ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

by | Jan 3, 2021 | Feature Eight, 2021 January February, Weddings 2021

The Marriage Of Madeline Cummings Noal And Samuel Dustin Dunham In Austin

By Lance Avery Morgan

Photography by Kristen Kilpatrick and Marshall Tidrick

It was a match that was meant to be. Very modern in scope, Madeline Noal of Austin, the daughter of Denise Hyde, and Shawn and Teri Noal, and Samuel “Dustin” Dunham of Fort Worth, the son of Zoe and Mel Dunham, met in Manhattan, where they both lived at the time. The bride’s mother had a hand in the connection of the couple. While on a mother/daughter vacation in Cozumel, she hand-selected her daughter’s future groom, Dustin, from an array of gents on the dating app, Hinge.

 

The couple’s first date happened once Madeline returned to New York. “We hit it off right away. I immediately knew I had met the one,” shares the bride, Madeline Noal Dunham. “I called my mother right after and told her I would marry Dustin. When you know, you know.” That initial meeting led to their engagement when the groom popped the question inside Grammercy Square Park in Manhattan. Dustin, not missing a beat, proposed with a ring the bride’s father had given her mother, presented in a needlepoint box the bride’s mother made herself, and he even hired a photographer to capture the whole event.

 

The couple had initially planned their wedding for December 2020 at Casa Kimberly, the former home of Elizabeth Taylor in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with 150 guests. Instead, due to COVID-19, they decided to move up the date and have it in Austin at the St. Cecilia Hotel. “When the pandemic hit, we knew we couldn’t ask our loved ones to travel far, or internationally,” said the bride. “We knew we had to re-think everything–the location, the wedding size, and most importantly, we had to think of how to keep our guests safe. This wedding was absolutely perfect in every way and now I can’t imagine it having been any different.”

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For the wedding rehearsal dinner, the duo chose Mattie’s, formerly Green Pastures, a favorite of the bride’s family’s long presence in Austin. Ever thoughtful, at the rehearsal dinner, the families gave each guest a custom mask, made of beautiful cream linen embroidered with a red ikat design, and requested that they wear them to the ceremony and reception. Early on the wedding day, the groom, Dustin, and all 15 male guests went on a skeet shoot hosted by the Dunham family. Armed with breakfast tacos from Maudie’s and pastries from Upper Crust Bakery, they wore custom shirts to remember the male-bonding morning.

 

The wedding ceremony, which occurred on the picturesque lawn of the St. Cecilia, was everything the couple hoped it would be for their 30 guests. The ombre shades of red, orange, yellow, and pink were ever-present for the event’s color theme that was created by the bride and her mother. The wedding planner was Amina Garrison of Wedding Day Girl in Austin. The bride wore a strapless wedding gown by Chantel Lauren, with an overlay tunic adorned with Swarovski crystal and pearl embroidery by Allison Webb. Her veil was a custom creation by Coutures by Laura, who customized the entire look. She used gorgeous remnants from the dress alterations to create beautiful face masks for the bride as well as her mother. Madeline’s younger sister, Alexandra Noal, attended her as her maid of honor and only bridesmaid. The groom, outfitted in a navy Burberry tuxedo, was attended by his father, Mel Dunham, and watched as his bride-to-be marched down the aisle on an antique family rug to a processional performed by a string quartet.

 

The bride’s mother’s best friend, Judge Rhonda Hurley, officiated the ceremony, while the bride’s best friend, Jordan Easter, read the e.e.cummings poem, I carry your heart. The groom’s twin sister, Melissa, read Colossians 3:12-15 while the bride’s uncle, Greg, lead the gathering in prayer. At the end of the ceremony, a small gospel choir, comprised of a mother and her sons, sang All You Need Is Love to the astonishment of everyone except the bride and her mother, who arranged the surprise.

As the fun continued at the reception at the St. Cecilia, guests after feasting on passed appetizers that included a charcuterie board, crab cakes, and crème fraiche and caviar atop of house-made potato chips were seated for dinner continental-style. The specialty cocktails created for the occasion were Madeline’s Margarita, Dustin’s Ranch Water, and Arthur’s Artini (a tribute to the duo’s one-year-old Goldendoodle, Arthur, who couldn’t attend due to his naughty nature but was there in spirit and in small details). A French jazz band played romantic tunes that the couple selected as ambience music before the bridal couple danced to I Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher. Then, the after party began. Madeline and Dustin invited all of the “kids” (everyone aged 40 and younger) to their suite and danced to a collection of vinyl records DJ’d by the bride’s brother, Nash, while popping bottles of Champagne until the wee hours of the morning. 

 

The couple now reside in Beverly Hills, California, where the bride, who graduated from Ole Miss, The University of Mississippi, works as the public relations manager for the luxury beauty brand, Chantecaille Beaute, and the groom, a graduate of Baylor University, with a business graduate degree from Cornell University, is a senior associate at The Luzzatto Company in Los Angeles, a real estate private equity and development firm. “We delayed our honeymoon until after the pandemic,” confided the bride. “We spent the days after our wedding driving from Texas to our new home in Los Angeles, yet we spent our originally planned wedding date at the Rosewood Miramar in Montecito.”

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FOREVER AND A DAY

FOREVER AND A DAY

by | Jun 27, 2019 | 2019 July Aug, Feature Eight

Elizabeth Adams And Edward “Chap” Bernet Marry In San Miguel de Allende

By Jake Gaines
Photography by Rox de Luna

Elizabeth Adams, the daughter of Ann and Frank Adams and Edward “Chap” Bernet, the son of Clemmie and Brant Bernet, both of Dallas, suspected they might have a future together way back at Highland Park Middle School. Elizabeth remembered Chap as the funny tall kid in the D.A.R.E. skits and Chap remembered Elizabeth as the tall girl surrounded by friends while walking the track.

The flame ignited in high school and heated up through college (she graduated from the University of Texas and he graduated from Texas Tech University) until the couple became engaged in Boston in 2018. That’s when Chap took Elizabeth on a train to a small beach for the day on their anniversary. A Nor’easter had just passed through, so it was chilly and the waves were massive, according to the couple. Everyone in the sleepy, quaint town was out watching the waves, so privacy was scarce. Chap led Elizabeth on several walks to locate the perfect spot and finally found it by the harbor. Words, laughs and tears were shared until Chap bent down on one knee, and the bride-to-be said yes.

Both loving Mexico, the couple were married in San Miguel de Allende. The festivities kicked off with the rehearsal dinner at Casa San Panco and the Rosewood San Miguel de Allende served as the venue for the wedding ceremony and reception. “The décor, created by Macadamia Flores, was comprised of seasonal flowers from the Guanajuato region that matched the colorful streets of the quaint Mexican city; pinks, reds, yellows and pops of greenery,” shared Elizabeth Adams Bernet. “Guests walked through the Rosewood Lavender Garden upon arrival, where the Jacaranda trees bloomed in vibrant purple and Pampas grass framed the ceremony site.” Brian Worley Productions and Suzanne Reinhard Events teamed to produce the nuptial gathering weekend.

The bride walked down the aisle wearing a Spanish lace, strapless gown by Monique Lhuillier. Her earrings were from her late grandmother, a pearl ring was borrowed from her other grandmother, and lace was sewn into the hem of her dress that came from the wedding gown of the groom’s grandmother. Elizabeth borrowed her veil from her older sister, Stacy Hicks and the blue sapphire fashioned to her bouquet was her father’s first wedding anniversary gift to her mother. When Chap first saw Elizabeth, he started sobbing. Then, she tripped slightly and began laughing with her father, who escorted her, which caused Chap’s tears to turn into the biggest smile, according to the bride. The groom wore a custom Knot Standard white dinner jacket and custom navy tuxedo pants and sported a set of his great grandfather’s cufflinks that he borrowed from his father.

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A dear friend of the couple’s, Elly Hutchings, officiated the wedding and was chosen for her close relationship with Elizabeth and Chap. Commented the couple, “Her way with words always speaks to her positive, contagious spirit.” Elizabeth’s cousins played the processional music at the ceremony where the couple was surrounded by their attendants. The bride’s sisters attended her with Stacy Hicks as matron of honor and Caroline Adams as her maid of honor. The 10 bridesmaids were: Daisy Bernet, Elizabeth Bernet, Phoebe Bernet, Georgie Ferrell, Erica Hubble, Francis Nolan, Ellie O’Neil, Melanie Proctor, Mary Margaret Shamburger, and Laura Wright. The groom’s best man was Charlie Bernet and serving as his 10 groomsmen were: Matt Bonano, Chris Calandro, Dodge Carter, Mack Hicks, Steve Lander, Billy Langhenry,  Edward Neblett, Madison Oden, Tyler Riek, and Ben Stevens. Elizabeth asked her house party to wear bright colors and sit on the aisles so she could see their faces on the way in and out, and they also threw colorful flower petals during the mariachi recessional.

After the ceremony, the venue for the reception had a fantastic view of the Parroquia parish church that was ensconced with ambient and chandelier lighting that created the perfect ambiance for guests dancing under the stars. A buffet and seated supper included guacamole, ceviche and carving stations. As the reception progressed, the first 10 songs (including the first dance) were played by Chap’s family; his grandfather, uncle, father and sister until Elizabeth & Chap joined the band for the last two songs. In fact, Chap performed a song that he had especially written for Elizabeth.

Then, the two DJs took over and as the night progressed, guests swapped their heels for Crocs, colorful ties were passed out for guests to tie around their heads and the DJs drew war paint markings in  pink, red and yellow paint on all of the guests. It was the perfect night. “The Rosewood was beautiful and Elizabeth was the most gorgeous bride anyone had ever seen,” shared the groom. The Rosewood also designed and created the multi-tiered cake that was adorned with fresh flowers and the house party laid their bouquets around it.

The happy couple spent their honeymoon on the Taha’a island in French Polynesia. They make their home in Nashville where the bride works in digital marketing at Suretone Entertainment and the groom is in corporate entertainment booking at the APA Agency. San Miguel will always hold a special place in their hearts and they plan to return often.

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