GARDEN OF DELIGHT

GARDEN OF DELIGHT

by | Jan 3, 2021 | 2021 January February, Weddings 2021, Feature Five

Macon Blount Marries John McColm In San Antonio

By Eleanora Morrison

Photography by Caroline Jurgensen Photography

Macon Blount, the daughter of Linda and Stephen Blount of San Antonio, and John McColm, the son of Eunice and Kelly McColm of Fort Worth, were married in a garden ceremony at Linda and Stephen Blount’s home in San Antonio.

 

After three years of courtship, McColm surprised Blount with a lakeside proposal at The Fort Worth Boat Club at Eagle Mountain Lake. Immediately following the proposal, he coordinated a surprise engagement celebration with their friends and family who were waiting inside of the clubhouse to celebrate the couple’s happy union, followed by a private dinner at Joe T. Garcia’s. The rest, as they say, was history. After a fifteen-month engagement, the couple wed in San Antonio in the Spring of 2020.

 

The originally planned wedding at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church and Argyle reception had to be cancelled due to COVID-19.  But then, just three weeks before the wedding date, the state started to open up, and a completely new wedding was quickly planned. The Blounts hosted their family and friends on the grounds of their Terrell Hills home for a much smaller, yet lively celebration that sent Macon and John off to their new lives together with the festive spirit that was authentically and distinctly San Antonio.

 

The wedding weekend began with an elegant rehearsal dinner graciously hosted by Eunice and Kelly McColm at Hotel Emma in the Elephant Cellar ballroom. The following day, one of Macon’s godmothers, Nita Kiolbassa, hosted the bridal party at her home for hair and make-up by Make-up Maven. Meanwhile an amazing team, including Laurie Ontjes of Illusions and Bill Haynie of JSAV,  were setting everything up at the Blount home. This included the bride’s father, Stephen Blount, who was  dubbed a real life version of George Banks from “Father of the Bride” getting the four participating dogs wedding-ready and preparing his famous margaritas for the reception! The wedding ceremony was officiated by Matt Wise of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio and Andrew Thayer of Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans. Rev. Thayer was of special significance to the family because he renewed the bride’s parents 25th anniversary vows and married the brother and sister-in-law of the bride, who all now share a May 30th anniversary date with Macon and John McColm. Following the front yard ceremony was a romantic garden reception with dinner and dancing.

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The event was coordinated by Robin Waters of Wedding Planners Inc. The floral designer, Danny Cuellar of Trinity Flowers, created a majestic floral cross that was placed on the front door which served as a gorgeous backdrop for the ceremony. This, along with exquisite cascading blooms of peonies in corals and shades of pink, roses in several colors and textures, and Casa Blanca lilies and eucalyptus, complimented the stately architecture of the home. After the ceremony, guests moved to the garden reception and were served a delicious dinner catered by Club Giraud. Everyone then enjoyed brandy freezes and wedding cakes for dessert. Special printed cloth cocktail napkins were designed by Betsy Mortimer of Bye George, who also created the fabulous wedding invitations. Performances by Mariachi Campanas de America of San Antonio and Drywater Band from Houston had the couple and their families and friends entertained and united in celebration all evening long.

 

The bride wore a garden inspired Mira Zwillinger dress with a special “something borrowed” tucked inside; a delicate gold pin, a McColm family heirloom and wedding day custom passed down through five generations. She was accompanied by her Maid of Honor, sister Charlotte Blount, who also designed her engagement and wedding rings. Her bridal party included Allison Allen, Lauren Bailey, Maddy Bartlett, Sage Blount, Southy Cavender, Capri Conlon, Charlotte Cooper, Jane Anne Doerrfeld, Adelaide Ehrlich, Katie Garza, Grace Grooms, Sophie Aliece Hollis, Mamie Horton, Shelby Johnson, Casey Lebus, Lindsay Marsh, Kelly Ann McCarthy, Kiley Pipkin, Andrea Becerra Rodriguez, Amy Schramm, Merritt Shivitz, Shelby Smith, Grace Sorenson, Ailee Thamer, Leslie Ticku, and Laura Werline. Her flower girls were Blakely Blount, Finch Blount, Macon Blount and Poppy McCarthy.

 

The groom was accompanied by his Best Men, Scott Hargrove and Houston Self. His groomsmen were  Will Bailey, Rowe Blount, Sam Brotherton, Reed Brunette, Chase Caraway, Taylor Carrell, Spencer Duran, Adrian Fenton, John Hill, Jack George, Cameron Horton, John Howard Kane, Burke Kleinheinz, Bryant Lagasse, Robby Lebus, Dan McCarthy, David Miles, Barron Parker, Peter Ray, Austin Redmon and Drew Reeb. Rudy Garza served as the ring bearer.

 

Despite their inability to honeymoon in Turks and Caicos due to COVID-19, the newlyweds were able to get away to the Texas coast for a mini-moon in Port Aransas immediately after the wedding, and they plan to travel to their original destination when it is safe again to sojourn abroad. The bride is a graduate of University of Texas at Austin and works for SRS Real Estate Partners, and the groom is a graduate of Texas Tech University and co-owns ACF Tarp and Awning. The couple currently resides in Fort Worth.

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A WEDDING SURPRISE

A WEDDING SURPRISE

by | Jun 27, 2019 | 2019 July Aug, Feature Five

Amber Scanio and Al Koehler Marry In Austin

By Rob Giardinelli
Photography by Sarah Doliver and Ben Porter

Amber Scanio and Al Koehler were recently married in a surprise ceremony at the Tarrytown, West Austin home of Chico and Wendy Korth. Amber, a native of Keller, Texas and a University of Texas at Austin alumna and Al, a native of Houston and a Texas A&M alumnus, first met at a birthday party the groom hosted at his home in 2016.

After a two year courtship, in the summer of 2018 while vacationing in London, the couple became engaged at their favorite spot in the city, a private club in the Mayfair section of England’s capital. “As we were about to walk out to meet some friends for dinner, Al told me to wait a second because he had to ask me something,” muses the bride, Amber Scanio Koehler. “My heart skipped a beat. I knew what was about to happen.” She went on to say, “Right there in our cozy room, Al got down on one knee, grabbed my hands and told me he’s known that he wanted to spend forever with me from the very beginning. When he asked me if I would marry him, tears were already streaming down my face. I shouted yes.”

Seven months after their engagement, the couple invited 250 of their family and closest friends to an engagement party at the Korth residence. As partygoers arrived on a picture perfect, crisp late winter evening, some eagle-eyed revelers noticed a stunning Sperry Tent in the back yard that was visible from the street. It left some to wonder if something bigger might be in store beyond what was already supposed to be a very special night.

At the beginning of the evening, the happy couple effortlessly and graciously played the role of party hosts but then  they sneaked away for a “costume change”. While preparing to get ready for their nuptials, a funny thing happened: the zipper of Amber’s engagement party dress became stuck. “I only had a couple of minutes to change into my wedding gown. Instead of panicking, my best friends’ were quick to pull out the scissors to cut the party dress off. We couldn’t risk messing up my hair and makeup,” Amber recalled.

Shortly before the bride and groom were to walk down the aisle, guests were asked to gather in the tent in the back yard. As they walked in, against the backdrop of a Flamenco guitarist, the attendees were dazzled by the white David Kurio-designed floral decor inside and knew the evening was about to get much more special. Chico Korth addressed the audience from the altar and after asking guests to put their phones away for a few moments, let them know they were indeed about to attend a wedding. Al and Amber made a grand entrance into the tent where the bride glowed in a Nicole Miller dress from Unbridaled with a pearl and beaded broach perfectly placed in her hair. Then, the officiate of the ceremony, John Scott, asked friends and family in attendance, “Will you love, support and protect Al and Amber through their lives together?” before the couple whispered their vows in an intimate way so that only they could hear themselves.

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Following the ceremony, guests ventured to the main house for the cake cutting. The multi-tiered cake, in keeping with the white and crème color scheme of the wedding, was polka-dotted with beautiful, intricate ivory pearls and cream colored roses with rose sugar flowers and a floral base covering the bottom tier. After the cake cutting, the happy guests sipped on the couple’s two signature cocktails, Watermelon Martinis and Moscow Mules, while enjoying passed appetizers, as well as burgers and fries courtesy of P-Terry’s.

As the couple departed from the reception, they were showered with fresh, white rose petals by cheering onlookers. The bride and groom then invited guests to board luxury coaches for the after party at the home of Joe and Kirstin Ross, located close by  the wedding venue, where the fun continued for the euphoric guests well into the wee hours of the morning.

The couple, who have a mutual love for travel, plan on a globe-trotting, four-continent trilogy of belated honeymoon trips that will take place over several months. The couple jetted off to Amsterdam and Croatia in May, and after returning to Austin, they left for Europe on a romantic Italian getaway to Positano and Venice in July. Their third honeymoon will be a month-long trip in August and September that will include stops in New Zealand, Vietnam, the Maldives, Kenya, and Istanbul with a final stop in the city where the groom proposed, London.

They reside in Austin where Amber works in marketing, while Al is the founder of Royalty Clearinghouse, an oil and gas acquisition company.

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