If there's a central theme to this year's wedding issue, it would have to be "connectivity with place." The four brides whose fabulous 2018 weddings we feature this month all planned for their receptions (and in one case, the ceremony, too) to be held in very special, thoroughly "Memphis" venues. Savannah Bearden's reception in the Crosstown Concourse was the first held there, and Megan House's was the first booked at the Old Dominick Distillery. Lindsay Pate's reception was in the modern, new Ballet Memphis building in the heart of Overton Square, while Rhiannon Harrison's was surrounded by the vast green space of Shelby Farms.
Savannah Bearden & Danny Bader
October 20, 2018
Savannah Bearden was absolutely thrilled to marry Danny Bader this past fall in the Crosstown Concourse, a building with which she has been intimately involved — or so it seems — her whole life. She grew up a couple of blocks away, and more recently her creative agency, Loaded for Bear, has been an important part of the old Sears building’s rebranding, revitalization, and ultimate rebirth. Savannah is proud of the largest mixed-use development in Memphis history and hopes their wedding (the first to be held there) could showcase the possibilities for the incredible and diverse space.
Bearden and Bader are both Memphians born and raised here; they first met as actors on the set of a late-night WKNO television horror program in 2013. He was part of an improv troupe, and she characterizes his acting as “so cute, but so bad.” For the record, he now works in IT for International Paper. Bearden began her career working with her father, local filmmaker and raconteur, Willy Bearden, as an editor on his Memphis documentaries, and is a writer and director today.
The couple met again in 2015 and were engaged on January 1, 2018. For their wedding in the central atrium of the Concourse, a good friend, Drew Smith, officiated the ceremony, and since Savannah is known as a performer, with her own comedy show held once a year on Valentine’s Day, she wanted “a performance aspect to the event” — in her words, “an eclectic wedding.” Some 350 guests climbed the central atrium stairs to the reception in Crosstown Arts on the second floor and, as she says, “the setting was the decoration.” Drag queens from the Friends of George’s theatre company were on hand to entertain. Hey, a dog was even barking during the exchange of vows. Eclectic indeed, but oh so fun!
The couple departed in a 1955 Cadillac and headed to San Francisco the next day on their honeymoon. They now live in East Memphis, which Savannah confesses is the first time she has lived outside the Parkways. “I like to call it East Midtown, so I still feel connected to my roots,” she says.
- Photography: Philip Murphy
- Flowers: The Hardin House
- Cake: Shari Haley from The Wilson Cafe
- Wedding dress: The Barefoot Bride
- Reception dress: custom design by Bruce Bui
- Maid of honor's dress: La Petite Robe by Chiara Boni
- Hair: Scot Robinson at Pavo
- Makeup: Emily Epperson
- Band: Marcella Simien, Jana Misener, and Krista Wroten Combest
Rhiannon Harrison & Joshua Daugs
May 26, 2018
Rhiannon Harrison and Joshua Daugs were married at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, and their reception was held at the FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms. Both were born and raised in Memphis and both are pilots. Rhiannon now works in aircraft sales and plays/referees soccer. Joshua is a captain/C17 instructor pilot in the Air National Guard and was recently hired at FedEx. They were both older when they got engaged and knew what they wanted going into the relationship. He popped the question on a surprise trip to Destin and was so nervous he forgot to take up the landing gear en route! When they landed, he went around “to check the aircraft” and put the engagement ring on the nose tire of the aircraft.
Rhiannon’s mother is from India and met her husband, a Marine from Memphis, quite literally in the air, while she was a flight attendant for Saudi Arabian Air. Both her brothers also work in the same industry, so it was no surprise that Rhiannon and Joshua’s wedding theme was “aviation.” Airplanes topped both the wedding cake and the groom’s cake. Love was in the air and the Daugs were “cleared for takeoff.”
The couple wanted the focus to be on the party. Family from India, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand were all shown the red carpet treatment in Memphis. It was a large wedding with 300 guests, eight bridesmaids, and eight groomsmen. The bride’s best friend is Marissa Moss, the operations manager at Dinstuhl’s, so naturally the favors came courtesy of our city’s beloved candymaker. The dance floor was packed at all times, and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” was a karaoke favorite. The couple honeymooned in the Dominican Republic and now live in Germantown. They are proud to say that their wedding showed people from all over the world just how much our beautiful city has to offer.
- Catering: Fork It Over Catering
- Rentals: Hicks Convention Services
- Photographer: Emily McCutchen Photography
- Videographer: Malik Sharp Photography & Film
- DJ: Perfection DJs - Shane Dauberger
- Cake: Frost Bake Shop (wedding cake) & Sprinkle Me Silly (groom’s cake)
- Flowers: Joy Passman Floral
- Photobooth: 9 Photo 1 Booth
- Dress: Ballew Bridal
- Suit: Milano Wolfchase (Franco)
- Hair: Rod Henson
- Makeup: Pleshette Liggons
- Wedding favors: Dinstuhl’s
Megan House and Andrew Wilson
April 28, 2018
Megan House loves downtown Memphis; her dream was to be married there and have all the attendant festivities there as well. In other words, she wanted “to do something unique and authentically Memphis.” And so it was that her wedding ceremony took place at the Church of the River, with the reception at Old Dominick Distillery and the rehearsal dinner at the Cotton Museum. To add to the fun, the trolleys were back in service at the time of her wedding. Megan’s love for downtown really took off when she attended the University of Memphis law school on Front Street, and later lived downtown for almost seven years. She now practices family law at Douglass & Runger in Bartlett and her husband, Andrew Wilson, is in the global finance division at International Paper.
Megan is from Memphis, and Andrew is from Selmer, Tennessee. They first met at the University of Tennessee at Martin and later began dating while Megan was studying for the bar — an inconvenient time-frame for any lesser-determined mortals. The marriage proposal came when the couple was strolling downtown after dinner, and to Megan’s surprise, a gang of their friends popped out, including one friend who was on hand specifically to photograph the occasion. Afterwards, everyone adjourned to the Blind Bear bar to celebrate.
At the planning stage early in their one-year engagement, Megan’s mother, Melissa, who is a CPA, had one important stipulation: The wedding had to take place after April 15th, so that she could be sure to be there! The couple booked Old Dominick even before it opened, knowing it would prove a perfect place for their reception. The bride had six bridesmaids, friends from college and law school, while the groom had six groomsmen. The minister was a family friend, Dr. James Latimer, who had also married Megan’s parents 40 years ago. Two hundred guests were in attendance, and Austin Carroll sang at the ceremony. The bride wore her grandmother’s Belgian lace veil.
After a honeymoon in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, at the Sandals Resort, the couple returned to their East Memphis house which had been newly renovated and was turn-key perfect.
- Photographer: Aleks McGraw
- Planner: Melissa Bryant
- Caterer: Coletta’s
- Flowers: Melissa Bryant
- Wedding cake: Mariechen McGruder
- Wedding dress: Maggie Louise Bridal Boutique
- Bridesmaids’ dress: Bella Bridesmaids
- Groomsmens’ SUITS: Joseph A. Banks
- Hair: Neuvo
- Makeup: Tiffany Bishop
Lindsay Pate & Buck Lawson
September 15, 2018
Lindsay Pate and Buck Lawson were married at Idlewild Presbyterian Church on September 15, 2018, and held the reception nearby at Ballet Memphis’ beautiful new space in Overton Square. The choice of venue was ideal, since Lindsay had trained from the age of four and danced with the Ballet Memphis Junior Company.
As it happened, their parents had been church friends, so the couple had known each other as toddlers, although they really met at Montreat Youth Conference in North Carolina back in 2000. Lindsay saw Buck playing his bass guitar on stage and knew “she had to get to know him better!” They dated throughout high school — she was at White Station and he at MUS. The couple stayed in touch through their college years (the University of North Carolina for Lindsay and the University of Georgia for Buck) and later graduate school (Northwestern) for Lindsay. Ultimately, both landed back in Memphis, Lindsay having earned a master’s and Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She now works for Youth Villages and the Samaritan Counseling Center of the Mid-South, while Buck is employed as a senior analyst at FTN Financial.
The couple became engaged over Labor Day weekend in 2017 outside Toronto at Tawse Winery, which should come as no surprise since Buck’s hobby/passion is wine and he is building quite a collection. His bachelor party was in California’s Napa Valley, of course!
Lindsay had five bridesmaids with Ann Cosper serving as maid of honor, and there were five groomsmen with Buck’s good friend, Matt Cohen, serving as best man.
Lindsay and Buck honeymooned for three weeks in Italy and Greece. Once back in Memphis, they settled into their beautiful home in Central Gardens with their family of two dachshunds and a Labrador. The dogs especially enjoy weekend outings to the Lawson family farm (formerly Fite Road Tree Farm) in Millington. Buck considers himself a lucky man because Lindsay is a great cook, and you can bet her meals are always paired with the perfect vino!
- Event Planner: Social Butterflies
- Photographer: Amy Hutchinson Photography
- Videographer: Jamie Hill with 5 Hills
- Rentals: White Door Events
- Flowers: Holliday Flowers
- Cake: The Flour Garden
- Catering: Iris, etc.
- Wedding dress: Betsy Robinson Bridal Collection (Baltimore, MD)
- Bridesmaids’ dresses: Weddington Way
- Hair and makeup: Beauty by Brady
- String Quartet: Beth Luscombe Strings
- DJ: Dingo Entertainment
- Rehearsal dinner: Catherine & Mary’s
