, every single part of it was worth capturing. If you’re planning a weekend rooted in family, connection, and intention, I’d love to hear about it.

A bride and groom walking on the grounds of Commodore Perry Estate, with blush and burgundy flowers around them, and the sun glowing through the brides cathedral length veil A collage of images of a bride and groom portraits at sunset, with the wedding party admiring the flowers Tented wedding reception at Commodore Perry Estate, with pink floral and bird linens, wooden chairs, and small table lamps A wedding reception party inside the Chapel at Commodore Perry Estate, with the band stage covered in blush draping, a black and white checkered dance floor, and a wedding party in shades of burgundy and sage Evening view of a tent on the grounds of Commodore Perry Estate, with lighting A dance floor at a wedding in Austin, with checkered floors, and a live band