A New Orleans Second Line, in Arkansas

Every so often a couple comes through our gates who reminds me exactly why we cap our weddings at 70 guests. Bailey and Titus were one of those couples. They booked our Midimony package, and then they made it completely, unmistakably theirs. Personal vows they wrote themselves. A private last dance with no one watching. And a send-off that brought a little bit of New Orleans all the way to Dardanelle, Arkansas.

Here is how their day came together, and how a Midimony gives you all the room you need to build a wedding that feels like no one else's.

They chose the Midimony.

The Midimony is our middle package, and it is our most-loved for a reason. It gives you the chapel, the gardens, the reception hall, an elegant plated dinner, curated décor, and fresh florals cut from our own gardens, with an on-site planner and day-of coordinator built in. It is a full celebration, start to finish, without the size or the stress of a big-box wedding.

What I love about the Midimony is that it handles all the heavy lifting, which frees couples up to spend their energy on the parts that make the day theirs. Bailey and Titus did exactly that. They let us carry the logistics, and they poured themselves into the moments.

Personal vows they wrote themselves.

Bailey and Titus skipped the traditional script and wrote their own vows. There is something that happens in a small chapel when a couple reads words they wrote at their kitchen table the week before. You can hear it. Everyone can. With only their closest people in the room, nothing was performed and nothing was rushed. It was just the two of them, saying the truest things they know about each other.

This is one of the quiet gifts of an intimate wedding. When you are not managing a crowd of two hundred, you get to actually feel your own ceremony.

A private last dance.

My favorite thing Bailey and Titus did all night was the simplest. Before the send-off, they stole a private last dance, just the two of them, with the guests waiting outside. No audience, no phones, no spotlight. Just the couple, the music, and the room where they had said their vows a few hours before.

If you take one idea from their day, let it be this one. A private last dance costs nothing, and it gives you a moment that belongs to no one else. Years from now, that is the part they will remember.

A little New Orleans, in Arkansas.

And then came the exit. Bailey and Titus brought a piece of home with them and closed the night with a New Orleans second line. If you have never seen one, the second line is a New Orleans tradition where the newlyweds lead a joyful, music-filled parade out into the world, with everyone waving handkerchiefs and parasols behind them. It is loud, it is happy, and it turns a send-off into a celebration all its own.

Watching a second line roll through our Arkansas gardens at the foot of Mt. Nebo was something I will not forget. It was proof of what these two understood from the start. Your wedding does not have to look like anyone else's. It should look like you.

Make your day your own.

A Midimony gives you a beautiful, fully handled wedding, and then it gets out of your way so you can add the touches that make it unforgettable. Personal vows. A private last dance. A second line send-off. Those were Bailey and Titus's. Yours will be something only you would think of, and that is exactly the point.

If you would like to see whether Gateley Hill is right for your wedding, the best next step is to come out for a tour. You can walk the chapel and gardens, and we will sit down and talk through the day you are dreaming of.