RewardStyle power duo and Highland Park High School grads Amber Venz Box and Baxter Box were raised a single block apart from each other. “I joke that we grew up sleeping just 30 yards from each other but never met,” says Amber. During college, Amber worked at a local boutique where Baxter’s aunt also happened to work and where his mom was a frequent shopper. “For a long time, both had tried to set me up with him, but at the time I was not interested in a romantic relationship,” she says. One day, Amber called Baxter’s aunt, who she is close with, to see if she wanted to go to happy hour. “She happened to already be out with Baxter, so we all met up. Baxter and I have been inseparable since!”
After dating for over five years, Amber had to leave Dallas for London to work at rewardStyle’s London office (boss lady, indeed). The day she returned from her three month stint, Baxter asked if she wanted to go out for dinner. They dropped by the house after work, and when Amber walked in through the back door, she was confronted with white flowers and candles lining the back hallway all the way to the living room in the front of the house, where Baxter got down on one knee and proposed.
Amber always knew she wanted a cliffside destination wedding, and as it happens, Baxter’s parents and sister were living in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico at the time of their engagement. A private park up on the cliff behind their home was outfitted with perfectly groomed green grass, cactus vignettes, and an old stone cross—as well as 360-degree views of the Boca de la Sierra mountain range and the Sea of Cortez. The carefree, bucolic setting “was the stuff of dreams,” Amber says. Cabo became the natural choice for her intimate wedding, which she planned in a mere two months.
She worked with the local Watters team to combine her own dream of a breezy and elegant 1940s gown—but made sure to play with opacity and include semi-sheer detailing. “Baxter had asked for a sexy dress,” Amber remembers. The long-sleeve, ivory silk blend charmeuse sheath concoction was beyond dreamy but also distinctive—in fact, the custom “devoré” patterned fabric took more than 60 hours for the Watters team to develop in-house. With her softly plated (and patented) red hair and languid, body-skimming silhouette, there is no doubt that she was going for a Hollywood siren look, a la Lauren Bacall or Katherine Hepburn. Amber also had a clear vision of what everyone else should wear. “I wanted my guests to arrive looking like they were walking into a Vogue event, like the Met Gala. I knew I wanted the men to wear black tie, so that was a no brainer,” she says.
While the bride had a clear vision for the fashion (unsurprising, knowing that is what she built her billionaire dollar business on), she didn’t focus too much on the small details, as many do. In fact, two weeks before the wedding, rewardStyle hosted its second annual event called “The Conference,” which took priority over the impending nuptials. “Once ‘The Conference’ began, all communication between me and the wedding coordinator ceased, and my mom and mother-in-law stepped in to confirm the final details,” says Amber. “My mom is a musician so she chose the music for the ceremony, and Mrs. Box hosts beautiful parties, so she chose the florals and reception details.”
When all the details came together, she was surprised by how romantic it was. In her everyday style, she admits she gravitates toward more structured, monochromatic, and architectural design. “But for the wedding, I loved the very feminine, vintage-inspired clothing. Our ceremony looks were very ’40s glamour,” she says. Many brides get hung up in the details, but Amber’s carefree approach is refreshing. She advises brides to have as small of a wedding as possible and to hire an event planner you can trust. “I provided our planner with the location and the inspiration, and then trusted her to make decisions,” she says. She also recommends inviting your loved ones into the process. “I delegated decisions about the ceremony to my mom and Baxter’s mom was the go-to decision-maker for the after party. I think our moms loved being involved and it made the event very low stress for me!”
Amber’s favorite memory from the wedding? The boat party the day after the ceremony. “My inspiration for it came from two images: a photo of Kate Moss at her wedding where she’s surrounded by children wearing flower halos in neutral clothing, and an Instagram photo I found of Tatiana Santo Domingo with her bridal party on a boat in Monaco,” Amber says. Her party resulted in relatives staging flipping contests off the back of the boat (“priceless!”) and lots and lots of branded swag. “I drafted up an A&B logo and started ordering goods from left and right. We had branded napkins, towels, spirit jerseys, golf carts, cars, boat flags…you name it.”
At the end of the day, Amber recommends treating your wedding just like you would any other event. “Know that this will not be the last event in your life: you will have anniversaries, birthday parties, and so many others that you can use to throw a party.” We are digging her low-maintenance, high-fashion approach.
