I already knew Margaret and Bailey’s wedding was going to be a fun one.
I had been working with them for almost a year by the time July 11 rolled around, which meant there had been LOTS of conversations leading up to this day. Phone calls, texts, ideas, timelines, little details, big decisions, and plenty of conversations with Margaret and her mom, Mrs. Elizabeth, about how everything was going to come together.
So by wedding morning, I was a little emotional.
I had watched Margaret talk about these ideas for months. I knew which details she was most excited about. I knew how much thought had gone into the day. And now we were finally getting to SEE IT.
Margaret and Bailey were married at St. James Episcopal Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, and then celebrated with about 220 guests at The Hotel Bentley.
And y’all, this wedding was beautiful.
But more importantly?
It was SO much fun.
A ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH WEDDING IN ALEXANDRIA
One thing I loved about Margaret from pretty much day one was that she knew what she liked.
She had a vision for the wedding, but she also had ideas I hadn’t personally seen at other weddings before. That made the whole planning process really fun because we weren’t just deciding between Option A and Option B. Sometimes Margaret would bring up an idea and I’d immediately think, okay wait, this could be really cool.
And it was.
There were two reception details in particular that we’d been talking about for months.
First, the art wall.
THE ART WALL BEHIND THE WEDDING CAKE
Margaret wanted a wall behind the cake with actual artwork displayed on it.
And her dad BUILT IT.
To perfection, I might add!
Margaret chose the artwork, and once everything was together at The Hotel Bentley, it looked so good behind the cake. But my favorite part wasn’t really how it looked.
It was why it was there.
Margaret and Bailey got engaged in an art museum.
So the art wall was this subtle little nod to the beginning of their engagement. Most guests probably wouldn’t have looked at it and immediately known the story behind it, and I actually love that.
It wasn’t there because it was a wedding trend or because every guest needed an explanation.
It was just them.
I think those are some of the best wedding details. Not necessarily the ones everyone else is doing, but the ones where you can say, “We chose this because it means something to us.”
And then, of course, we had Margaret’s babies.
YES, WE CALLED THE HYDRANGEA COLUMNS HER “BABIES”
If you talked to Margaret at any point before this wedding, there is a decent chance you heard about these hydrangea columns.
She was SO excited about them.
The plan was to wrap the columns closest to the dance floor at The Hotel Bentley in hydrangeas. We talked about them so much during the planning process that somewhere along the way, they became known as Margaret’s “babies.”
And when I finally saw them finished?
Ohhhhh, they were worth it.
Cotton Boll Floral Designs absolutely knocked these out. The hydrangeas wrapped around the columns and framed the dance floor in the prettiest way. They were lush, dramatic, and made a HUGE impact in the room.
This is also proof that you don’t necessarily have to decorate every single inch of your reception.
Choose the places where you want to make an impact and MAKE IT.
For Margaret, those columns were one of those places.
And considering what happened on that dance floor later, I’d say she chose her focal point pretty well.
AND THEN WE TEMPORARILY LOST PART OF THE WEDDING DRESS
Because no wedding day is allowed to happen without at least one moment where everyone goes, “Wait…where is it?”
Ours happened while Margaret was getting dressed.
We realized a piece of her wedding dress wasn’t in the garment bag like we’d thought.
It was at home.
Now, this is exactly the kind of thing that could send the entire room into a panic. You’re getting ready for your ceremony, part of your wedding dress is somewhere else, and there’s a timeline ticking away in the background.
Margaret’s dad immediately headed home to get it.
Meanwhile, we started moving things around.
We shifted the timeline, rearranged what we could, communicated with everyone who needed to know, and kept going.
And somehow, this thing that could have been one of the most stressful parts of the day turned into the sweetest little pause.
For a few minutes, everything just slowed down.
Her dad came back with the missing piece, Margaret got into her dress, and we kept right on moving.
Was it on the timeline?
Absolutely not.
Was everything okay anyway?
Yep.
I actually think about moments like this a lot when I’m creating wedding timelines. The timeline matters. A LOT. But the point isn’t to create a schedule so rigid that one unexpected thing ruins the day.
Wedding days are full of actual humans, which means something will occasionally take longer than expected, someone will forget something, or plans will need to shift.
You adjust. You communicate. You keep the couple from having to worry about seventeen moving pieces at once.
And you keep going.
In Margaret’s case, she got her dress, everyone made it to the church, and she married Bailey.
Pretty good ending, I’d say.
THEN IT WAS TIME TO PARTY AT THE HOTEL BENTLEY
After Margaret and Bailey were officially Mr. and Mrs. Crowe, everyone headed to The Hotel Bentley for the reception.
This room was beautiful.
The art wall was up. The hydrangea babies were thriving. The cake was in place. Everything we’d been talking about for months was finally happening in real life.
And then the dance floor opened.
Y’ALL.
It stayed packed.
DJ Jake Gremillion with Bonheur Events & Entertainment was incredible. And I don’t say this lightly. He was genuinely one of the best wedding DJs I’ve ever heard.
A really good DJ knows how to read the room instead of simply working through a playlist, and Jake did exactly that. He knew when to switch things up, how to keep people out there, and how to keep the energy going.
The result was a dance floor full of people all night long.
And honestly, that’s one of the things I loved most about Margaret and Bailey’s reception.
They had put so much thought into making the wedding beautiful, but nobody was standing around afraid to touch anything.
People were having FUN.
The flowers were gorgeous.
The room looked amazing.
And everybody was dancing.
You really can have both.
THE KIND OF WEDDING DETAILS PEOPLE ACTUALLY REMEMBER
Looking back at Margaret and Bailey’s Alexandria, Louisiana wedding, I don’t think there’s one single detail that made the day feel like theirs.
It was all the little connections between them.
The art wall wasn’t just a pretty cake backdrop. It connected back to the art museum where they got engaged.
The hydrangea columns weren’t just flowers. They were something Margaret had been talking about and looking forward to for months.
Even the unexpected dress situation became part of the story because of the way everyone handled it.
And then there was a room full of roughly 220 people who were clearly VERY ready to celebrate these two.
After almost a year of talking about this wedding with Margaret, Bailey, and Mrs. Elizabeth, getting to stand there and see it all happening was pretty dang special.
There are weddings where I come in closer to the date and get to know everyone quickly. This one was different because we’d had so much time together before wedding day.
I knew the stories behind the details.
I knew how excited Margaret was about those hydrangeas.
I knew how many conversations had happened before any guest ever walked through the doors.
And I knew how much everyone was ready to finally celebrate Margaret and Bailey.
So seeing Mr. and Mrs. Crowe out there enjoying the wedding we’d spent all those months talking about?
Yeah. That was a good one.
And Margaret, I can officially confirm:
The hydrangea babies were STUNNING.
PLANNING A WEDDING IN ALEXANDRIA, LOUISIANA?
If you’re planning your own Central Louisiana wedding, Margaret and Bailey’s day is a pretty good reminder that you don’t have to choose between a beautiful wedding and a REALLY fun wedding.
Make the pretty choices. Pick the flowers you’re obsessed with. Add the slightly unusual idea that makes sense because there’s a story behind it.
But also think about how the day is going to feel once everyone you love is actually in the room.
And when something inevitably doesn’t go exactly according to plan?
Adjust and keep going.
If you’re looking for a wedding coordinator in Alexandria, LA who can help with the timeline, vendor communication, logistics, and all those behind-the-scenes pieces, I’d love to hear what you’re planning.
Especially if you have your own version of hydrangea babies.
MARGARET & BAILEY’S WEDDING VENDOR TEAM
Ceremony: St. James Episcopal Church
Reception: The Hotel Bentley
Coordinator: Gatherings By HB
Photographer: Nikki Bardwell Photography
Content Creator: Getting Reel With Rachel
Florist: Cotton Boll Floral Designs
DJ: Bonheur Events & Entertainment
Caterer: Mi Tierra Restaurante Mexicano
Cakes: Sweet On You Specialty Cakes
Alcohol: Eastside Daiquiris
Wedding Dress: I Do Bridal Couture in Baton Rouge
Dance Floor: A Rental Gallery
Rentals: Staché Event Rentals
Hair: Salon 3:19, Marley Guillory & Aza Wilmore
Makeup: Kasey Coco + Elise Tudor of Gold Dust Studio
Bridesmaids Lunch: Graceson Rose Creations
Organist: Micah Dugas
