Welcome to Happy!

Best Man!

Hey Y'all,
Welcome. Please be seated and thank you all for being here on this wonderful occasion. (<-- That's a wedding joke. Get it?) I'm Spike Gillespie, Austin wedding officiant. I've been performing weddings in and around Austin since 2006. I've done hundreds of ceremonies since that first one, when some generous friends volunteered to be my guinea pig couple as I explored the idea that officiating might be fun. Turns out my theory was correct-- I had a blast. And I've continued to enjoy myself ever since. I love, love, love my job. It's so joyful, people are always so happy to see me, and I get to command couples to share a kiss at the end of each workday. What's not to love?

I've been very informally snapping photos of the details for years now-- everything from dresses to flower arrangements, cakes to flower girls and everything in between. And now, at long last, I have decided to start sharing some of the photos here.

This past weekend I performed four weddings-- three of them on Sunday. The first Sunday wedding I did, at Vintage Villas, featured a best man and two bridesmaids that were all Boston Terriers. Bostons are my favorite dogs (I have two Boston mixes) and so my happy quotient expanded exponentially.

In fact the whole weekend was just outstanding. Wedding #1 was at the Inn at Wild Rose Hall, out by Drippin'. The bride had the cutest dress-- short and with POCKETS. I loved that. Then there was the Boston Terrier-enhanced ceremony. Then I got to oversee a really fantastic ceremony at Chapel Dulcinea. I don't care if it's blazing hot out there or freezing cold-- there is never a bad weather day in Radiance, where the chapel is located. Yesterday it was gray and chilly and drizzled during the ceremony and if you asked me that just added to the glorious drama. Bride and groom had been friends forever and they could not have been more chill. She had on a pair of shiny red shoes I continue to covet. And Wedding #4, at The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center was an outdoor affair with the sun showing up just in time. The couple only had eyes for each other, and stayed locked in a loving gaze throughout the ceremony.

The Lost Pines, a spectacular local bluegrass band, played the music for the ceremony and also for the reception. That's the second time I did a Wildflower Center wedding with the Lost Pines and man they are SO good. I especially love it when they play Dolly Parton's He's Gonna Marry Me.
Topping off the weekend-- couple #4 opted for a cupcake tower, this one provided by Polka Dots Bakery. I got to pre-sample a cupcake and it was most excellent. (This is a job risk of mine-- constant exposure to massive quantities of high-fat foods. I usually skedaddle before a reception but, hey, if I'm offered a pre-wedding treat, my motto is Always stick a gift cupcake in your mouth...)

Here are a few more pics from my weekend:

Hilarious Save-the-Date Card Featuring the Actual Bride and Groom as Characters

Cool & Crafty Card Box

Groom's Cake, Inn at Wild Rose Hall

Wedding Cake Featuring Vintage Cake Topper

Autumn themed cake at Vintage Villas

This is a picture of wedding photographer Jeff Campbell taking a picture of the bride & groom at Chapel Dulcinea, and, to make things a little more meta, the couple are also wedding photographers. 

The Lost Pines tearing it up at the Wildflower Center

I had one of these. Yum.