Dallas Services
Establishment
neighborhood
Emerald City
Sometimes only a live band will do. And sometimes that live band must be a thirteen-piece, three-horn band that can keep the energy up all night long. Emerald City’s repertoire is varied enough to appeal to everyone on the guest list, however the band is always happy to adapt the playlist to your specifications. Primarily located in Dallas, these guys are in high demand year-round, so book well in advance for weddings.
Bell’Invito
147 Pittsburg St., Design District
In Italian, Bell’Invito means “beautiful invitation.” The novelty of this company is that you can send out custom paper invites, but go through the entire process online (unless you opt for the couture line, which needs to be ordered in-person). Former fashion art director Heather Wiese spent a lot of time in Italy and fell in love with the artisanal quality of the stationery there. With Bell’Invito, she marries traditional craftsmanship with the demands of modern life. After customers fill out a detailed digital form that dictates the design, the stationery is made on a printing press dating back to the 1800s; the result is shipped within ten days of proof approval. Given that a three-month window is normally required for stationery of this caliber, the speedy turnaround is a lifesaver for time-starved planners.
Peaches
Kyle Branch is a young Dallas multihyphenate splitting his time between working at TenOverSix and creating unusual, retro-looking flower arrangements at Peaches.
Steve Visneau
Steven Visneau developed an appetite for photography as a child, habitually thumbing through his mother’s magazine collection. After a stint as a touring musician, Visneau purchased an old Nikon camera from a friend, started shooting, and never looked back. The photographer is comfortable capturing every situation—portraits, lifestyle shots, fashion editorial, you name it. But it’s Visneau’s images of the Texas Ballet Theater that are some of the most beautiful we’ve seen.
Stephen Karlisch
Steven Karlisch has been shooting weddings for close to twenty years. A childhood spent traveling with a photography-loving father piqued his interest, but it was only after a year studying architecture in college that Karlisch changed majors. While his wife was moonlighting as a photographer for a small wedding company, Karlisch decided to become a wedding photographer, and their photo studio flourished from there. His specialty is timeless, classic photography and the emotion behind the first look or the speeches. And he always tries to incorporate an architectural component, which lends dimension to his work. Karlisch is available to shoot both local and destination weddings.
Commissary
1217 Main St., Downtown
Commissary is a bakery, a butcher, a gelateria, and a market all in one. Impressive, right?
Mathes & Co. Events
4235 W. Lovers Ln., University Park
Katherine Mathes is a Dallas favorite because of her turnkey approach to event planning—she handles everything from event design, to marketing and invitations, to coordination, to flowers for everything from dinner parties to huge corporate galas. She’s got a big team backing her up, too, so she’s a great resource when you’re trying to pull off something particularly ambitious.
DJ Jason Esquire
[email protected]
DJ Jason has had a long career playing music; he’s been DJ'ing for more than 15 years, including playing on several radio shows and a long-time residency at Whisky Bar in Dallas. Couples say he’s particularly adept at reading the room—while he thoroughly questions the bride and groom on their tastes and vision before the event, he’ll never use a pre-made track. P.S. When drunk guests request the Wobble, he’s always in your corner.
Preston Smith Photography
[email protected]
Photography is much more than a weekend hobby for Preston Smith; when he’s not shooting weddings and engagement photos, he’s shooting editorial work for clients like Reebok and RVCA. For weddings, he works with his wife, Heather, to capture every special moment—he has an uncanny knack for hidden candids, like facial expressions at key moments, or intimate hugs between guests when they least suspect to be photographed. Importantly, his turnaround is astonishingly fast; you’re likely to have photos back before the honeymoon’s over.
Adria Lea Photography
Adria Lea and her husband Colt handle weddings as a team, so your photographer can (literally) be in two places at once—for example, the bridesmaids and groomsmen can both be photographed getting ready without any rushing back and forth. More than that, Adria’s a genius with natural light, so you won't catch her carting around too much equipment. Clients also love that that there’s very minimal photo-shopping involved in the entire process.