October 5, 2026

Sara + Baker: Celebrating Texas Love Under The Savannah Skies | Part 3

If you’ve been following along on our socials, you’ve seen the sneak peeks: the swans, the green conservatory glowing at night, my son Baker mid-toast. You loved those posts so much that I have to tell you the whole story, and there’s too much of it for one post. So: three parts.

Catch up on Part 1, where the swans, the Dior bow, and the invitation all came together, and Part 2 where we set the stage and discussed the details!

Now, we’re ready to chat about the Texas touches, the surprise of the night, and what I learned as a newly minted mother-in-law!

Texas, By Way of Savannah

I could have leaned hard into a “Texas Meets Savannah” theme, but it seemed a touch too easy! I’d rather highlight a place for what it actually is when you’re standing in it. So, the invitation language read Come celebrate Texas love under the Savannah skies, and Texas showed up in nods, not a full costume change. Ranch waters at the bar. A few pairs of boots in the crowd. And Swamptooth’s bluegrass was the perfect soundtrack for the evening – a little bit country, but definitely Savannah!

The Surprise Nobody Saw Coming

Mr. Creative Tonic’s one request for the welcome party was that we needed something in the pool. Our first instinct was swans, but it turns out they’re kind of mean, so that was out. Instead, we found the Aqualillies, a synchronized swimming group, who came in and performed a full surprise routine for our out-of-town guests! Custom pool floats with stickers of the happy couple’s initials rounded out the scene.

Sara had no idea any of it was coming, and that’s exactly how she wanted it. She shared later that she knew very little about the rehearsal dinner and welcome party because she trusted me so much. (The HIGHEST compliment, I think! I adore her!) The swimmers weren’t her only surprise either. When I texted her the photo I planned to blow up and hang at the rehearsal dinner (inspired by my friends Chris and Marion) and asked if she liked it, she was a touch confused about my plans, but said, “I think I like it. Is there something I didn’t see?” There wasn’t. It’s one of my favorite details of the room!

The moment that stayed with her most, though, wasn’t a design detail at all. Baker had been nervous about giving a speech and planned to write it out but never did. At the end of the night, he stood up and spoke off the cuff. “I was blown away,” Sara said, and I so was i. Ah, young love!

What I Learned as a MIL

Working with Sam Crosby on the paper goods and the swan pieces was a joy, and apparently the feeling was mutual. “Working with Courtnay was a dream,” he said. “Often I work with clients who can be fearful of ‘going there'” but apparently my “more is more” approach was quite fun for him! What he said next is what I’m proudest of: “Your trust in my ability and my taste (that doesn’t always happen!) was instrumental to the success of the event.” I can’t wait to work with Sam again, and that feeling is also mutual. Kismet, I think!

That trust runs both ways, and it’s the biggest thing I’d pass on to future mothers-of-the-groom. We hired Sara’s own wedding photographer and florist for the rehearsal dinner, which made for the most seamless weekend imaginable, and it meant I got to hand Sara our leftover florals for her own party. Everyone worked together all weekend, telling one continuous story instead of three disconnected ones.

We don’t only design homes around here. We design events too! We don’t execute them ourselves (shoutout to our wonderful wedding planner, who kept every logistical trainwreck invisible to us all weekend). But the design, start to finish, swan to swan? That’s ours.

Swans mate for life. So, it turns out, does good design instinct. You just have to find the right people to swim alongside.

Imagery on this page is by Steph G. Bishop or Christiana Reckling!

The Team: