When my good friend Tommas informed me he was going to propose to his Texan fiance Jordan, the excitement of a venture to Texas immediately flipped my stomach.
Nine months later I landed in Austin, Texas with a group of other excited Brits and immediately felt the warmth of the infamous Texan hospitality. Greeted by Tommas, his soon to be in-laws and some good friends from back home with warm embrace, I knew this was the start of a great trip.
The connotation 'everything is bigger in Texas' rang true as we took the drive from the airport to the lake house. The trucks, the buildings and the people all towered over me, but it was excitement rather than consternate that filled my now childlike frame.
We stayed in Austin for five days around the wedding and absorbed everything it had to throw at us, first we sampled the nightlife. The locals had told us about Sixth Street, the main drag through Austin where all the clubs, bars and restaurants are. The street is split into two main sections of entertainment, E. 6th Street known locally as "Dirty Sixth" and West 6th Street District. Needless to say, we headed straight for "Dirty Sixth".
The buzz of the nightlife pulsed through the taxi windows, we jumped out wide-eyed and ready to party. We spent the evening exhausting all the bars and clubs that 6th street had to offer. Liberal, fashionable and immersed in live music, it didn't take long before Austin had stamped its mark.
The next day we took the opportunity to see the city's daytime pleasures. Visiting some iconic shops such as Allen's Boots flagship store on South Congress Avenue, which contained an unfathomable amount of cowboy boots and stetsons all in different shapes, sizes and colours. We saw the infamous and award-winning food trucks lining the city's curbs, visited the imposing stature of the Capitol Building on Congress Avenue and stood in awe at the UT Longhorns football stadium. The stadium hosts the games of college football team, Texas Longhorns and seats up to 105,000 fans. For an Englishman, that's rather hard to get your head around, a college team that sells out a stadium which minuscules our national soccer stadium, Wembley by 15,000 capacity.
That night we had the rehearsal dinner and cocktail party at prestigious downtown venue the 'Headliners Club' on West 6th Street. After taking the lift to the 20th floor we were greeted by floor to ceiling windows showcasing the stunning, far reaching views over the city. It was there that I first saw the Frost Bank Tower building.
The class A office building is the third tallest building in Austin's skyline, standing at 515 ft.
Local knowledge had told me that the building was designed by a Rice University graduate, fierce rivals to Austin's UT Longhorns, whose football team's mascot is an owl. As the sky turned black the Austinites pointed out how the architect had subtly crafted the building so that at a certain angle you could see two owl eyes light up in the Austin night. It looked just like an owls face, believed to have been missed when the building plans were proposed to the city.
The next morning I slumped into my tux, slightly dazed and confused from another night on "Dirty 6th" (now my favourite place..in the entire world) and headed for 'Camp Lucy' in 'Marble Falls', the venue for the Giles/Coldrick wedding.
A white French Colonial wedding chapel glistened in-between the rain and sun breaks, adjacent to a cascading staircase which lead into the enormous dining hall. We've all heard the term "dream wedding" but I really did feel as though I was in a different reality. Every nook and cranny was strategically filled with clever and romantic gestures, Union Jacks flew side by side with American flags, beautifully elegant decorations draped, towered and glistened in the twilight. A cigar maker rolled hand-made stogies for guests, while a soul band whaled away in the background, filling the dancefloor and transfixing the crowd.
The night went off without a hitch, and just when you thought they couldn't possibly have anything else up their sleeve, as the guests walked out we were handed mini United Kingdom and American flags with huge sparklers. Arranged into a snaking tunnel of patriotism and fireworks we formed a walkway for the newly married couple, Mr and Mrs Coldrick. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.
As we juttered our way back to Austin on the coach, I reflected on my time in the Capital. The city had left an impact on me in many ways. It was chilled, yet energetic, refined yet bold, stylish yet "Dirty". It had a perfect counterbalance to anything that may seem "too city-ish".
I have been lucky enough to visit many cities around the world but for me, Austin has "city" just right.