Emi & Greg’s Wedding

Emi & Greg’s wedding at the Nasher Sculpture Center is absolutely a vision of beauty and meaningfulness. They brought in sentimental elements of family through the floral centerpieces designed in memory of Emi’s grandmother. With a warm color palette it made their celebration feel warm and inviting!

Emi and Greg are a couple one can’t help but want to be around. Not only are they completely charming, kind and fun, but they are genuinely good people. This couple met during COVID, in May 2020. The pandemic was far, far from over, so they got to know each other by finding a mutual love of the outdoors — hiking, stand-up paddle boarding and running. They clicked instantly as they found so much in common. On New Years Day 2021, Greg popped the question on a trip to Gruene, Texas and of course, Emi said yes!

Both also brought in elements unique to them both. They each love karaoke but had not sung in public together due to the pandemic. To remedy this, they created a surprise karaoke performance as part of our first dance. We sang an adapted version of “Marry You” from Bruno Mars with choreography and had the best time performing together. Each also brought pets into their relationship: Greg’s dog Tilac and Emi’s cats Penny Lane and Sgt. Pepper. While the animals were not able to join their special day, they were incorporated throughout, from an illustrated family portrait that served as our guest book to custom, embossed cocktail napkins, and rather than a garter or bouquet toss, we tossed a stuffed animal dog and cat into a crowd of animal-loving guests. The people who caught the bouquet would be the next one to get a pet!

The initial plan was to have Emi + Greg’s wedding outdoors in the perfectly manicured gardens of the venue. Texas weather, however, had another plan in mind. It decided to pour rain and Plan B had to be executed instead. It was still outdoors, but on concrete so things would not get muddy. The design elements nevertheless, stayed the same. Emi’s late grandmother taught ikebana flower arrangement classes in Japan for many years. As a nod to her memory, our florist created ikebana-style center pieces on our guest tables. Instead of a groom’s cake, Greg’s dessert table included an assortment of his favorite desserts including a variety of mini-cheesecakes and a mini-pecan pie. Ultimately, it was a joy-filled day filled with laughter, happy tears and smiles throughout. We hope you enjoy these images as much as we do! -Keestone Events

What was your vision for the wedding? Our love of the outdoors, culture and Emi’s love of Dallas drew us immediately to the Nasher Sculpture Center. We wanted our wedding to feel elevated but also approachable with warm colors and meaningful elements to showcase our personalities. Early in the planning, Emi listened to an interview with Priya Parker talk about her book, The Art of Gathering. It served a large part of our vision by focusing on the environment we want to create to give a glimpse to our values and interests and to share this experience with our guests.

What advice do you have for other couples/brides-to-be? From a practical standpoint, our advice would be to hire a wedding planner if you are able. Emi has planned many events through her work and knew the level of effort required for an event like this. Because we had such a wonderful planner and vendors who made the most sense for our wedding, we were able to focus more of our creative juices on the smaller details to make the event especially personal and unique to us. Plus, there will always be circumstances beyond your control so it’s a much more enjoyable experience surrounded by experts.

What unique elements or DIY details did you include? We each brought pets into our relationship, Greg’s dog Tilac and Emi’s cats Penny Lane and Sgt. Pepper. While the animals were not able to join our special day, they were incorporated throughout. First was with an illustrated family portrait with our pets that served as our guest book. Next, we commemorated them with custom, embossed cocktail napkins — one version with Tilac telling folks to wipe their paws and another with Penny, Pepper and a message to purr me another. Also, rather than a garter or bouquet toss, we tossed a stuffed animal dog and cat into a crowd of animal-loving guests. The people who caught the bouquet would be the next one to get a pet! We also had a stunning seating chart that became a marquee element of our wedding layout! The sign was backlit and included greenery and florals. On the other side we hung a custom neon sign with our initials. It fit perfectly into the lobby, like it was part of the Nasher’s installations.

Were there any sentimental moments/ items incorporated to the wedding? Emi’s late grandmother taught ikebana flower arrangement classes in Japan for many years. As a nod to her memory, our florist created ikebana-style center pieces on our guest tables. Instead of a groom’s cake, Greg’s dessert table included an assortment of his favorite desserts including a variety of mini-cheesecakes and a mini-pecan pie.

What was your favorite part of the day? We both love karaoke but due to the pandemic hadn’t sung karaoke together in public. To remedy this, we created a surprise karaoke performance as part of our first dance. We sang an adapted version of “Marry You” from Bruno Mars with choreography and had the best time performing together.

Photographer: Shannon Skloss
Venue: Nasher Sculpture Center
Stylist / Planner / Designer: Keestone Events/Tzahhia Coleman
Floral Designer: Wedfully Yours
Cake Designer: Loft 22
Makeup Artist: The Styling Stewardess
Rentals: Lawson Event Rentals
Accessories / Decor: Shag Carpet Props
Pies: Uncle Willie’s Pies
Linens: BBJ
DJ: Discovery DJs
Live Music: Electric Violin Lady
Catering: Wolfgang Puck
Lights: BEYOND