A Modern, Black and White Inspired Wedding at Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas

Brad Sorenson was working as a sous chef at Asti Trattoria–a small Italian restaurant in Austin, Texas–when he met Kate Schirm. It was Kate’s first day as an extern, and it was love at first sight. “We were very drawn to each other, especially each other’s sense of humor,” she describes. “Being dressed in our kitchen uniforms, it was easy to immediately look past all of our surface differences.”

One month before their four-year anniversary, Brad and 29 others were being honored by the Zagat for their first “30 Under 30” award, geared towards rising stars in the culinary world. After the presentation, he grabbed the microphone and proposed to his girlfriend in front of more than one hundred people. Even though they had been talking about getting engaged, the proposal came as a complete surprise to Kate. “I was absolutely shaking–it was perfect, though,” she says. 

Having planned out her dream wedding for years, Kate had every detail picked out ahead of time. This made the wedding planning process much easier, especially when it came to sourcing vendors and products. Even on the morning of the wedding, she spent it relaxing and having a yoga session with her bridesmaids, allowing enough time to get ready so there was no rush.

The wedding took place at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas. Before heading down the aisle, the bride gave her father a handkerchief that she had custom made to read “Daddy’s little girl forever,” which was one of many memorable moments that day. 

Kate and Brad said “I do” in the modern art gallery of the museum, cocktails were served on the mezzanine, and the reception was held in the atrium–a space that features a blue installation on the walls called “Stacked Waters.” Since the venue was sleek and modern, the wedding décor was chosen to follow suit. The color palette consisted of black, white and gold, with gorgeous arrangements of calla lilies. 

With the bride and groom both working in the culinary arts, the food element was extremely important. For drinks, sparkling rose was served along with four cocktails chosen by the bride, groom, best man, and maid of honor. Guests were then served a wonderful meal filled with charcuterie, cheese, pasta, and short ribs. There were also two cakes–one, being a croquembouche with an earl grey base and St. Germain-filled profiteroles, and the other with a Take 5 candy bar base and a gorgeous depiction of Klimt’s “The Kiss.”

The night was filled with dancing and an overwhelming sense of happiness. “When it was over, it was a shock that everything had really just happened,” says the bride. “We were so unbelievably overjoyed.”