Home/Get Advice/This Bride and Groom Gave Their Guests Custom Poems as a Wedding Favor

This Bride and Groom Gave Their Guests Custom Poems as a Wedding Favor

Updated September 30, 2023
by caitlin@lovestoriestv.com

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP3pFuvFZeD/

Hayleigh and Cory's wedding will delight you from start to finish, I promise. Their \"West Texas desert meets 1970s\" vibes were met with daytime brunch, cute coffee and donut carts, and a lounge area complete with an outdoor teepee. Basically, it was your dream weekend. The McKellar's Wedding Cinema did an amazing job of capturing their day, so I was really excited learn more from Hayleigh. She who told me two things that filled my heart with instant joy:

  1. Hayleigh and Cory gave their guests custom poems as a wedding favor.

  2. Their recessional confetti was made from dried flowers Hayleigh saved from each bouquet Cory had given her since they started dating.

BE STILL, MY BEATING HEART. Read on for our full interview with Hayleigh and Cory and then obviously watch their gorgeous video by The McKellar's below.

The Love Story

How did you meet and fall in love?

Cory and I have been going to the same church together since I was about 13 years old. I really don't remember the first time we met, but I always had the biggest crush on him. He's a few years older than me, which makes a difference when you're in high school, so once we finally got to know each other, we instantly became best friends!

The Wedding

Your video opens with a reading of a really beautiful poem being read to you — can you tell us more about your wedding poem and that moment?

A few years ago, Cory and I were in New Orleans and we came across a guy sitting in front of a typewriter selling custom poems. He asked us about our day and wrote us a perfect little poem, which became the best souvenir from our trip. When we came across Ryan from Untouched Poetry while researching wedding vendors, I thought about our poem from New Orleans and how special it would be for our guests to have a custom poem as a wedding favor. We sat down with Ryan on our wedding day and told him about our love story and the story behind the flower petal confetti that our guests through during our recessional. I had been saving one dried flower from each bouquet Cory had given me for the past 6 years we had been dating. We used the petals from those flowers as our recessional confetti. Ryan narrated our love story in the most eloquent and beautiful way and included a couple lines about the flowers. I was so thrilled that the McKellar's decided to use Ryan reading the poem as the opening for our wedding film!

Your wedding was described as \"West Texas desert meets 1970s,\" a description I am really obsessed with and totally captures the vibe of your day. How did you find your pretty outdoor teepee?! What elements do you think were most helpful in creating the atmosphere you were going for?

Every piece in our courtyard lounge, including the teepee, is from Loot Vintage Rentals. Our planner Emily from Bird Dog Weddings styled the lounge and was the one who suggested using the teepee. We wanted a laid-back, bright, fun, retro, bohemian vibe, and when we told Emily what we were going for, she totally got it and ran with it. I love warmer tones, so we went with burnt orange, mustard yellow, and muted reds as our main color palette. Our floral design was also one of my favorite design elements. Our florist Erin from Rosehip Flora is a rockstar. Everything was bright and colorful and exactly what we wanted.

The coffee cart you had at the reception is also amazing. I want that to show up at my doorstep every day of my life. Can you tell us more about what it was like to book the coffee cart for your wedding?

When we decided on doing a brunch wedding, good coffee was a must! We stumbled upon Lucky Lab Coffee Co., and we loved that they had so many options we had never tried before. They were also willing to create whatever we wanted, so creating our menu was a blast. We went with a Thai Tea in honor of our honeymoon in Thailand, a Rosemary Sweet Cream Latte, which was our favorite from the tasting we did with them, and a couple other more simple options.

What elements of your wedding day were most important to you and how did you plan for them?

Our top two priorities were that we wanted everything to be unique to us, and we wanted our guests to have a fun, laid-back time. We went with a daytime brunch wedding, because it felt a bit less formal than an evening wedding. We also loved the idea of having a courtyard with a coffee truck, a donut cart, and a lounge area so our guests could walk around, mingle, and enjoy the Austin sunshine. Having Ryan there writing custom poems was also one of my favorite parts, because it was like an interactive wedding favor that our guests could take home. It was so fun reading our guests' poems after the wedding and seeing how perfectly Ryan captured each guest's story and personality.

What is your favorite moment from your wedding video?

It's hard to pick a favorite because I love all the details and special moments that the McKellar's captured, but Cory's two-second yoga session makes me laugh every time. I don't even know how he ended up in Warrior III while we were trying to get some couple-y shots, but it just shows how much fun we had on our wedding day. I'm so glad Vanessa ended up putting that in the video.

 

How did you find The McKellar's and why did you choose them to shoot your wedding?

I found the McKellar's while browsing through our planner Emily's (Bird Dog Weddings) blog and fell in love! Their wedding films are so unique and fun. I probably spent at least two hours watching all their videos when I first discovered them. We were also obsessed with the idea of having Super 8 film in our video, which added a fun vintage charm that I had never seen before in a wedding film.

The Couple

What do you think the ~secret sauce~ to your relationship is?

Lots and lots of laughter. Cory is truly one of the funniest people I know, and I think that's the main reason I fell for him in the first place. We're always having a blast together, which makes it hard to be mad at each other for very long. :)

Describe your favorite date night!

We love daytime dates, because we love being outside especially when the weather is nice. A perfect date for us would be a picnic on the beach on a warm sunny day.

What do you think is the most inspiring thing about each other?

Hayleigh: Cory inspires to be spontaneous and to just go with the flow without trying to overthink thinks. He never takes life too seriously, and that's one thing I love about him.

Cory: I'm inspired by Hayleigh's outlook on life. She works hard and still manages to put her friends and family first. She takes joy in going above and beyond for the people she loves.

If you were to guess, where will you be and what will you be doing when you celebrate your 10-year wedding anniversary?

Hopefully traveling! It's definitely our favorite thing to do together. We love exploring new places and eating good food.

See the full vendor list for Hayleigh and Cory's wedding, here.

Home/Get Advice/This Bride and Groom Gave Their Guests Custom Poems as a Wedding Favor

This Bride and Groom Gave Their Guests Custom Poems as a Wedding Favor

Updated September 30, 2023
by caitlin@lovestoriestv.com

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP3pFuvFZeD/

Hayleigh and Cory's wedding will delight you from start to finish, I promise. Their \"West Texas desert meets 1970s\" vibes were met with daytime brunch, cute coffee and donut carts, and a lounge area complete with an outdoor teepee. Basically, it was your dream weekend. The McKellar's Wedding Cinema did an amazing job of capturing their day, so I was really excited learn more from Hayleigh. She who told me two things that filled my heart with instant joy:

  1. Hayleigh and Cory gave their guests custom poems as a wedding favor.

  2. Their recessional confetti was made from dried flowers Hayleigh saved from each bouquet Cory had given her since they started dating.

BE STILL, MY BEATING HEART. Read on for our full interview with Hayleigh and Cory and then obviously watch their gorgeous video by The McKellar's below.

The Love Story

How did you meet and fall in love?

Cory and I have been going to the same church together since I was about 13 years old. I really don't remember the first time we met, but I always had the biggest crush on him. He's a few years older than me, which makes a difference when you're in high school, so once we finally got to know each other, we instantly became best friends!

The Wedding

Your video opens with a reading of a really beautiful poem being read to you — can you tell us more about your wedding poem and that moment?

A few years ago, Cory and I were in New Orleans and we came across a guy sitting in front of a typewriter selling custom poems. He asked us about our day and wrote us a perfect little poem, which became the best souvenir from our trip. When we came across Ryan from Untouched Poetry while researching wedding vendors, I thought about our poem from New Orleans and how special it would be for our guests to have a custom poem as a wedding favor. We sat down with Ryan on our wedding day and told him about our love story and the story behind the flower petal confetti that our guests through during our recessional. I had been saving one dried flower from each bouquet Cory had given me for the past 6 years we had been dating. We used the petals from those flowers as our recessional confetti. Ryan narrated our love story in the most eloquent and beautiful way and included a couple lines about the flowers. I was so thrilled that the McKellar's decided to use Ryan reading the poem as the opening for our wedding film!

Your wedding was described as \"West Texas desert meets 1970s,\" a description I am really obsessed with and totally captures the vibe of your day. How did you find your pretty outdoor teepee?! What elements do you think were most helpful in creating the atmosphere you were going for?

Every piece in our courtyard lounge, including the teepee, is from Loot Vintage Rentals. Our planner Emily from Bird Dog Weddings styled the lounge and was the one who suggested using the teepee. We wanted a laid-back, bright, fun, retro, bohemian vibe, and when we told Emily what we were going for, she totally got it and ran with it. I love warmer tones, so we went with burnt orange, mustard yellow, and muted reds as our main color palette. Our floral design was also one of my favorite design elements. Our florist Erin from Rosehip Flora is a rockstar. Everything was bright and colorful and exactly what we wanted.

The coffee cart you had at the reception is also amazing. I want that to show up at my doorstep every day of my life. Can you tell us more about what it was like to book the coffee cart for your wedding?

When we decided on doing a brunch wedding, good coffee was a must! We stumbled upon Lucky Lab Coffee Co., and we loved that they had so many options we had never tried before. They were also willing to create whatever we wanted, so creating our menu was a blast. We went with a Thai Tea in honor of our honeymoon in Thailand, a Rosemary Sweet Cream Latte, which was our favorite from the tasting we did with them, and a couple other more simple options.

What elements of your wedding day were most important to you and how did you plan for them?

Our top two priorities were that we wanted everything to be unique to us, and we wanted our guests to have a fun, laid-back time. We went with a daytime brunch wedding, because it felt a bit less formal than an evening wedding. We also loved the idea of having a courtyard with a coffee truck, a donut cart, and a lounge area so our guests could walk around, mingle, and enjoy the Austin sunshine. Having Ryan there writing custom poems was also one of my favorite parts, because it was like an interactive wedding favor that our guests could take home. It was so fun reading our guests' poems after the wedding and seeing how perfectly Ryan captured each guest's story and personality.

What is your favorite moment from your wedding video?

It's hard to pick a favorite because I love all the details and special moments that the McKellar's captured, but Cory's two-second yoga session makes me laugh every time. I don't even know how he ended up in Warrior III while we were trying to get some couple-y shots, but it just shows how much fun we had on our wedding day. I'm so glad Vanessa ended up putting that in the video.

 

How did you find The McKellar's and why did you choose them to shoot your wedding?

I found the McKellar's while browsing through our planner Emily's (Bird Dog Weddings) blog and fell in love! Their wedding films are so unique and fun. I probably spent at least two hours watching all their videos when I first discovered them. We were also obsessed with the idea of having Super 8 film in our video, which added a fun vintage charm that I had never seen before in a wedding film.

The Couple

What do you think the ~secret sauce~ to your relationship is?

Lots and lots of laughter. Cory is truly one of the funniest people I know, and I think that's the main reason I fell for him in the first place. We're always having a blast together, which makes it hard to be mad at each other for very long. :)

Describe your favorite date night!

We love daytime dates, because we love being outside especially when the weather is nice. A perfect date for us would be a picnic on the beach on a warm sunny day.

What do you think is the most inspiring thing about each other?

Hayleigh: Cory inspires to be spontaneous and to just go with the flow without trying to overthink thinks. He never takes life too seriously, and that's one thing I love about him.

Cory: I'm inspired by Hayleigh's outlook on life. She works hard and still manages to put her friends and family first. She takes joy in going above and beyond for the people she loves.

If you were to guess, where will you be and what will you be doing when you celebrate your 10-year wedding anniversary?

Hopefully traveling! It's definitely our favorite thing to do together. We love exploring new places and eating good food.

See the full vendor list for Hayleigh and Cory's wedding, here.