Beth Ann Herd and Jackson Baker
After a morning spent surrounded by friends and family in the bridal suite, Beth Ann marched toward her groom — down the very same aisle her mother walked 30 years prior — to say “I do” at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Fort Worth. An elegant, intimate garden party celebration ensued at Shady Oaks Country Club, followed by the horn section of the wedding band marching Mr. and Mrs. Baker out of the reception for a memorable farewell! Join us for an exclusive Q&A with the bride as we dive into the details of their special day.
the couple. Beth Ann Herd & Jackson Baker
the venue. First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth | Shady Oaks Country Club
the photos. Rachel Owens Photography
The Love Story
Jackson and I met in the summer of 2019 when I was working in New York and Jackson was working in Austin. One of my best friends from college had invited a couple of us to dinner with her older brother and his friends who were in town visiting for an event. Jackson and I sat across the table from each other and immediately hit it off. We spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know each other as we hopped from bar to bar. He asked for my number at the end of the night and we ended up seeing each other again the next day. Sadly he had to return to Austin the following day, but we continued to stay in touch. We talked almost every day for about two months before he came back to New York to take me on our first proper date. After that, we continued to see each other every month or so, flying back and forth between Austin and New York. Then COVID hit and I decided to temporarily move back in with my parents in Fort Worth for a few months while I was able to work from home. After spending every weekend together during COVID, we were pretty much inseparable and decided that we did not want to go back to dating long distance. Luckily, Jackson was able to move to New York with his job, and then a year later, we both moved back to Austin when I decided to go to law school at the University of Texas. Today, we are still living in Austin with our dog Winnie!
The Proposal
Unbeknownst to me, Jackson, my mom, my aunt and my best friend had been planning our proposal for about four months before it happened. It all started when Jackson and I had driven up to Fort Worth one weekend for a surprise celebration for one of my friends. That next morning, Jackson woke up super early to ask my parents for their blessing while I was still sleeping. He then called one of my best friends to get advice on what kind of ring styles I liked and to help plan a proposal that I would not see coming. The actual proposal happened during the weekend of the TCU/UT football game, which many of my friends from home were coming to town for. My aunt, who lives in Austin and was in on the plan, had texted me a couple weeks earlier asking if I wanted to take two of her extra tickets to the football game. We went to a big brunch that morning with all my friends and then to a tailgate in a friend’s backyard. Right before the game, we decided to go back to our apartment to drop off Jackson’s car so we could Uber to the game. Once we got to the apartment, Jackson asked if I could pull out a bottle of champagne from the fridge and when I did, I turned around and he was on one knee. He proposed and I said yes! The fact that I was completely surprised made the proposal even that much more special. He then broke the news that we were not in fact going to the game but instead he had made a dinner reservation downtown. When I got to the restaurant, both of our families were there to surprise us! After dinner, we went to a bar where all my friends had been waiting for us. There was a live band playing and we danced the entire night with all our friends and family!
The Wedding Venue
We chose to get married at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Fort Worth, with our reception at Shady Oaks Country Club — the same exact venues my parents had their wedding ceremony and reception 30 years prior. Not only was it special to get married in the same place as my parents, but I also grew up going to First United Methodist with my cousins and grandparents. My grandmother, who had passed away two years earlier, was very involved in the church and their charitable work. I had so many great memories of being there with her growing up, and so it was very important to me to honor her memory in this way.
The Vibe
I knew I always wanted a more formal, elegant feel for my wedding. Although Jackson and I are very laid- back, we liked the idea of a more formal wedding to match the seriousness of the commitment we were about to make to each other. We told our planners, Kylee and Katie from Emily Clarke Events, we wanted it to feel like an intimate garden party with lots of greenery and candles and they did not disappoint!
The Photography
Jackson and I both wanted to find a photographer that could really capture the feelings and emotions of the day in a more artistic way. We were particularly drawn to film and black-and-white photography, which added a timeless quality to the images. After seeing Rachel’s work from a few previous weddings I had seen on Instagram, we fell in love with her more editorial and romantic style and her focus on film!
The Dress
I went into dress shopping not really knowing what kind of dress I was looking for. However, I knew I liked the more romantic styles and so I gravitated towards the dresses with lace detailing. I had gone to two different salons in Dallas and found a few dresses that I liked a lot, but I never felt like I had found the one. I had decided at the last minute to book a third appointment at a salon in Houston while I was there for a friend’s engagement, and it was there that I ended up finding my dress! It was an off-the-shoulder, lace Monique Lhuillier gown, a designer who I really admired for her more elegant and romantic style.
The Accessories
I always loved the look of lace veils, so it was a perfect fit when I discovered that the designer of my dress had a matching lace veil. As for jewelry, I wanted a more minimal look because I do not usually wear a ton of jewelry. I kept it simple with a pair of diamond and pearl drop earrings that a friend’s mother had custom-made for me, which acted as my something new. In honor of my grandmother, Mama B, I wrapped my bouquet with her handkerchief and silver bee pendant for my something old. My something blue and something borrowed came from my aunt’s Kappa pin from her initiation at Vanderbilt University, where I also was a member of Kappa.
The Bridesmaids
I wanted to find a dress that everyone would feel comfortable in, so I had my bridesmaids vote on three different styles of champagne-colored dresses that I had pulled from the same designer. Originally, I was going to have everyone in a mix of different styles from the same collection, but almost everyone had selected the off-the-shoulder style as their first choice so I decided to just have everyone wear the same one!
The Groomsmen
Jackson had all of his groomsmen wear classic black tuxes. Many of the groomsmen were able to wear the tux they had worn to their own wedding, which made it even more special!
The Wedding Rings
My maid of honor Claudia, who had helped Jackson plan the proposal, previously worked in the diamond and fine jewelry industry. She played a major part in helping Jackson find the stone and design my engagement ring based on the styles she knew I liked. I really liked the radiant cut because of its sparkle and brilliance, and it was really special that one of my best friends was able to design it for me! For my wedding band, I liked the idea of a band I could wear by itself so I designed an anniversary band with smaller radiant diamonds. Jackson went with a classic gold wedding band with rounded edges.
The Hair and Makeup
It was important to me that I looked like myself on my wedding day, or at least a slightly more elevated version of myself. I really loved the elegance and ease of a wedding bun look on others, but eventually decided that it wasn’t very me. I rarely wear my hair up besides when I am running errands or working out, so I wanted to make sure I stayed true to my own style on my wedding day. I worked with my hair stylist Jen, who has cut my family’s hair for years, and we landed on the Hollywood waves style because I had always loved the look of big, flowy waves. As for my makeup, I told my makeup artist Ashley that I wanted a very natural, but elevated and polished look, and she did an incredible job! Her team (Ashley McNabb Artistry) also did an amazing job on the hair and makeup for all 15 of my bridesmaids!
The Stationery
We wanted to go for a very traditional, timeless look for our stationery and also to incorporate the colors and design elements of the wedding. We used the logo that was going to be on our dance floor and on some of the napkins and cups. We also included a lattice pattern on the inside of the envelope to match the lattice design that was going to be the stage backdrop where our band would play. Our event planner also operates an in-house stationery business, so the design process was super easy and seamless!
The Florals
I really wanted to emphasize the greenery in our floral design to go along with the garden-like feel. For the flowers, we kept it simple with white and light pink varieties, which is my favorite color. My wedding planner also specializes in floral design, so it was a very easy design process!
The Morning Of
I knew I wanted to spend the morning of my wedding surrounded by my friends and family, so I had all my bridesmaids, my mom, and my mother-in-law in my bridal suite. We spent the morning getting our hair and makeup done, eating, drinking champagne and telling funny stories. Then my mom helped me into my dress, and I got to surprise all my bridesmaids. One of my favorite parts of the morning, however, was writing my letter to Jackson and then getting to read the letter he wrote me.
The Ceremony
Right before our ceremony, Jackson and I did a first look. I really loved this because it gave us a chance to see each other in a more private way before we said “I do” in front of all our friends and family. It completely calmed any nerves that I had about being in front of hundreds of people. Before walking out, we got to look through the church’s marriage register, which had signatures and dates of all the couples that had been married there. We were able to find where my parents had signed the book 30 years prior in 1993, which was really special. During our pre-marriage counseling sessions with the church, our pastor, Rev. Lance Marshall, had both of us, separately, answer a few questions about our relationship, what we valued in each other, and our plans for our future together as a married couple. During the ceremony, he surprised us by reading excerpts from both of our responses, which I thought was very special and made our ceremony even more intimate and personal. This ended up being one of my favorite parts of the whole day.
The Reception
We had the cocktail hour and reception at Shady Oaks Country Club, the same club that my parents had their reception 30 years prior. I wanted to make sure that no one was waiting in line for a drink when they arrived, so instead of regular escort cards, we had a wall of champagne that had each guest’s name and table number on a cocktail pick in each glass. I also loved the idea of having live music playing during dinner, especially strings, so we had Serenata Strings come play in the background while everyone ate. We also wanted a way to incorporate our wiener dog, Winnie, into the wedding since she could not be there herself, so after the seated dinner we had a “Weenie’s Tini Bar” come around and pass out espresso martinis to everyone. I also loved the idea of making a photo album from pictures that our guests took, so we had custom disposable cameras passed around that we collected at the end of the night.
The Planning
Jackson and I had a relatively shorter engagement because I was about to start my first year of law school when we got engaged. I knew I would not be able to truly enjoy the wedding planning process while also juggling the first and hardest year of law school, so we decided to have our wedding the summer before in June. I was nervous that having a six-month timeline would really limit what we were able to do for the wedding but our planners, Katie and Kylee, were phenomenal and were somehow able to pull off a wedding that was over and beyond what I could have dreamed of. The process was so seamless, especially since in addition to wedding planning, Emily Clarke Events also specializes in floral, design, production, and stationery. Anyone that has planned a wedding knows how easy it is for things to get lost in communication or misunderstood when you are working with so many different outside vendors. Therefore, having the entire design process, from the floral arrangements and tablescapes to the invitations and personalized dinner menus, managed in-house by our planners not only made me sleep easier at night, but also added to the cohesiveness of the entire design.
The Cake
Creme de la Creme Cake Co. made both our wedding and groom’s cakes. I went with a more formal, simple styled tiered cake so that it could be decorated with flowers matching our reception. We wanted the groom’s cake to be more fun and personal, so Jackson had them replicate an inside joke between his friends — two lumberjacks sitting on a log drinking a bottle of champagne. The best part was that only a handful of people at the wedding understood the backstory, so it was hilarious to watch people walk by it wondering why we chose such a random, yet specific design. For the flavor, I chose a white cake with cream cheese icing swirled with blackberry jam and Jackson chose a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream icing.
The Food
For the passed apps, we had an ahi tuna tartare in a fried wonton cone, a fried cheese ravioli with marinara cream sauce — this ended up being my personal favorite — and a parmigiano tomato basil bruschetta. For the seated dinner, we started with Shady Oak’s famous Caesar salad. It might not be actually famous, but it was definitely a staple in my friend group growing up, so I knew I had to have it even though they had many more sophisticated salad options to choose from. For the main course, we did a 4-ounce filet mignon in a green peppercorn demiglaze, paired with three grilled shrimp scampi in a lemon parsley garlic butter sauce. We also offered a variety of vegetarian and other options for guests with dietary restrictions. This was served with garlic whipped potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted rainbow carrots and, of course, buttered rolls. For late-night bites, we had honey butter chicken biscuits and breakfast tacos passed around.
The Entertainment
Having a great band that everyone could dance to was one of the most important things to me and Jackson during the wedding planning process. We actually had seen our band, Complete Desire, play at a friend’s wedding a year before and we really enjoyed them. We both like funk music and classics from the 60s/70s/80s, so we wanted a band with a good horn section. Instead of using the formal ballroom where we had the seated dinner, we converted the club room of Shady Oaks into the stage and dance floor area to create a more cozy, club-like feel where everyone could relax and let loose.
The Favorite Moment
Our first look would have to be my favorite moment of the weekend. It was so nice to have some time alone together before the ceremony and all the ensuing celebrations. It was one of the rare moments we had to ourselves all day, providing a sort of grounding moment that reminded us of the true significance of what we were about to do. As someone who hates having all the attention on herself, it gave me the confidence I needed to walk down the aisle in front of all our guests.
The Unexpected
One of my favorite memories, and something that neither of us knew was going to happen, was when the horn section of our band actually marched us out of the reception at the end of the night. We had planned to do a farewell exit to say goodbye to everyone as we got into our getaway car, but we did not know that the band would actually follow and play us out of the reception, which ended up being really fun and special.
The Honeymoon
We chose to split our honeymoon between Paris and the Amalfi Coast. We wanted a good mix of both activities and sightseeing, but also time to relax by the beach. One of our favorite activities we did was a private cooking class in Ravello. We started off the night by picking all the ingredients from their garden and then used those ingredients to make homemade pasta, various appetizers and a lemon pie.
The Advice
Take time to actually enjoy the wedding planning process and do not spend time stressing over every tiny detail and what people might think! At the end of the day it will all work out and you and your guests will have a blast no matter what. It goes by so fast, so really take time to enjoy every second of it. Also, wear comfortable shoes — or make sure to have a backup pair to change into.
The Vendors
Featured Vendors
HAIR + MAKEUP Ashley McNabb Artistry
Other Vendors
PLANNING + FLORAL + DESIGN House of CLRK
CEREMONY VENUE First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth
RECEPTION VENUE Shady Oaks Country Club
PHOTOGRAPHY Rachel Owens Photography
VIDEOGRAPHY 31Films
BRIDE HAIR (WEDDING DAY) Jennifer Sisk
CAKES Creme de la Creme Cake Co.
DINNER QUARTET Serenata Strings
RECEPTION BAND Complete Desire
BUS Janicek & Associates
GETAWAY CAR DFW Vintage Cars
DANCE FLOOR Imperial Floors
DRAPING Quest Events
RENTALS Top-Tier Event Rentals, Posh Couture Rentals, Perch Decor, Bella Acento, Social Llama Rentals