Ashley & Jackson’s Summer Wedding at The Videre Estate

Aug 23
5 min read

There are weddings that are beautiful, and then there are weddings that have personality. Ashley and Jackson’s June 18th wedding at The Videre Estate had plenty of both.

Set in the Texas Hill Country just outside of Austin, their day was a mix of modern romance, bold color, a little vintage influence, and details that felt completely their own. From Ashley’s effortlessly chic bridal look to a cocktail-hour setup complete with Diet Coke, cigarettes and vintage silver, nothing about this wedding felt cookie-cutter.

Getting Ready, But Make It Fun

Getting ready doesn't have to be the quiet part before the wedding actually starts. Ashley's morning was proof that it can -- and should -- feel like part of the celebration.

The getting-ready suite was full of her favorite people, music, drinks, plenty of laughing

and all of that slightly chaotic energy that starts building when everyone realizes, oh shit, we're actually getting married today.

Those hours before the ceremony are some of my favorite to photograph because nothing feels overly planned yet. It's your best friends hanging around while hair and makeup finishes, someone inevitably looking for something they swear they packed, champagne being poured, dresses everywhere, and everyone getting progressively more excited as the ceremony gets closer.

My biggest advice? Don't treat getting ready like something you need to rush through. Give yourself enough time to actually enjoy it. Put on a playlist, pop something bubbly, invite the people you genuinely want in the room and let the morning be part of the party.

A Modern Bridal Look

Ashley kept her bridal look simple in the best possible way.

Her gown had a clean, fitted silhouette that let the details, and Ashley herself, do the talking. Paired with long dark waves, delicate jewelry, white heels and an incredible lace-trimmed cathedral veil, the entire look felt modern, feminine and timeless without being overly traditional.

The getting-ready space at The Videre Estate also gave us one of my favorite backdrops of the day: those blue marble floors. Sometimes you find the photo location, and sometimes the photo location finds you. We took full advantage.

Hair and makeup by Think Brink Beauty

Dress by Spella

Bold Color & Details With Personality

Ashley and Jackson weren't afraid of color, which immediately made their wedding stand out. Deep burgundy was paired with fresh greens and pops of brighter florals throughout the day, bringing a rich, romantic dinner-party feeling into the otherwise light and modern spaces at The Videre Estate. It felt elevated, but never too polished or precious.

Every detail had a little personality behind it. Rather than filling the day with things simply because they felt “wedding,” Ashley and Jackson leaned into choices that felt like them. The result was a celebration that felt intentional without feeling overly styled—and gave me so many fun details to photograph along the way.

But the cocktail-hour setup may have been my favorite.

Vintage silver trays, bowls and candlesticks were layered across a deep burgundy tablecloth and filled with Diet Coke, fresh-cut limes, cigarettes, matches and even tins of Zyn. The mix of formal vintage pieces with completely unexpected everyday favorites was such a fun contrast. A tower of Diet Coke cans sitting on ornate silver serving pieces? Obsessed.

It was cheeky, a little irreverent and very cool. More importantly, it was memorable because it actually said something about the people getting married. It wasn't there because Pinterest said every wedding needed it; it was there because Ashley and Jackson wanted it.

I think that's what makes wedding design really good. You can have gorgeous florals, beautiful linens and perfectly styled tables, but the details people remember are usually the ones that couldn't have belonged to anyone else's wedding.

Give me the beautiful things, obviously—but also give me the weird little things you love, the inside jokes, the favorite drinks, the unexpected details and the pieces that make your guests immediately say, “Yep, that's so them.”

Those are always the details I love photographing most.

Just Married in the Texas Hill Country

After the ceremony, we wandered the grounds of The Videre Estate for Ashley and Jackson’s newlywed portraits. The property is surrounded by the kind of greenery and Hill Country landscape that makes you almost forget how close you are to Austin.

Ashley's dramatic veil caught the light beautifully against the trees, giving us a mix of classic portraits alongside the more playful, candid images of the two of them together.

My goal with portraits is never to spend an hour turning your wedding into a photoshoot. I want the beautiful, frame-it-on-your-wall images, of course, but I also want the laughing, moving, kissing-under-the-veil kind of photographs that actually feel like the two of you.

Ashley and Jackson made that part pretty easy.

Ashley's veil deserves its own moment here because it was a moment. The cathedral-length veil was dramatic, romantic and basically made for The Videre Estate. Stretching behind her against the Hill Country landscape, it added so much movement and scale to their portraits without taking away from how clean and modern the rest of her bridal look was.

We played with it every chance we got. Draped behind her, blowing in the breeze, wrapped around the two of them—it completely transformed from photo to photo. And when we took Ashley and Jackson out onto The Videre Estate's overlook, that veil against the open sky and rolling greenery was unreal. It's one of those wedding details that doesn't just complete the look; it becomes part of the photographs.

And while I will always take advantage of a veil that good, my goal with portraits is never to spend an hour turning your wedding into a photoshoot. I want the beautiful, dramatic, frame-it-on-your-wall images, of course, but I also want the laughing, moving, kissing-under-the-veil kind of photographs that actually feel like the two of you.

The best portraits usually happen somewhere between those two things: a little direction from me, a lot of interaction between you, and enough space for whatever happens naturally to happen.

Ashley and Jackson made that part pretty easy.

Then Ashley Changed the Outfit

Once the formalities were over, Ashley traded her wedding gown for a white lace-and-fringe mini dress, and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the night.

The dance floor was exactly what I want a wedding reception to be: packed, a little chaotic and full of people who were actually there to celebrate.

This is also where my approach to photographing a wedding changes. Once the party starts, I want to be in it. Flash comes out, movement is encouraged, perfection stops mattering, and the photos get a little messier—in the best possible way.

Ashley dancing in fringe, Jackson right beside her, friends packed around them, drinks in hand and everyone completely forgetting about the camera?

That's the good stuff.

A June Wedding at The Videre Estate

Ashley and Jackson’s wedding was such a good example of why I love photographing weddings that don't fit neatly into one category.

It was romantic without being overly serious. Editorial without feeling staged. Elevated without losing the fun.

There were beautiful portraits and carefully chosen details, but there was also movement, laughter, drinks, dancing and a whole lot of personality.

And at the end of the day, that's what I want a wedding gallery to feel like: not just proof of how your wedding looked, but a reminder of what it actually felt like to be there.

Ashley and Jackson, getting to photograph this chapter of your story was such a freaking joy. Here's to a lifetime of good parties, lots of laughter, and keeping the Diet Coke stocked.

Venue: The Videre Estate | Wimberley, TexasPhotography: Ayers Photo Co. | Austin, Texas

Planning a Wedding at The Videre Estate?

If you're planning a wedding at The Videre Estate, in Austin, or anywhere throughout the Texas Hill Country, I'd love to photograph it.

My approach blends true-to-life digital photography, film, editorial portraits and the candid moments happening in between—so you get the photos you want to frame and the ones that immediately take you back to how the day felt.

Ayers Photo Co. — Austin Wedding Photographer serving Texas and destinations worldwide.