Real Weddings: Ashley Davis & Aaron Blanchette

For a destination wedding without airfare, Ashley Davis and Aaron Blanchette booked a long weekend at Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose.

If you want to get ahead of Ashley Davis, you’re going to have to get up early. The 35-year-old self-described type A is more organized than an iPhone, more scheduled than the Rangers—which is how she nearly planned herself out of her engagement.

It’s also how she planned an enviable rustic-elegant fete at Glen Rose’s Rough Creek Lodge & Resort.

Ashley and her now-husband, Aaron Blanchette, also 35, met at church when friends introduced them. (“We don’t have a neat, cute story,” she says.) The couple, who both work in finance, dated for more than a year before Aaron proposed, finally resorting to squeezing himself into his girlfriend’s busy social calendar, which fills up weeks in advance. She laughs when she remembers: she had friends in town; he wanted to have date night. When she relented, he rewarded her with a ring.

When it came time to plan the wedding, Rough Creek Lodge was practically a given, Ashley says. “Pretty early on [in the relationship] we went to Rough Creek. That’s where we both realized we were the ones for each other. It always stuck in our minds as a turning point.” And though they did consider other venues, their thoughts always returned to what one magazine has called the “country version of the Mansion on Turtle Creek.”

The goal—besides getting married, of course—was to bring their friends and family together in a way that really let them get to know one another, for their favorite people to share more than just a few hours during and after the ceremony. “The idea was to create conversation and friendships,” Ashley explains. “The whole wedding was designed around getting everyone to meet and talk and enjoy each other.” And with its abundance of activities and stupendous Hill Country setting, Rough Creek Lodge was ideal. 
 
Typical destination weddings might include golf for the guys and an afternoon at the spa for the ladies (both are available), but Ashley and Aaron’s guests got acquainted by way of a little more adventure. They spent the day of the September 27, 2008, wedding playing daredevil on the zip line and fishing in Mallard Lake. By the time the reception rolled around, new friends had been made and old acquaintances had grown closer, so that the evening was like one big, happy party, Ashley says.

But before that party got started, she and Aaron said their vows in the storybook-worthy white chapel, then took a few moments to visit some of their favorite spots on the property before rejoining their 120 guests for an outdoor celebration. The eating and drinking and laughing and dancing lasted well into the night. “It was my dream wedding without my knowing I had been dreaming it my whole life.”

It takes a small village to pull off the perfect wedding - or at least a team of seasoned professionals. The information below was provided by the couple.
Ceremony Site: Rough Creek Lodge
Photographer/Studio: Alex Ham
Bridal Gown Designer: Jenny Lee
Bridal Gown Retailer: The Bridal Salon at Stanley Korshak
Hair & Makeup: Ryan Chambers and Brandi Blair, Laura Mercier
Groom’s Attire: Al’s Formal Wear
Bridesmaids Dresses Designer: J. Crew
Flowers: Darrell Ward, Darrell Ward Designs
Reception Site: Rough Creek Lodge
Cake & Caterer: Rough Creek Lodge
Band and/or DJ: Chad Monson, Absolute Entertainment
Videographers: Mickey Stroud and Brant Davis
Wedding Rentals: Ducky-Bob’s
Wedding Planner: Brenda Weaver and Kathryn Piepho, Rough Creek Lodge