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Paulina and Brad’s Glamorous Bowie House Wedding

By tory@360westweddings.comAugust 16, 2024No Comments

Paulina LaNasa & Brad Barwise

Brad Barwise stood under an extravagant bloom-filled altar arch outside the Bowie House, as Paulina LaNasa walked arm-in-arm with her father toward the groom in a show-stopping, 100-inch wide Mark Ingram ball gown. Amongst the sophisticated and lux backdrop of Bowie House, the couple took vows in a meaningful ceremony officiated by Rick Hiler. A highlight of the night was the electric reception, complete with breathtaking floral arrangements and candelabras, a custom dance floor, massive fat heads of their two dogs, Cash and Nacho, and a band that absolutely brought the energy. After a lively after party, Brad whisked Paulina through the exit celebration on a baggage cart and into the elevator for a memorable exit.  Join us for an exclusive Q&A with the bride as we dive into the details of their special day!

the couple. Paulina LaNasa & Brad Barwise
the venue. Bowie House
the planner/designer. Fête Fort Worth
the photos. Tracy Autem Photography

The Love Story

Brad and I both grew up in Fort Worth, but because of our 8.5-year age gap, we had never crossed paths. We are both very social people, always out and about in Fort Worth, so we were bound to meet each other eventually, we just wish it had happened sooner! Fortunately, in May of 2021, we were both at Rogers Roundhouse with our respective groups of friends. Our friend groups mixed and mingled and then we went on with our nights separately. A couple weeks later, I received an Instagram DM from Brad and we haven’t stopped talking since. The way he treated me — and my dog! — was like nothing I had ever experienced before. That, along with our love of dogs, Fort Worth, socializing and family made it easy for us to fall in love quickly. After a couple of years of making memories with our family and friends, traveling around the world for weddings, remodeling homes, winning pickleball club championships, and learning everything about each other, he finally proposed. 

The Proposal

Brad and I were just three months into dating when we first started talking about getting married. Everything just felt right and we got along so well, but ultimately we chose to wait a couple of years to make sure we knew everything about each other before making such a huge decision. After dating for a little over two years, we seriously started talking about rings and getting married. So, I took it upon myself to get the ball rolling … ha, I was ready! Brad was on the golf course when he received a call from Jason at RW Fine Jewelry in Dallas. He said, “Hi Brad, Thanks so much for submitting your ring inquiry via email, we can definitely get started on the process to create a ring like the one you requested!” Brad said, “What? I didn’t submit an inquiry.” Jason said, “Yes you did and it was so detailed!” Brad responded, “Oh boy, I know who submitted that inquiry … my girlfriend, Paulina.” Brad wasn’t surprised, he had dated me long enough to know that I was a little bit bonkers, so he laughed it off and continued on with the ring process. Luckily, my email to Jason from Brad’s email was super detailed, so as long as Brad did what the email said, I knew I’d be getting the exact ring I wanted.

My family had planned a family photo shoot to be done at our new house in La Quinta, California, over Thanksgiving break. I wanted Brad to propose during that photo shoot because we’d have a professional photographer, my family would be there, and the views at that house are insane. But, he had told me that the ring would not be ready by then. I accepted that, and figured he would be doing it around Christmas time, which would’ve been great as well. I wasn’t worried about getting proposed to in California, so I didn’t get my highlights touched up or my nails done before heading there for Thanksgiving break. I figured I’d wait to do all that in a few weeks so I’d be ready and look my best for when he proposed.

Family photos began at my parents’ new house in California, and during the photos I noticed something was in Brad’s pocket. I was very suspicious. Then, my Mom asked us to go outside and pick out some spots to take photos, that’s when I got extra suspicious and my heart started racing. Brad took me to the ledge above the pool that looks out onto the golf course and the mountains and got down on one knee and proposed. It was a dream. I honestly don’t remember anything he said. I think I blacked out for a couple of minutes because of the excitement, and also because of how epic my ring was. It was the best day ever, and it was even better that it was such a surprise and my family was there to celebrate with us.

The Wedding Venue

We are both from Fort Worth, met in Fort Worth, and plan on staying in Fort Worth forever, so doing the wedding in Fort Worth was a no-brainer. Brad and I had already chosen Memorial Day weekend to be the weekend of our wedding, so my Mom and I started searching for venues immediately after Brad and I got engaged because that was just six short months away. Bowie House was the second and final venue we looked at. After our tour, we knew that was where both the ceremony and the reception needed to be.  It was western, but not too western, and extremely chic and high-class. I knew my out-of-towners would be getting the full Fort Worth vibe by attending a wedding at Bowie House. When they told me dogs were allowed at Bowie House, that sealed the deal. It was very important to me that my dogs would be at the ceremony. I’ve also have always wanted a wedding where both the reception and ceremony were at the same place. I didn’t want to waste precious dance floor time with transportation. Bowie House was the perfect place for us to do that with the ceremony outside, the reception inside the ballroom and the after-party in a separate event space. Brad and I will be in Fort Worth forever, so I wanted our wedding to be at an iconic place in Fort Worth that we’d love to go back to, and that it is!

The Vibe

I wanted our wedding to be as elegant and extravagant as possible for our budget. We were going for a sophisticated, timeless look that also had fun and youthful touches. It was an elegant yet fun event where everyone was expected to dress in black-tie attire. I wanted it to be one of the most beautiful weddings my guests had ever attended, but I especially wanted it to be the most fun wedding my guests had ever attended.

The Photography

I honestly had no idea what I was looking for in a photographer, I just knew I wanted them to be extremely good at what they do. I also wanted to make sure they knew how to capture all of the fun and candid moments on the dance floor. Tracy Autem came to my mind immediately, because we had had several friends use her and her team in the past and her work was phenomenal. We attended one wedding where she was the photographer and she captured many hilarious photos of Brad and I taking over the dance floor. I knew she liked our energy and she saw us in full Pauli and Brad dance mode on the dance floor and somehow we didn’t scare her away. When I reached out to her team and heard she was available for our wedding weekend, it was a done deal.

Along with our photographer, we also hired Turquoise Video to be our videographer and Lonestar 360 Photo Booth to do our 360 camera where our guests were able to create their own memories from the night.

The Dress

Oh boy, the dress! The dress, hair and makeup were the most important things to me. The dress searching process was a bit stressful, because I had to find one I loved quickly so it would be here in five months for our wedding. I think I went to about 12 bridal shops and tried on 200 dresses all in one week. I was on the search for a dramatic ball gown and I just could not find what I wanted anywhere. I finally decided to go to Warren Barron Bridal in Dallas. I was a bit burned-out on trying dresses by that point, but I knew I had to keep going. Luckily, Marcos, the store associate at Warren Barron was the exact energy and visionary that I needed to help me pick my dress. He brought out several options and nothing was really what I wanted until he brought out my Mark Ingram dress. The dress was beautiful and looked great on me, however, it wasn’t as big and dramatic as I wanted. Thankfully, Marcos came up with the idea of adding a custom, extra long and wide skirt to the dress to add that wow factor. When we received confirmation that we could do that, I knew I had found my dress! I wanted the biggest dress possible, because when else was I ever going to be able to wear that big and dramatic of a dress ever again? 

My dress ended up being so big, long and wide (100 inches wide to be exact), that formatting the chairs and the aisle to be able to fit me, my dress and my dad was probably one of the most stressful parts of wedding planning. I truly thought I wouldn’t fit down the aisle, but somehow we made it work!

The Accessories

I didn’t wear many accessories because I wanted the main focus to be my dress. I wore some pretty diamond and pearl drop earrings and gold-sequined Prada heels. Along with that, I had my veil which was cathedral length. It was beautiful and had lace on it that matched the lace on the bodice of my dress.

The Bridesmaids

My mom and I quickly chose the wedding colors to be white, gold and light blue. We chose these colors because we thought they were timeless and great for spring. The bridesmaids dresses were from Bella Bridesmaids and were light blue. To be honest, I didn’t even go and look for bridesmaids dresses. I told my sister, my maid of honor, that she could go pick the bridesmaid dresses. I trust her and her taste and knew she would make a good choice, and she did. The bridesmaids dresses were some of the cutest bridesmaids dresses that I’ve ever seen! My girls looked so beautiful and it was so amazing to have them there by my side on my special day. Getting ready all day with them in the Bowie House presidential suite is something that I will cherish forever.

The Groomsmen

The groomsmen wore black tuxes from Men’s Warehouse. Brad wore a black tux for the ceremony and then changed into a white coat for the reception. Brad’s gift to all of his groomsmen and the ushers was a Brackish bow tie made out of black goose feathers. It was a great gift and it was so nice to have them all matching.

The Wedding Rings

We bought all of our rings from RW Fine. My engagement ring has a one large oval diamond with a pavé hidden halo. The prongs are platinum and the band is gold pavé. My wedding ring is an emerald-cut diamond infinity band. Brad’s wedding ring is a 6 mm polished comfort fit band in gold with an engraving that says, “P & B Forever 5-25-2024.”

The Hair and Makeup

I was pretty relaxed about most decisions for the wedding, and I honestly asked my mom to make most of the decisions, but the one task that I did not delegate was choosing my hair and makeup providers. If you know me, you know I take hair, makeup and all things beauty very seriously! I did a ton of research on makeup artists and even looked at flying someone in from out of town, until my dear friend and makeup enthusiast gave me the information for her favorite makeup artist who lives in L.A. I reached out to him, and he wasn’t available for my weekend, but amazingly enough, he had a makeup artist friend who had just moved to Fort Worth. What are the odds, it was fate! Blake Walters is his name and he does makeup for models and pageant girls all across the U.S. I had my makeup trial with him and I was sold. I thought I was good at doing makeup until I met this man; he is truly an artist. I honestly didn’t really have an exact vision as to how I wanted my makeup to look but I knew I wanted to look the best I’ve ever looked in my life. On the day of the wedding I said to Blake, “this better be the best makeup you’ve ever done on anyone ever. No pressure!” He delivered.

My hair stylist was not as difficult for me to pick. My sister got married about five years ago, and I absolutely loved her hair stylist, Sonia Trevino. Thankfully, she was available for my wedding as well, so we quickly got her booked. I had never done an updo before, but I knew I would have to do one if I wanted my hair to look good all night. I tend to get a bit wild on the dance floor, so I needed something that would not get destroyed from my dancing. Sonya made my updo dreams come true. It was a looser bun with a few hairs coming down in the front to frame my face. The bun wasn’t too loose though, because she knew it needed to withstand the turbulence that is me on the dance floor. She did amazing, my hair did not move, and I think I took 100 bobby pins out of my hair the following morning.

The Stationery

We opted for a more traditional invitation. It was off-white with gold print and touches of light blue. The envelope lining and belly band had light blue flowers and gold accents.

The Florals

For our floral arrangements, Branching Out, based out of Dallas, created a sophisticated, timeless, spring garden feel — with a youthful, slightly modern twist.

WOW factors, such as the bloom-filled ceremony altar arch and head table floral bridge, were balanced with elegant personal touches like the pure peony bridal bouquet. Floral moments were seen high and low with tall mixed floral pieces featuring lush hydrangea, roses, stock, tulips and blue delphinium along with the full, flouncy bases of the super tall glass candelabra!

My style was unique because I embraced a full, classic floral look, but selected more modern, clean vases and candle fixtures. I loved the result — a look that fit the lux venue, embraced Southern tradition of treating your guests to an unforgettable night and will pass the test of time when we look back at our photos!

The Morning Of

Brad and I love to have fun and show people a good time and we did just that and more the night before our wedding. Following our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, we took our friends and family from near and far to the Bowie House bar and then to do some karaoke at Sarah’s Place. That being said, the morning of was a bit slow and began with me drinking lots of water and coffee. Then, my mom, Brad’s mom, bridesmaids and the hair and makeup squads arrived in my presidential suite, and I was ready to go again. It’s hard to feel any pain when you’re surrounded by your favorite people on one of the best days of your life. I had so much fun spending the day with my girls as we all got our hair and makeup done and enjoyed some mimosas.

The Ceremony

Our wedding ceremony was outside at Bowie House. I wanted a grand entrance so I came down some stairs with my dad and then we made our way down our 85-foot long aisle as the harpist, Laurel McConkey, played beautiful music. At the end of the aisle was a beautiful floral arch, a stage and of course, Brad. Although I didn’t see it happen, probably the most memorable part of our ceremony was the dogs walking down the aisle. Our yellow lab, Cash, was dressed in a tuxedo, and our French bulldog, Nacho, wore a flower collar as he walked down with the flower girl. The most meaningful part of the ceremony for me, was that one of my favorite people, Rick Hiler, was the officiant.

The Reception

The reception was the best part of the wedding. It was electric. As you walked into the ballroom you were overwhelmed with the beauty of the flowers and candelabras, the custom dance floor, the beautifully decorated bar and the stunning cake. The seated dinner and the open bar were amazing and everyone loved the food! We asked Bowie House to make the seated dinner last no longer than 45 minutes though, because we didn’t want any time wasted not on the dance floor. They were great and did as we asked. After our first dance, father/daughter dance and my dad’s amazing speech, we sat down to eat. As soon as dinner was done and I made my rounds, we headed to the light blue checkered dance floor and were there until the very end. In10City Band played amazing music and brought so much energy. Some of the best moments were going up on stage and dancing and singing with the band, and seeing some people you’d never expect to see on the dance floor make their way there because they knew that was the only way they’d be able to spend time with me. The best part, however, was probably our massive dog fat heads that were passed out on the dance floor. They were amazing. Even the band used them as props at one point and put the dog heads over their faces so it looked like the dogs were playing the instruments. If you weren’t on the dance floor, you were probably at the second best place at the event, the open bar which had signature drinks named after our dogs. If people needed a break from the dance floor, you could find them at the Lonestar 360 Photo Booth or in the “arcade” where there’s pool, shuffle and roulette tables. When it reached 11 p.m., everyone lined up and cheered us on as we ran through to the next room where we started our epic after-party with the DJ. The after party was crazy and an absolute blast and lasted until about 12:30 a.m.

The Planning

After Brad and I got engaged, my mom told me, your brother is getting married in October 2024, so you can either get married six months before that or six months after that. Understandably, she and our family/friends needed time between the two large events. I chose before. There was no way I was waiting a year and half to get married. I knew that thinking about a wedding and planning it for that long would make me go absolutely nuts. But, because I chose the earlier date, that meant my wedding needed to be planned ASAP. The pace of the planning would not have been possible without the extremely hard work of both my mom, my sister, and our planner, Larissa Marple with Féte Fort Worth. They are all magicians/saints and made the process easy for me, I slept like a baby every night!

The Cake

The pastry chef at Bowie House baked our seven-tier cake and it was amazing. I chose the flavors and icing for one side of the cake and Brad did for the other. I chose a funfetti cake with vanilla buttercream icing. Brad chose a graham cracker cake with caramel icing.

The Food

The tasting at Bowie House a couple months prior to the wedding was probably the best part of the planning process. Brad and I got to enjoy the tasting with both my parents and Brad’s parents. Every single item of food that the Bowie House chef brought us was unbelievable. For our cocktail hour that happened right after the ceremony, we chose four different appetizers, deviled egg pastry puffs, beef skewers, fried goat cheese and crab cakes. For dinner, guests were served a Cobb salad, their choice of filet mignon, chicken, sea bass or vegetarian, followed by our cake for dessert. At the after-party, we served French fries with different toppings such as gravy, melted cheese and chili. I love fries dipped in gravy, so it was my choice to serve that at the after party. I knew that’s exactly what I would want to eat after being on such a strict diet for so many months.

The Entertainment

The best entertainment at the wedding was probably our dogs, Cash and Nacho. But other than that, we had a talented harpist, Laurel McConkey, at the ceremony, an epic band called “In10City Band” during the reception and a super fun DJ named John Bowen with Rock the Planet for our after-party. One of the best parts of the night was when Brad and I took the stage and danced with the band. Another awesome part was when the band members all put one of our dog fat heads in front of their faces so it looked like the dogs were playing the instruments …  so funny!

The Favorite Moment

It is almost impossible to pick my single favorite moment from the night. Every single moment from that night was my favorite moment. But, if I had to pick one moment, it was probably my first look with Brad. It was so special and made everything feel so real. I was also so glad that he finally got to see this big ole dress that I hadn’t been able to shut my mouth about for the past five months. His face was also something I will never forget, he was so cute and so in awe. I have trained myself for years to not cry when I have makeup on because I don’t want to mess it up. But dang it, all that training went to waste when I saw Brad and I definitely got a little teary-eyed … Thank God my makeup artist, Blake, was just around the corner ready to fix me up.

The Unexpected

The initial plan for the night was to have an exit parade from the ballroom to the after party room at 11 p.m. and then another exit celebration into our getaway car (we were sleeping at Bowie House that night, so the getaway car was just going to drive us around the block). The first exit parade happened according to plan, but when it got closer to 12:30 a.m. and my planner, Larissa, was searching for someone to drive the getaway car, she realized no one at the wedding was in the right mindset to drive the getaway vehicle. Everyone was having too much fun! Larissa and Tracy, the photographer, came up with a back up plan and decided to have Brad push me through the exit celebration on a baggage cart and into the elevator. It was so much fun and something I would’ve never thought of.

The Honeymoon

As I sit here writing the answers to these questions, we still have not yet left for our honeymoon. We decided to go on our honeymoon a month after our wedding. We needed some time to recover and get everything planned for our trip to Italy. Thank God we waited a month, because we both were both extremely tired for at least a week after our wedding and then I also ended up catching a virus. Now we are fully ready and excited to leave for our honeymoon. In just two short weeks, we will be going to Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast and Rome.

The Advice

If you can, include your dogs in your wedding ceremony and make fat heads of them to pass out at the reception. They stole the show. My other advice is, go big or go home. When the florist asks you what flowers or vases you want, always go for the biggest. When the pastry chef asks you what size cake you want, choose the one with the most tiers. When the dress store associate asks you what style dress you’re looking for, tell them you want the largest, longest and most dramatic one. This is your day and ideally, it only happens once. Be extra.

The Vendors

Featured Vendors

PLANNING + DESIGN FÊTE FORT WORTH

PHOTOGRAPHY TRACY AUTEM PHOTOGRAPHY

Other Vendors 

VENUE + CATERING Bowie House

VIDEOGRAPHY Turquoise Video Productions

FLORAL Branching Out Events

RENTALS Posh Couture Rentals

ENTERTAINMENT Intensity Bands, Harp Music by Laurel, Rock the Planet DJ

PHOTO BOOTH Lonestar 360 Photo Booth

STATIONERY Paper Affair Dallas

LINENS BBJ La Tavola

HAIR Sonia Trevino Hair

MAKEUP Blake Walters Beauty

TUXEDOS Men’s Wearhouse

BRIDAL GOWN DESIGNER Mark Ingram Atelier

BRIDAL SALON Warren Barron Bridal

BRIDESMAID DRESSES Bella Bridesmaids