One of the best parts of my job is getting to work with other delightful wedding peeps.  Rather than hog them all to myself, I thought I would introduce you to a few of them. Give them a chance to tell a part of their story and why they do what they do.  I could not think of a better way to kick off this series than with the Villa di Felicita located just outside of Tyler, TX. (7891 Hwy 110 North Tyler, TX 75704) You should stop reading this and call and book them for your wedding now! 903-597-0002.

OK, now that you’ve done that, why not learn a bit more about them. :)

How did you get started and long have you guys been in business?

This is kind of a long story but I will give you the short version… My dad’s previous company sold, and he retired early in life. He’s a workaholic and wasn’t quite ready to retire. My mom and I had always enjoyed helping friends and family with their weddings, and my mom got the idea to build a wedding venue after going to a friend’s wedding in Dripping Springs, TX. We knew it was something Tyler needed, and there was no other wedding venues in Tyler at the time. We found the land, and started the building process in the beginning of 2005. We officially had our first event in April of 2006. This April will be 11 years in the business!

What’s your favorite part about hosting weddings every weekend?

I personally love to see how they all come together! I love the flower arrangements, dress colors, the amazing cakes, and just how they are all decorated. It’s such a long process for a bride to plan their big day, and I feel very lucky to get to see the final product of all their hard work! It’s just a great feeling when you see them smile when they walk in, and see how it all came together! I also love to be part of such a happy day in people’s lives! It’s very rewarding!

OK, let’s get some of the details knocked out. Tell me about your spaces, places, and all the options brides can pick from.
Villa di Felicita translates to “mansion of happiness” in Italian. We are the only Italian inspired venue in East Texas. We have a very large reception room that was designed to resemble an outdoor Italian Piazza. We gave it this feel by having fiber optic stars in the 20 ft ceilings to make you feel like you are sitting under the night sky!

We can accommodate about 350 in the reception room. We have 2 ceremony locations, but most known for our outdoor garden area. Tall cypress trees, manicured gardens, stunning backdrop views and a 120 foot stone-stamped aisle leading to the ceremony pergola arches is the best way to describe our outdoor ceremony location. We also have a nice indoor ceremony chapel that is a perfect setting for those who do not want to get married outside, or if inclement weather takes place.

Our venue sits on 50 private and picturesque acres. We made some changes to how we operate in 2016 and have had great success with it. We currently operate as a site rental only venue. This means we charge a flat fee (no mater how many guests you have) and include amenities such as tables, chairs, linens, set and clean up, etc. We allow outside catering and alcohol. Clients are given a preferred vendor list, and a welcome packet full of information from us, that makes their planning experience much easier for them! They are able to bring in what they want and we help them along the way.

What Disney princess is the most likely to choose your place for her wedding?
I think Cinderella would love to get married here. I feel like every bride feels like Cinderella on her wedding day – getting to go to the ball all dressed up and feeling beautiful. Then finally getting to marry her Prince Charming! Plus we also have some furry friends like rabbits and sweet birds who love to live in our gardens, so I think she would love that feature!

What’s your favorite “feature” about your venue?
My favorite feature about the Villa are our large cypress tress that surround the grounds. Every time I drive up, I am reminded of the beauty of this place by those large amazing trees! They just really give you the feel that you are in the Italian country. I feel it is a big part of what makes our venue unique and magical.

Tell me one story that stands out from the hundreds of weddings you guys have hosted.
We had a military wedding and my mom wanted to give those who had served a shot from the bar to say “thank you”. This became kind of a tradition for awhile when we had military weddings here. At one specific wedding, after giving them a shot, my mom told one of the young men, “Thank you for your service, and I know that shot isn’t much, but it’s just something I like to do to say thank you.” The young man looked at her with a tear rolling down his cheek and said, “Ma’am, it’s not what you did. It’s the recognition of saying “thank you” that means the most!” That night, my mom knew she wanted to do something and began working on a project to give back to those who served in our community. We started a 4013c non-profit fundraiser called Country for our Country and hosted that event for 4 years here at Villa di Felicita. That event helped so many veterans who came back and wanted to get back into civilian life and go to collage. It truly was created because of that young man at that wedding, and the impact he had on my mom. It gets us choked up every time we think about it or talk about it.

What is one piece of advice you would give a couple regardless of where they get married?
To be happy! Marriage and love isn’t always easy. You have to both work at it to be happy. Planning a wedding is hard. But in the end, when you finally get to be together on the wedding day and enjoy all your loved ones together, it makes it all worth it. Stay connected. And communication is huge in a strong relationship!

Anything else you wanna say?
We love Alex M and his amazing pictures that he takes at the Villa!! He truly captures weddings and couples with his heart and passion!

And, in case you guys are not convinced that this place is legit.  This wedding happened at the Villa di Felicita.

So yeah…. Go book your wedding. www.villadifelicita.com

Wanna see more Villa di Felicita goodness?
Here is every post ever on my site with images from their venue.
Here are a couple of my favorite weddings I’ve done there.
Lauren & Brent | Erin & Brett

I’ve been shooting weddings for 10 years now. One of the things that you quickly realize is that the day flies by. Most couples are bounced from person to person and moment to moment without even realizing it. That was not the case with Brooke & Justin. These two were so present on their day. It seemed like every time I turned around they were having a genuine conversation with someone new. I LOVED seeing their support group celebrate their day with them and I loved even more how much Justin and Brooke soaked up every second of it.

True story: I NEVER get tired of photographing weddings at the Villa di Felicita. This place is amazing. They make my job easier and your day so much more amazing.

CS Cutting Company out of Longview did some magic on hair & make up.

A bit of First Look goodness.
(I also love when couples exchange little gifts during this time.)

La Bella Blooms crushed it with the flowers. Ashley and her team are super nice. You should totally get in touch with them if you want pretty pretty at your wedding.

These fools had a bridal party of 30 people. I’m not sure what is more amazing, that I was able to get a photo of all of them at once before the kids melted down, or that Brooke & Justin had meaningful interactions with each of them. ;)

By the time we got back around to the guys, this little man was done. He wanted no part of the photos, but I was able to snag one of him as he bolted for an exit.

Designs by D’Anne. Keeping brides happy and wedding photographers chubby for many many years. Yummy.

(Also, if you like words on walls, floors, and other places, Tyler Uplights and CMB DJs are you jam.)

Hey remember that little dude. Guess what? Once he got a sucker, he was good to go.

Justin and Brooke both work for the SMU football program. He coaches and she recruits, so of course they had the film crew for the team film their wedding.

You know what else is fun at weddings? The Mug Machine!

Thank you for trusting me with your wedding. You two were such a joy to be around and anytime you want to get all of your friends together and dressed up again give me a call, I’ll be there.

Kayla & David were married at St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church last August.  (With a killer reception at Centaur Arabian Farms in Flint, TX.)  So now that they are total pros at being husband and wife I thought it would be fun to hear form them on what their first year of marriage was like.

1. What do you miss most about the single life?
What I miss most about single life is being able to sprawl out in bed.. That being said, we just bought a king mattress last week…haha.

2. Give us your best cheapo/fun married date idea.
Cheapo fun married date idea: garage saleing and thrift store exploring is one of our favorite pastimes, David is the bargainer and I am the treasure hunter. We always have a good time and laugh with odd things we see at garage sales.

3. What have you liked most about your first year being married?
The looks on peoples faces when they find out I’m married.. Their reaction is mostly..”aren’t you like 12?!” Haha! It happens, I’ll be really smokin’ when I’m 60 and look 45 ;) but my most favorite part of our first year of marriage is the companionship that you feel with your person. Nothing beats the feeling of someone who has chosen and is still choosing to be yours everyday.

4.What’s been the hardest part about being married?
I would say the hardest part about being married right now is making future decisions such as when should we have kids?, should we buy a house?, should we rent?, where should we go?, which insurance plan is best for us?, what is a mortgage?  (Okay I asked that one)… What we’ve learned so far is don’t try to go it all alone, our parents have been our biggest supports and counselors. We don’t have all the answers and probably never will, but we are up to the adventure of figuring it out!

5. What have you fought about most and why?
What we fight most about with me is my phone habit. (Guilty).. What we fight most about with David is the he refuses to use the towel rack in our bathroom and will hang his used towel over the bathroom door so the door isn’t able to be shut, and I am not the tallest so it is difficult for me to get it down so I am able to close the bathroom door, also he is a nail picker..eww.

6.  What was the biggest thing you were nervous about? How has it turned out?
The biggest thing I was nervous about was the expectancy to be a “good wife” to cook dinner, have the house spotless, be dressed and picture perfect everyday for my husband and being able to maintain that. The reality is that I am not perfect and David realizes that he also realizes he is not perfect and this isn’t the Stepford Wives. I do however attempt to do these things for him because of course as his wife his happiness is extremely important to me, but also in turn he does things for me and helps around the house and cooks dinner and still calls me beautiful when I could pass for a gremlin. Letting go of that stereotype for me and figuring out what works best for us has really helped our relationship.

7. What do you wish someone had told you before you were married?
Your wedding will not turn out the way you imagined, things will go wrong: there will be a gathering at the church before your wedding and the floors will be covered is smashed brownies and you’ll walk out to see your dad and uncle on their hands and knees scrubbing the floor, you will get lost on the way to your own reception with no cell phone service, plan on not eating at the reception, your first dance song will get deleted off your iPod, and the forks you got personalized for the big day will go missing, but you can also count on the moments you never imagined happening such as: spontaneous bride and groom karaoke with the band to Don’t Stop Believing, you can count on a spontaneous break-dance dance off with your bridesmaid, husband, and usher so intense the usher will rip his pants (right in the crack..), and you also count on the band playing Miley Cyrus and all the guest on the dance floor surrounding you with a cup in the air and a smile on their face and singing at the top of their lungs, you can count on incredible photo booth pictures because your friends are awesomely weird like that.  oh and so is your photographer ;)) you can count on your bridesmaids and groomsman and family to go above and beyond their call to make your day one to remember, and most importantly you can count on going home with your newly wed spouse to start your life.

Thank you two for opening up to us.  Kayla you were super sweet to share your struggles.

And David…. come on man, use a towel rack, we are not animals.

PS. If you can’t get enough of these two, check out their super fun hot air balloon engagement session.

Can I tell you a secret about your wedding?  On your wedding day, there will actually be two weddings taking place.  The one you planned for, and the one you may not even notice.

The one you plan for will be easy to spot.  It’s the one that looks like a real live Pinterest board.  Perfection will be everywhere you look.

Time after time, it will feel like you are in a movie and you won’t believe that it’s actually real life.  I mean seriously… did you notice that field just above?

As great as the wedding you planned is, sometimes there is even more fun and life to be had in the wedding you may not notice.

Like…. How adorable the little flower girls are as they wait while watching shows with matching headphones.

How your groom and his aunt photo bomb your formal photos.

That little moment of reflection as you film a message to your husband to be.

How about that time your dad trips while walking you down the aisle, catches himself, and then you share a giggle over it.

It only lasts 5 seconds, but when the minister tells you to turn and look at all the friends and family you have, soak it up.

If it feels like everyone is watching you…. it’s because they are.  Every little girl is kinda dreaming she was you.

And some little boys are trying to figure out what every older girl wants.

Of course you want a photo with your sorority sisters.  You never figured your dad would want to jump in too though.  Right?

Soak up every strange and awkward dance move your new husband has.  (And make sure it gets captured on film.)

Rent the best getaway car you can.  But if it does not crank, don’t sweat it.  You’ve got plenty of muscle standing by.

Plan your day, enjoy your day, just don’t miss the day happening behind the scenes.  You never know when lightning might strike.

(You see what I did there?)

It’s ok to admit it.  You want your wedding to be awesome.  You want the Best. Wedding. Ever.  That’s why you plan.  That’s why you read.  That’s why you stress out a bit.  Because you want everything to be just perfect.  You want to plan it, and prep it, and maybe even package it up a bit too much. :)

May I share a little secret with you?

The things that will make your wedding awesome, the things you will remember and look back on and laugh about, are typically not the things you plan.  They are not the things you pin on Pinterest.  They are the natural organic moments that happen when all of your friends and family come together to watch you begin your marriage.

I was reminded of that this past weekend when Thy & Jonathan were married.  I’ll be sharing “fancy” wedding images later but they had so many amazing unplanned moments that I wanted to share those first.

1. That moment when your grandkids spit up during family formals.

2. That moment when the ring bearer stops and talks to everyone along the way down the aisle and finally just has to be pulled because he won’t go down the aisle and the bride is on her way down. :)

3. That moment when Matt Dallas, star of Kyle XY shows up and dances with you at your reception.



4. That moment when your cousins go around with shots and make people stuff cash in your honeymoon fund jar to take one.
Screaming in your face until you do. (Try finding a Pinterest board for that.)

Your wedding probably is not gonna have all these moments.  But it will have it’s own crazy antics.  The more you try and plan out every detail the more likely you are to end up frustrated somewhere along the way.

If you really want to plan for something here are my suggestions:
Plan and prepare for your marriage.
Plan to love your spouse and to stay committed till death do you part.
Plan to spend that day laughing with and loving those around you.
And plan to look back on the amazing photo AlexM took for you. (Click here to book) ;)