Sarah and Phi’s Canyon Lake Wedding was nothing but sweet and whimsical.

Sarah and Phi searched for a venue that was elegant but rustic, and The Preserve at Canyon Lake offered just the perfect balance for their dream wedding. This beautiful venue is located in the Texas Hill Country, in the small town of Canyon Lake. The venue has two ceremony site options; an outdoor lakeside arbor where guest can sit under the shades of the trees, and an indoor chapel with panoramic windows facing the lake. The venue also hosts 3 lakeside courtyards which can be used for cocktail hour, yard games, bands, etc. And lastly, the ballroom; an open and neutral space that is perfect for all types of weddings and color schemes. The ballroom consists of open space for multipurposed floorplans, a built-in-bar, and a gorgeous and grand fireplace which is available for lighting, upon request.

Canyon Lake wedding The Preserve Indoor Ceremony Chapel

Their wedding day began at 9:30am when the bride, bridesmaids, and hair/makeup team arrived at the venue and followed the staircase straight up to the bridal suite. Mimosas and fruit awaited them to start a perfect day. Sarah’s dress was beautiful! A Trumpet/Fit-and-Flare silhouette with off-the shoulders, floral-lace sleeves. Her mother helped her with her final adjustments. Sarah also opted for satin pointed flats with a silver medallion.

Canyon Lake wedding Bride in bridal suit admiring dress

Later at noon the groom and groomsmen arrived with lunch for everybody and settled into the groom suite. Phi had prepared groomsmen gift boxes for each, that included various tokens of appreciation, including box-chained-bracelets.

Canyon Lake wedding Groom in Groom Suite Exchanging gifts with groomsmen

Once Sarah was dressed and ready, we prepared Phi for their first look. Despite a cloudy day, the rain had banished and we were able to set up their first look outdoors. They had envisioned the preserve in the background so we opted for a trail that leads to the outdoor ceremony site. Once there Phi was facing east, and Sarah began walking towards him as he faced away. By the time she was inches away, she gently tapped his shoulder and he then turned around to see his beautiful bride. I personally love first looks because the bride and groom are able to share an intimate and emotionally charged moment together with no outside pressure for looking eyes. It's just them two (And the camera ha). Then they exchanged wedding day gifts. Phi gifted his bride a gorgeous and dainty gold bracelet while she gave him a pet name tag as a sweet mutual exchange, and a silver bracelet.

Canyon Lake wedding Bride and groom First look by the preserve

Canyon Lake wedding bride and groom on balcony

We then moved on to wedding party pictures by the outdoor cocktail area. The bridal party was dressed in a sea-foam green, including her Man-of-honor, aka her younger brother. I personally enjoy when the bridal party has fun choosing their wedding-day attires but ensuring a cohesive vision. As for the Groom party, they opted for a unified classic black suit.

Canyon Lake wedding wedding party dressed in seafoam green dresses

Canyon Lake wedding man of honor and bride

Canyon Lake Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony was officiated by the bride’s uncle and was bilingual, English and Vietnamese. The officiant led the processional and the groom shortly followed. Behind him both mothers, his and Sarah’s, followed by Phi’s younger sister. The processional song changed and the bridal party walked in, groomsmen and then bridesmaids. Lastly, Sarah was escorted down the aisle by her father. It was a beautiful ceremony and all the guests were immersed in the moment.

Once the ceremony had ended we moved to family pictures. We took advantage of the beautiful wooden cross and used it as the background for portraits. While the immediate family were in the chapel with the photographer, the rest of the guests were escorted by our team to the reception for cocktail hour.

Canyon Lake Wedding Reception

The reception was nothing but fun and laughter. We kicked off the reception part of the evening with a fun wedding party number. First, the groomsmen walked in to “Right above” by Lil Wayne with matching shades and money guns as they rapped and danced their way to the dancefloor. Next upo were the bridesmaids with bubble guns as they sang “Pretty Girls Walk '' by Big Boss Vetee. Now the entire wedding party formed a semicircle framing the dance floor awaiting for the bride and groom’s grand entrance. The DJ then announced “Please welcome, Mr & Mrs Tran!” and from the staircase balcony Sarah and Phi appeared. They completely enjoyed the sights of all their family and friends present for a couple of seconds before they made their way down the staircase and to their sweetheart table. Phi said a short but lovely welcome speech and then we cued the catering to start dinner.

Canyon Lake wedding bride and groom grand entrance down staircase

Towards the end of dinner, toasts were made by the Man of Honor, Sarah’s brother, and the Best Man, Phi’s best friend. And then parental dances began. The groom and his mother danced first, followed by Sarah and her father. Lastly, but certainly not least, our lovely couple danced their first dance as Mr. and Mrs. to “You are the Reason '' by Duet version Calum Scott with Leona Lewis. Then the dance floor opened and from then on the dancefloor was never empty.

Bouquet toss and Garter toss were done right before we prepared for our grand exit with string confetti. As our team led the guests outside to the patio for the grand exit, Sarah and Phi shared their last dance of the night. Once again it was just them two (and the photographer) sharing a private dance and taking the whole wedding day in on those last quiet minutes. Wedding days go by so very fast so make sure to take some time throughout the day, and even at the end, to live in the moment and be present to ensure you cherish your wedding memories forever.

Their private dance ended and they walked out the reception doors into the patio. They walked down a family and friend made aisle and as they made their way down string confetti flew across them creating a fun and whimsical moment. It was a perfect exit for a perfect day.