ADVENTURE OF LOVE

ADVENTURE OF LOVE

by | Dec 28, 2022 | 2023 January February, Weddings 2023

Ciara Nicole Cooley And Huntington Edward Barton Biggers Wed

By Rob Giardinelli         Photography by Sarah Kate Photography

It was teatime at the Ritz Carlton in Dallas. Ciara Cooley had arranged a reservation for a date with Hunt Biggers. Little did Ciara know that Hunt was one step ahead of her. He had already made a reservation and planned to pop the question during this special date with a surprise celebration afterward. The proposal was the perfect anecdote to the couple’s adventurousness. “What I first noticed about Hunt was how he relaxed he was and how much he enjoyed life,” enthused Ciara Biggers. Hunt Biggers remembers “How easygoing, and adventurous Ciara was.” The couple was initially drawn together as both love to travel and explore new places.

Thus began the 14-month engagement of Ciara Nicole Cooley, the daughter of Lisa and Clay Cooley of Dallas, and Huntington “Hunt” Edward Barton Biggers, the son of Kathryn and Ted Biggers of Dallas, who had been dating for just under two years when the couple became official. The engagement culminated in a lovely wedding and reception at Arlington Hall at Turtle Creek. The wedding included just over 200 family members and close friends, including a wedding party of six bridesmaids and six groomsmen.

The wedding day itself featured three different vignettes that reflected the sense of adventure and interests of the couple as the night progressed. The bride looked stunning in a dress designed by Monique Lhuillier. For the ceremony, Molly Rasmussen of Pop Parties collaborated with Garden Gate Floral Design to create a beautifully serene color palette of soft pinks, whites, and golds with a dash of lavender. Guests were greeted with light bites and champagne as they walked down an aisle of floral archways where violinists lined the path to the ceremony. Once the bride and groom were pronounced husband and wife, a 10-piece gospel choir surprised guests with recessional music that led to the cocktail space for the start of the reception.

The reception, held in a tented space on the Arlington Hall grounds, was where David Kimmel Design transformed the space with a vibrant color pallet of pinks, purples, greens, and whites. It also served as a beautiful backdrop as the couple danced their first song to Clint Black’s When I Said I Do. The seated dinner featured personal seafood towers served in individual ice sculptures, a duet entrée dinner, and individual mini cakes for dessert. The main wedding cake was placed in a breathtaking vignette of floor-to-ceiling flowers, complete with flower chandeliers draped from the ceiling, while the groom’s cake was of the couple’s beloved dog, Remi. Just before the transition to the after party, the bride’s mother, Lisa Cooley, surprised the newlyweds with late-night fireworks, a Pitbull impersonator, and fireball shots to the song, Fireball. This served as a perfect transition to the after party, which was transformed from the earlier cocktail party space into a gorgeous red, hot pink, and black environment where the crowd danced the night away to the tunes of LeForce Entertainment.

The bride received her bachelor’s and MBA from Southern Methodist University and works with her family business, Clay Cooley Auto Group. The groom graduated from Texas A&M, received his law degree from Southern Methodist University, and works with his family’s business at The Biggers Law Firm. The couple honeymooned in Costa Rica and reside in Dallas.

AT LAST

AT LAST

by | Dec 28, 2022 | Weddings 2023, 2023 January February

Meredith Fielding Flores & Mason Alexander Barker Exchange Vows

By Leanne Raesener    Photography by John Cain Photography

Meredith Fielding Flores, daughter of Jim and Cherie Flores of Houston, and Mason Alexander Barker, son of Keith and Stacy Barker of Houma, Louisiana, recently celebrated their nuptials in Houston. The couple first met at an LSU hang-out. Mason was a college senior, and Meredith was a sparkling new freshman. A friend introduced them, and while they both flirted, Mason played it cool, imagining he’d have another chance to ask her out. Little did they know, it would be five years before the opportunity would occur again, and by then, he did not waste time. They dated for two years, followed by a one-year engagement. Mason proposed at sunset on the beach of the Lyford Cay Club in the Bahamas. The bride’s family has a vacation home in the Lyford community, so after the proposal, they all celebrated the joyous couple together.

 

The couple wanted a personal ceremony filled with their closest friends and family, so a private ceremony was held in the garden of the bride’s family home in River Oaks. They had 250 guests at the ceremony and 450 at the reception. Naeem Khan and his son, Zaheen designed Meredith’s dress. She made eight trips to New York to assist with its design. The hand-beaded grown, with a tree-of-life symbol embroidered into the dress, took over 200 hours to create. The bride also wore a Naeem Khan white beaded jumpsuit for the after party.

The bride walked down the aisle to the Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun, played by a string quartet with French horns from Élan Artists. The bride shared, “We were so joy-filled as the pastor spoke that we both went in for the kiss too early. The wedding guests laughed in delight, as did we.” The bride also mused, “When we finally kissed, the altar trellis dripping with roses allowed a flash of the sun to shine through, displaying the most heavenly sunset, creating my fairytale moment.” The groom beamed when his niece (the flower girl) ran full sprint down the aisle into his arms. He shared, “Seeing the love of my life walk down the aisle for the first time in her wedding dress was the most cherished moment. She looked unbelievable and completely took my breath away.”

The reception was at the Corinthian Houstonian, with lavender, dusty pink, and pale blue colors for the ceremony and reception. The wedding event planner/planning team was Todd Events, and the wedding photographer was John Cain. City Kitchen Catering provided chef-attended food stations that included scrumptious over-the-top selections. Susie’s Cakes made the bride’s wedding cake inspired by chinoiserie wallpaper. The groom’s cake was a traditional croquembouche by Patisserie Paris Je T’aime.

 

The reception band was Rhythm Collective, and the festivities continued at the after party in the Corinthian’s historic former bank vault. Guests danced the night away there to the sounds of DJ Savy Fontana. The day after the wedding, the couple took a mini-moon to St. Barth’s for six days. Then, they later took a two-week sojourn to Italy. The couple resides in Houston, where the groom works as a Commercial Insurance broker at Insgroup. The bride is an international residential real estate agent at Martha Turner Sotheby’s.

 

PERFECTLY REGAL

PERFECTLY REGAL

by | Dec 28, 2022 | Weddings 2023, 2023 January February

The Marriage Of Emily Lynne Hann & Milam Ross Miller

 By Mallory Miller                      Photography by Chloe Winstanley Photography

Emily “Emmy” Lynne Hann of Oklahoma City, OK, and Milam Ross Miller of Austin, were living in London when they met on a holiday trip to Provence, France, over an Easter weekend. The running joke is that they had to move abroad to meet one another…when they were previously only separated by the Red River (she’s an Oklahoma State cowgirl, and he’s a U.T. Longhorn).

 

After a two-year courtship marked by “casual” dates across Europe, including Michelin meals in San Sebastián, skiing the Swiss Alps, and getaways within Rome, where Milam worked during the week. It was during the 2020 lockdown that he opted to propose in the couple’s private garden in London. “I had been waiting all year, and little did I know that wouldn’t occur until the Christmas tree was up in our garden,” shares Emmy Miller. “It is my favorite holiday and when I least expected him to do it.”

 

The wedding was at Cornwell Manor, a Jacobean country estate with a Georgian façade, which served as a stunning setting for the three days of events for the 200 guests who traveled across the pond. The setting meant the world to the bride, who is an admitted royalist, and the couple felt their destination wedding had to be in the picturesque English countryside. The Thursday arrivals were marked by a Pizza & Peroni pool party, and in a nod to the groom’s love for all things La Dolce Vita, guests were welcomed with an Aperol Spritz, and wood-fired Neapolitan pizza served from a pop-up Piaggio truck. Guests donned their best Amalfi Coast chic, and the sunny day even had Milam and his house party dancing a choreographed cannonball routine to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. The surprise and delightful moment set the tone for the fun weekend ahead.

 

On Friday, the ladies traveled to Daylesford Organic Farm for a luncheon hosted by the groom’s mother, Suzanne Miller, and his sister, Mallory Miller. The Glass House was a serene setting for the colorful affair with hues of verdant green and lilac from the fresh-cut peonies at the farm’s garden as the girls toasted the bride-to-be with Pimm’s Cups. The wedding party returned for a rehearsal dinner in the estate’s walled garden where many heartfelt toasts were given by friends from all over the world. Vintage postcards of over 30 cities that the couple has visited acted as place cards at the Continental style seated affair.

 

On the morning of the wedding day, in true British fashion, gray skies and light showers seemed to tug at the emotions of the bride. However, the Texans brought the sunshine, and within one hour before the couple shared their “I do’s,” the skies parted. The bride wore a gown designed by Monique Lhuillier and her cream colored, off the shoulder dress was accented by a veil with hand-embroidered garden roses and ivy, a nod to the English Rose. The wedding bouquet and flower arrangements lining the aisle were inspired by the bride’s custom Toni Federici veil. The floral team was able to forage live plants and greenery from the estate’s 2,000-acre grounds to bring to life the bride’s vision of a Secret Garden-inspired theme. The wedding was followed by a cocktail reception where guests snacked on crispy duck tartes, polenta chips with truffle foam, and Cornish crab doughnuts. Then, the bride successfully sabered a vintage bottle of Pol Roger Champagne to commence the reception’s festivities. The look on the groom’s face was priceless as his wife mastered the opening on her first try.

 

After a seated, three-course dinner under a sail tent anchored by a circular bar with white flowers, wild ivy, and candles, the bride and groom had their first dance…on the ground. The Sensation Band had the crowd dancing into the wee hours of the night and the newly married couple even went crowd surfing…above ground, as their guests cheered them on with donning party favors–masks of the royal family, crowns, and Union Jack hats.

 

The couple, who reside in Dallas, honeymooned in Africa. The bride is a team lead at ISN and the groom owns his own consulting and coaching practice, BCK. The couple enjoys traveling, cooking, and being active together at home and across the globe.

PERFECT KIND OF LOVE

PERFECT KIND OF LOVE

by | Dec 28, 2022 | Weddings 2023, 2023 January February

Mary Morgan Baker And Turner Patrick Dowell Wed

By Rob Giardinelli         Photography by Kelly Hornberger

Mary Morgan Baker, the daughter of Amy and John Porter, and Penny Baker of Austin, and Turner Patrick Dowell, the son of Shannon and Kelly Dowell of Austin, were recently married. For the couple, the wedding day had a special meaning since it fell on their anniversary. “Prior to getting engaged, we dated for eight years. Our wedding date marked exactly nine years together” recalls Morgan and Patrick Dowell. Morgan is very much a planner, which required Patrick to get creative when deciding how to pop the question in a way that would genuinely surprise her. “I’m in real estate so Patrick coordinated a property showing at a condo downtown,” recalls Morgan. “I thought it was a big, fancy executive coming to look at the penthouse. I walked in, and there he was.”

Their nine years together culminated in a beautiful wedding for 200 guests at Tarrytown United Methodist Church in Austin. The church ceremony featured an elegant, white palette of orchids and roses. The bride had 17 attendants, and the groom had 18. The wedding ensembles for the bride and groom featured touches of family weddings from prior generations. The bride’s mother’s wedding color was turquoise, and she wore a turquoise broach on her own wedding gown, which Morgan pinned to her bouquet as her “something blue,” while the groom wore his great-grandfather’s tuxedo studs set. Barbara Shorts of Verve Events planned the stunning wedding ceremony and reception, while David Kurio created the elaborate floral décor. The goal was to capture the bride’s vision for a traditional and romantic wedding, with a nod to the couple’s love for The University of Texas.

The reception for 600 guests was held at Austin Country Club and featured a blush pink color palette,
with pops of orange. Instead of a traditional seated dinner, the reception flowed throughout the entire club, including a special bride’s room and groom’s room. The bride’s “Mo Bubbles” room, a play on her
nickname, had blush pink velvet furniture and white carpet, where guests were served champagne in
monogrammed glasses. The groom’s room was game day themed to highlight his experience as a
Spur and Bevo handler, and the bride as a Texas cheerleader. The bar served two signature drinks:
Bevo’s Bourbon and DKR. There were also two dance floors, with one designed to be more intimate
for toasts and the couple’s first dance. The wedding cake, designed by The Chocolate Llama,
even put a twist on the traditional red velvet cake by being dyed blush pink.

At 10 pm, a surprise after party kicked off in a separate ballroom, featuring a collection of Chinoiserie vases, gold and orchid walls, a wall to wall custom dance floor, over-sized burnt orange floral arrangements, and a ceiling covered in balloons creating a lounge club vibe…and the fun went well into the night. The end of the evening featured the bride’s favorite moment, a private last dance with her new husband. “We danced to Cowboy Take Me Away by The Chicks. “It was so special to have a private moment together, and I loved getting to soak it all in one last time before we exited,” recalls the bride.

The bride is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and works at Gottesman Residential Real Estate.

The groom also graduated from UT Austin and is a Senior Associate at Evergen Equity. The couple honeymooned in the South of France and reside in Austin.

A LOVE MATCH

A LOVE MATCH

by | Jan 3, 2021 | 2021 January February, Weddings 2023, Weddings 2021, Feature Three

Meredith Bond And Matthew Taylor McCord Wed In Fort Worth

By Natalie Bond Bloomingdale

Photography by Stephen Karlisch

As girls, of course, my sister and I would dream of walking down the aisle in a big white gown, so it was sensational to see my sister’s dreams come true as wedding bells rang for the Vernon girl and her Dallas boy when Meredith Bond became the bride of Matthew Taylor McCord in Fort Worth. The couple has their mothers to thank for their introduction. Pamela Bond, our mother, and Susan McCord, the future groom’s mother, play tennis together in Wichita Falls and were relentless in the set-up. Matt agreed to meet Meredith one morning for breakfast and a tour of Vernon, our hometown,  and then…the rest was like a fairytale. The proposal was also sporting. “After we landed in the Faroe Islands together, the first place I wanted to see was the waterfall at Gasadalur,” said the bride, Meredith McCord. “After taking quite a few photos, it was time to leave as the sun was setting–and Matt seemed in a pensive state. Looking back, I know he was wondering if this was the right spot to propose. I wasn’t expecting it to happen on this trip, so it was a wonderful surprise when he popped the question.”  

Following the engagement and pre-nuptial events all across Texas, including a rehearsal dinner hosted by the McCords for family, friends, and out of town guests at the Clay Pigeon restaurant (the site of one of the couple’s  first dates), the wedding ceremony took place at the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth. On the big day, Meredith wore a strapless white silk Mikado dress designed by Nardos Imam, a Dallas-based dressmaker. Attached to her garden-style bouquet of white O’Hara roses, lilac, cream peonies, and white lisianthus was a silver and diamond lavaliere, a family heirloom on our mother’s side. She wore diamond earrings as the something borrowed from me, and for something blue, she carried a small handkerchief with a blue monogram, a gift from our sister-in-law, Meredith Louise Bond. 

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The bridesmaids wore formal black gowns, adorned with matching gold and pearl earrings by San Antonio-based jewelry designer Nicola Bathie, a gift from the bride. I served as a matron of honor, of course. Her bridesmaids were: Catherine Elizabeth Almeida of Prosper, Texas, Meredith Louise Bond, sister-in-law of the bride of Dallas, Katie Diane Braddock of Yulee, Florida, Meghan Brooke Goddin of Austin, the sister of the bridegroom, Anna Renee Hoppe of Yukon, Oklahoma, Leigh Dodson King of Fort Worth, and Kristen Payne Polito, of San Antonio. 

Serving as the best man for the ceremony was Byron Parker Chaddick of Midland. The groomsmen were:  Shelby Henry Carter of Aspen, Colorado, Joseph Blake Garret of Huntington Beach, California, Mason Albert Schwarz of Austin, Maddox Morgan Womble of Dallas, and Stephen Tyler Goree, Christian Michel Patry, and Chipman Russell Seale, all of Midland. The ushers for the ceremony were: James Alfred Bloomingdale of Los Angeles, the brother-in-law of the bride, William Blaine Bond of Dallas,, the brother of the bride, Cristopher Holt Conger of San Antonio, Chase Tiernan Conway of Dallas, Chris Hopkins Goddin, of Austin, the brother-in-law of the bridegroom, Thomas Chandler Isbell of Tucson, Arizona, Brandon Stephen McCord of Metairie, Louisiana, a cousin of the bridegroom, Michael Caleb McCrea of Fredericksburg, and Winston Steel Kelly and Blake Winfield Braun, both of Midland.

After the ceremony, the grand reception was held at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Guests were greeted by a saxophonist at the entrance, where they were encouraged to sign a large pictorial book of the Faroe Islands. A jazz combo in the Modern Museum of Art Café and Terrace Courtyard serenaded the arriving guests.

Upon the newlywed’s arrival, the guests were ushered into the grand lobby of the museum, where a proliferation of floral décor in neutral hues greeted them for a seated dinner. Then, the white acrylic dance floor was waiting for the guests to continue the merriment with Blind Date of Austin, the band for the affair.  They played Stand by Me as the new couple was introduced and danced their first dance.

After dinner, dancing, and the cutting of the five-tiered candlelight-colored cake, the newlyweds exited the reception in a classic 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air sedan through a line of guests throwing white rose petals and sharing warm wishes for the future. “I was so pleased with the way Gro Designs, our event design and planning team, took my vision and transformed the Modern into such a beautiful space,” said Meredith McCord.

Meredith graduated from Texas Christian University and obtained her master’s degree from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth. She is now a licensed professional counselor. Matt, a cum laude graduate at Saint Edward’s University in Austin, is an oil and gas landman in Midland. The couple’s tropical paradise honeymoon was in the French Polynesian Islands of Tahiti, Moorea, Le Taha’a, and Bora Bora. They now reside in Midland.

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