The Wedding Where Every Guest Got a Book
A Bookshelf Seating Chart, a Pecan Tree Ceremony, and a Party That Felt Nothing Like a Wedding: Barr Mansion, Austin
Ellie and Andrew bonded over books. It started on their first date in Washington D.C., a shared love of reading and writing that became the thread running through every decision they made about their wedding weekend. When it came time to choose a venue in their new home city of Austin, Barr Mansion won on every count: outdoor space, a glass house sitting next to a historic one, and a zero waste sustainability mission they both cared about. Keila Bottiglieri of Abby Jiu Photography documented the weekend. Planning by Taylor Betts of Betts and Co.
Rockstar energy, vinyl records, and a bold black and red welcome party
The weekend started on Friday at Hotel Saint Cecilia, and Ellie and Andrew leaned fully into the venue's energy. Bold black, red, and white. Long tables with deep red centerpieces, roses and anthurium and gerbera daisies, black chairs and napkins for contrast. Vinyl albums mounted on a wall reading "Music Sounds Better With You" served as the escort card display. Guests chose their cocktails from fun glassware including a rainbow grid design, a gin and chamomile Mystic Lady or a spicy Paloma on Fire. Ellie wore a floor-length BHDN dress with Larroude shoes. Andrew wore corduroys, a button down, and Tecovas boots.
Vows under a pecan tree and a ceremony full of the books they love
On the wedding day, the ceremony took place under a massive pecan tree at Barr Mansion, where Taylor Betts and florist Remi and Gold designed a broken floral arch of white and green blooms, roses and lisianthus and baby's breath arranged so naturally they looked like they had grown straight out of the lawn. The wedding party entered to Taylor Swift's "Mine," performed by Sienna String Quartet. Ellie walked down the aisle to "Enchanted."
The readings were as personal as the vows. The groom's father read Romans 12:9-12. Ellie's brother read from Pride and Prejudice. Their officiant, the mutual friend who first introduced them, referenced Wuthering Heights, Ellie's favorite novel. Andrew's ring exchange included a quote from Tolkien. They recessed to Florence and the Machine.
A bookshelf seating chart, disco balls, and a line dance instructor
The reception moved to Barr Mansion's patio and lawn, where serpentine tables were set with textured natural linens, scalloped chargers, green glassware, and petite arrangements of white ranunculus, sweet peas, and spray roses kept low to leave room for family-style dinner. Small tabletop lamps and candles were the only light source so guests could watch the sunset and the stars. Three signature cocktails: a winter old fashioned with a toasted marshmallow, an arctic mule, and an espresso martini. Drink stirrers featured their Yorkie, Pico, who couldn't make it due to his anxiety but was honored anyway.
The seating chart was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. Each guest found their table assignment on a tasseled bookmark tucked inside a book Ellie and Andrew had personally chosen for them. Dinner was family style, potato and leek soup to start, then platters of buttermilk roasted chicken, seared beef tenderloin, cauliflower steaks, broccoli, and mashed potatoes. At the end of dinner, they surprised their closest friend Hans with a German chocolate cake for his 30th birthday and had the whole room sing to him.
When dinner ended, the party moved inside. Walls draped in rich fabric, disco balls and baby's breath lining the ceiling, lounge areas around the perimeter. Gone to Texas performed. A line dance instructor kept everyone on the floor between sets. Ellie changed into a Rebecca Vallance strapless mini dress. A heart-shaped carrot cake for the cutting. White sheet cake for the guests.
Their choreographed first dance, weeks in the making, ended with both of them laughing too hard to remember the ending and winging it. It became one of their favorite moments of the night.
On what Keila Bottiglieri brings to a wedding like this
A weekend this layered, across two venues and two completely different vibes, demands a photographer who can move between them without losing the thread. Keila Bottiglieri approaches every wedding the same way she approached this one: by getting to know the couple before the day, understanding what matters most, and then disappearing into it. Couples who work with Keila describe not feeling photographed at all, and then opening their gallery to find every single moment they cared about, and all the ones they forgot to ask for.
That is what editorial wedding photography looks like when it is done right. Not staged. Not interrupted. Just the truth of the day, captured exactly as it felt.
Planning and Design: Betts and Co Events | Photography: Abby Jiu Photography | Venue: Hotel Saint Cecilia | Floral: Remi and Gold | Rentals: Loot Rentals, Table Manners TX | Stationery: Pink Champagne Designs | Entertainment: Moontower Entertainment | Tattoo Artist: MK Tattoos