Southern Weddings

Jahnavi + Jonathan enjoyed an intimate wedding at their parent’s home in Texas. The couple brought paradise to their own backyard, doing much of the decorating and bouquets themselves, with the help of friends and family. Photography by one of our favorite people (who is so warm and gracious in person!) Akil Bennett.  The bride wore a dress by Wai-Ching and accessories from the couple’s own boutique Mana Culture. Mediterraneo Market & Cafe catered the event and provided baklava (yum!) and other desserts instead of traditional wedding cake. To see more of Jahnavi + Jonathan, check out the Akil Bennett Photography Blog.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met in Maui. I was on vacation for the summer. We worked at a really nice restaurant on the water. The first night we hung out together was my birthday. We sat up all night talking on the beach until the sun came up! He said he had one of his best surf sessions ever that next morning. I left at the end of summer to go back to school and was miserable. I ended up moving back to Maui during Christmas break and we were together ever since.
Describe the proposal: The proposal was amazing. We were camping in Kauai for a month. We hiked the Napali Coast, which is no easy task. We camped outside for a week. We picked our own fruits, veggies, and met some amazing people. On our last night there he took me down to the rocks by the ocean during sunset. He turned around got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was magical. I was totally shocked. It was completely unexpected.
What attracted me to my husband was: I thought he was so cute. Bleach blonde hair, surfer. Nothing I was used to being from Kansas! He was such a free spirit and traveler. He loves people from all over and speaks multiple languages I thought that was super sexy!
Why do you love your husband? He is so unique in the way he looks at the world and life. We have such a great time together and enjoy many of the same things. We love mother nature and her gifts.
What attracted me to my wife was: She was very hot. Exotic. She was so friendly with everyone. I like how she treated people around her. She had a great energy.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: We went to a full moon party in a crater off the side of the ocean. It was a crazy experience. We will never forget it. We’ll spare you details.
The weather on our wedding day was: It was a beautiful summer day with small breezes.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? The inspiration was of course island style mixed with a bohemian funk.
Favorite design element of your big day: Lots of green, gold, amber, reds, purples. We used a lot of natural organic materials like hand carved bowls, coconuts etc. It was very warm and exotic.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: An amazing designer out of Seattle made it, Wai-ching. She makes indie bride dresses all hand made, dyed out of organic silk at amazing prices.
Describe your wedding flowers: Lots of green tropical lush flowers mixed with orchids, bird of paradise, and palm leaves we did all arrangements our selves.
Describe your wedding cake: We aren’t big cake people so we had baklava, Turkish delight, and chocolate covered strawberries.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: We hired a fire dancer that was incredible. A lot of our family had never seen something like that before. It was awesome. We also had fresh Thai coconuts and served coconut rum out of them. That was a super fun detail.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? My bouquet was horrible and rotting when it came in the mail. Half the flowers were rotting and half weren’t blooming yet. We had to open up the birds of paradise ourselves and my best friend Sara made me a new bouquet then I forgot to use it. Ha, in the end these things don’t even matter and the flowers looked absolutely amazing by the time we were done.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? Jonathan’s father married us which was very special. He carried out some Native American prayers. He also used a sage stick and did what’s call a smugging. It clears your mind and allows you to be present in the moment. I highly suggest it.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Jon’s dad marrying us was so special and intimate.
Scariest moment? When 3 o’clock rolled around and there was so much to still do. You think you’re never going to get it all done.
Funniest moment? Our friend Austin was opening Thai coconuts. He cut a piece of the meat out with his machete and fed it to me off of the machete in my fancy dress. It was funny and typical at the same time.
Hardest decision you made in planning? How big to make the wedding. I suggest going small and intimate, it makes it so special to see all the people you truly care about. We had about 80 people, which seemed just right.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: My best friend came in town for the wedding. She’s an artist and turns out to be a great florist as well. She made the most incredible arrangements! What a blessing couldn’t have done it without her.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: intimate, happy, exotic!
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Just relax. It’s supposed to be fun and don’t forget that. If a big wedding is going to stress you out then go small. Only do what you want. In the end your love and good energy will make all the rest follow. Also make it a weekend event—a wedding doesn’t have to end after one night. Besides all your friends and family are in town. We ended up having two parties. Everyone really liked having something to look forward to the next night.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. Never leave!
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? Honestly, our parents. We spent so much time living so far away from our families that it felt amazing to have everyone together.Now we all live in the same state. Family really does matter.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are looking forward to opening our boutique. This is and exciting time for us. We are getting comfortable in Austin and love being a part of the art community here. There is so much support for small businesses. So we look forward to our future here. We aren’t planning much else we just have to see what comes our way. Someone once told me “God laughs when you make plans.” I think we would have to agree with that.

Congratulations Jahnavi + Jonathan! We wish you happiness in your future together!