Elegant Nigerian Wedding at Woodbine Mansion

September 7, 2022 Cillia Marion

Love was in the air at this timeless Woodbine Mansion wedding. The romance between these two was intoxicating and you couldn’t help but smile while looking at them - they are truly in love and it shows. We handled the floral arrangements for this elegant Hill Country wedding and it was an evolving project, to say the least. While the allocated budget for the floral decor didn’t quite fit the vision of this Houston bride, we worked with different ideas to find the sweet spot for her dream wedding.

This magical event occurred at Woodbine Mansion in Round Rock, TX, just North of Austin, TX. It was a well-picked venue for Bukie and Charles’ classic wedding, featuring towering Magnolias, lush grounds, and Neoclassical details indoors and out. It was quite literally picture-perfect. While the venue was historical and allowed the setting to speak for itself, this couple made sure to add their flare by asking guests to wear traditional Nigerian attire. Although the wedding party wore traditional tuxes and gowns, the crowd sported a variety of bright, eye-catching colors, including orange, hot pink, turquoise, and yellow - to name a few. They also honored their Nigerian heritage with family-centered traditions and elements.

In terms of how we made wedding magic happen, let’s start by addressing the vision vs. budget. The bride was having over 200 guests with a budget that was smaller than you’d typically see for a wedding of that caliber. Originally, she envisioned a fully draped tent with hanging greenery and lush, overflowing centerpieces on every table. To find balance between the two, we showed her how we could use modern ikebana bud vases on the long tables to get the same vibe and use the larger, lush pieces on the central tables.

After figuring out how to allocate the table decor, our Nigerian bride ended up adding on two lush 8-foot floral columns the Thursday before her Sunday wedding! As you can see in the pictures, they are show-stopping and make the altar truly memorable. We absolutely love how they turned out and think they were the perfect addition to complete the look of her white wedding dreams. I did have to shop for her flowers the day before, but we made it happen because that’s just what we do. Even though we’re based in Austin, we have the connections to make this kind of last-minute idea happen in Houston. That one installation cost more than half of her initial budget but if you ask us (and the couple), it was worth it.

There was one more hurdle to cross on this floral marathon - Bukie wanted all white with touches of blush on the tables and thought she wanted an all-white bouquet, but people do not realize that an all-white bouquet is: 1. nearly impossible because flowers grow in varying shades, and 2. all white bouquets do not photograph well. This is one of those things a professional should know but the average bride may not - that’s why we’re here! To create her dream bouquet, we gave her a good mix of ivory, cream-white flowers with gold centers, and blush, and she said it was exactly what she wanted. Once again, it was not what she asked for, but it was what she needed.

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If you’re falling for timeless weddings like this, we got you. Our unique array of wedding flowers and designs have featured multiple times and this wedding is no exception. See features here!