Sunset Hues Inspired the Vibrant Floral Palette at This Couple’s Texas Hill Country Wedding

Though Liza and Hunter were in the same year at University of Texas at Austin and had several mutual friends, it took a college ski trip to Telluride, Colorado, for them to meet. Nearly seven years after they started dating, Hunter proposed under a tree covered with hundreds of twinkling lights at The Houstonian Hotel. “I can’t remember a word that he said because I blacked out from pure adrenaline!” says Liza. “I only remember saying yes. We had brunch with both of our families the next morning to celebrate!”

Liza and Hunter wanted to celebrate their favorite things—their close-knit families, their love for Texas, a passion for great food—during their 230-guest wedding on October 22, 2022. They chose Boot Ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas, to host a ceremony that Liza envisioned as “on-brand with who we are: intimate, timeless, and full of life.” 

Event planner Gina Whittington helped the couple infuse their day with personality, from the vibrant floral palette and custom after-party playlists to lavish welcome bags filled with Texas-themed staples and bespoke printed cloth napkins. Liza took charge of the signature drinks, ordering a frozen bellini from the couple’s favorite brunch spot in Dallas and driving it to the venue—more than four hours away—to have the lead bartender figure out how to recreate it on site. “I didn’t get to try what they came up with until our wedding reception, but wow, they nailed it,” she says. “Guests were greeted with a frozen bellini in a Champagne glass at cocktail hour, and we even cheers’ed with them at our cake cutting!” 

Liza and Hunter balanced their love for personalized touches with a focus on creating an unforgettable evening for their friends and family. “I really loved working on the details that made it different from other weddings I had been to,” she says. “Don’t worry too much about making everyone else happy for the sake of your happiness. It’s your wedding—do what you and your fiancé both want. Of course I wanted my wedding to be beautiful, but I also wanted to make sure it was fun!” See every upbeat, intentional detail in these emotive photos captured by Lance Nicoll.

Boot Ranch, a private club where the bride’s parents are members, provided the couple with everything they hoped for in a venue: family connections, a sentimental destination, and beautiful landscapes. “The Texas Hill Country is a very special place for both of us!” says Liza. “We knew it was going to be a special place for our family and where our future kids will make a lot of memories, so it felt right to start the beginning of a new chapter with a wedding!”

Just two weeks after Hunter proposed, Liza and her mother traveled to New York City for a weekend of bridal boutique appointments; because the trip was so last-minute, Liza found herself on the waiting list at several salons—including Monique Lhuillier Bridal, where she hoped to try on an embroidered A-line corset wedding dress she’d spotted on the company’s Instagram. “They basically told us that I was 100th on the waiting list and it would be unlikely that I got in,” she says. “We had just finished a huge brunch at Buvette in West Village when we got the call from Monique Lhuillier and they asked if we could be there in 30 minutes. We ran!” The gown she had her eye on, with its detachable, off-the-shoulder puffed sleeves and lily of the valley-patterned threadwork, fit the vision for her countryside wedding. “It was the first dress I tried on, and I think everyone in the room knew it was the one by my expression,” she says. “I felt radiant!”

A sleek bun showed off the detailing on the back of her gown—and provided a low-maintenance look for the windy weather during the couple’s outdoor ceremony. “I usually wear my hair down, so I felt really elegant with it up and didn’t have to worry about my hair being in my face in all my pictures,” says Liza. Heirloom pearls from her grandmother were a sparkling finishing touch.

While the bride delivered handwritten notes to her mother and father before the wedding, her parents left her a message in an unexpected spot: Inside the Miron Crosby cowboy boots Liza wore with her gown. “I wanted to wear shoes that I could dance in all night long and knew no one would really ever see my feet, so western boots was the obvious choice for my hill country wedding,” she says. “My parents gifted them to me as a wedding present, and wrote a custom note that they had printed on leather and sewn into one of boots! They’re a very special pair of boots that I’ll cherish forever.”

Liza envisioned her bridesmaids in an array of colorful, garden-inspired prints. “I personally hate being matchy-matchy with someone else, so I decided I wouldn’t do that to my bridesmaids! Plus, the typical bridesmaid dress is usually one that just sits in your closet forever—such a waste!” she says. After clarifying the color palette for her attendants, she let each woman choose her own gown. “I initially wanted all floral patterns, but it wasn’t easy for everyone to find one that they loved so I let my bridesmaids without a dress pick solids,” she says. Her sister Meredith—the maid of honor—and the other women carried multi-hued bouquets highlighted by ranunculus and zinnia blooms.

Hunter added a custom touch to his classic black tuxedo with a feather bow tie from Brackish. “The wild game feathers tied in with our Texas ranch wedding,” says Liza. Groomsmen in matching bow ties stood alongside Hunter’s best man: his father. “[It] was really special!” says Liza. “Hunter’s parents had him when they were in their early 20s, so they basically grew up together. It inspired some of Hunter’s engaged friends to ask their dads to be their best man, too—something they hadn’t considered before because they hadn’t known anyone do that!”

Against the varied shades of pink, purple, and peach in the couple’s floral design, the bride’s petite, all-white lily of the valley bouquet provided a classic complement to the pattern on her gown.

Botanical No. 9 created lush ceremony florals in a rainbow of hues—a “playful mix” of “coral, peach, chartreuse, magenta, lilac, [and] marigold,” says Liza—that softened the stone of the venue’s outdoor spaces and incorporated the famous sunset tones of the countryside. “I wanted our guests to walk in and say, ‘This is so Liza and Hunter,’” says the bride.

Hunter waited with his uncle, the couple’s officiant, as Liza’s father escorted her to the altar. “We went back and forth about whether we wanted to do a first look or not. Ultimately, I let Hunter decide because it was really important to him!” says Liza. “He chose not to do one and I’m so happy he did. I thought I’d be anxious walking down the aisle, but I felt really at ease and calm when I first saw him. I felt like I was floating! Hunter’s eyes definitely welled up, too.”

The couple invited Hunter’s younger half-sisters, Payton and Camryn, to join their wedding party, too. “Instead of having them toss flower petals as I walked down the aisle, I had them hold my veil. It was a very royal wedding moment!” says Liza. “After the ceremony, Hunter’s stepmom asked Camryn to go grab her sister—and she said, ‘Which one?!’ Still makes me tear up! She couldn’t wait to tell her friends she has two sisters now.”

Liza and Hunter exchanged traditional vows instead of writing their own, but Hunter’s uncle added plenty of personal touches to the service—the bride even spotted tears in his eyes as she got choked up during her vows. “He helped raise Hunter and is the definition of a true Texas cowboy!” says Liza. It was his first time officiating, but you’d never know. He was a natural!”

As Liza prepared to say her vows, she thought about her late grandparents, wishing they, like Hunter’s grandmother, could have attended the ceremony. “A big gust of wind swept through in that moment and my veil wrapped around me and Hunter,” she says. “I rarely read into situations like that, but it truly felt like they were giving us a big hug from heaven.”

After months of worrying about the notoriously fickle Texas weather, the couple received a nearly perfect day. “It was crazy windy that morning, but we got so lucky. It calmed down by the time of the ceremony and was sunny most of the day, but not too hot. When guests arrived at the tent for cocktail hour, the sky was painted with cotton candy clouds! It was magical,” says Liza. An arched entryway flanked by wooden trellises and framed by an asymmetrical floral arch welcomed guests to the peaked tent where flags rippled in the breeze.

Hibiscus-colored escort envelopes previewed the pink, peach, and coral color palette inside the reception space. Floor-length, pale pink tablecloths contrasted with oval-backed wooden chairs, while a statement floral installation hung over the dance floor and garlands wound up the tent poles. Floral runners studded with perfect blooms in shades of purple, yellow, peach, ivory, and pink ran down the center of each long, rectangular table. 

A cane-and-wooden backdrop accented with pretty floral wallpaper created a showstopping spot for Blue Rhythm Band. “The band was at the top of the priority list—we were also very adamant about having a horn section,” says Liza. “They played banger after banger. They even learned ‘Music for a Sushi Restaurant’ for me because I’m a big Harry Styles fan.”

The couple’s five-tier amaretto cake from Polkadots Bakery was covered in intricately sculpted icing flowers that matched the colorful arrangement surrounding it on the cake table. The confection capped off a menu that the couple designed around several categories: “From the ranch” (Bandera quail and beet salad; spice rubbed prime rib with truffle mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables); “from the sea” (“blackened red fish on ratatouille); “from the farm” (butternut squash soup); and “from the Gods” (white amaretto wedding cake). “We’re big foodies, so we really wanted to show out!” says Liza.

Custom details inside the reception included napkins printed with the menu details and an oyster bar, which the couple’s planner decorated with a custom floral ice block. “We both really wanted an oyster bar (our favorite happy hour food) for cocktail hour!” says Liza. “We had a bunch of different toppings and pairings for the oysters, like migonotte, horseradish, hot sauce—all my fellow oyster lovers couldn’t stop talking about it and it made for a great entrance piece!"

Liz and Hunter had planned a silent disco for after the reception, creating his and hers playlists for their DJ to use. “The company never showed up,” says Liza. “We were really bummed, but my wedding planner had a backup plan: She got a DJ set and just played the playlist I had made. Naturally, it was a lot of girly 2000s songs that I grew up listening to. When ‘7 Things I Hate About You’ by Miley Cyrus came on, every single one of my friends rushed to the dance floor (guys included) and started belting the lyrics! It cracks me up to think that was the song that really set the party off. Miley gets the people going!”

Those unexpected moments helped the couple’s day become the memorable celebration they had hoped for. “I spent too much time in the beginning worrying about the little design details, but over time I started to shift my focus on the experience,” says Liza. “My mom taught me a thing or two about how to host a party, and a party it was!”