Real Wedding | Madison + Luke | June 10, 2023

Real WeddingsSummer Weddings
Written By Thomas Bain

We had the joy of hosting Madison & Luke at the Cliff House on June 10, 2023. We are so thrilled to share all the special, romantic and sweet details of their union. Shoutout to Champ of the Dallas Mavericks for surprising the couple on their big day!

Luke and I met in August of 2020 in nursing school at The University of Alabama. We were put in the same clinical group and slowly spent more and more time together. We eventually had our first date at the Tuscaloosa River Walk where Luke actually ended up recreating our first date and proposed in May of 2022!

What was it like for both of you getting ready that day?

Luke: I was anxious, but also excited. I wanted everything to go perfectly. I was most looking forward to the First Look to be able to see her dress and get any nerves out of the way so that we could enjoy the ceremony. At first I was reluctant to do a First Look because I always thought of seeing her for the first time as she walked down the aisle, but I look back at it and I’m really glad we did it because it gave us more time to ourselves and we were able to get the nerves out of the way.

Madison: I remember feeling super anxious when putting my dress on. I had a lot of intricate buttons on the back of my dress that I had to get my mom and sister to help me with and I remember it all going by much faster than I envisioned. I felt both the excitement and jitters of the idea of walking down the aisle, but a lot of anxiety about getting everything done in time. I look back now and realize everything truly did go perfect and just the way we dreamed of! The small things that made me anxious really turned out to be nothing in the grand scheme of things and I was so happy with how things went.

I knew I always wanted a traditional-style venue that would also allow me to add my own touches. The Cliff House instantly stood out to us with it’s beautiful natural lighting and perfect location in the Bishop Arts neighborhood. Bishop Arts was an area I spent a lot of time in growing up and I loved that The Cliff House was previously an old chapel. It definitely matched my dream of both a traditional venue, but in a modern space.

We absolutely loved the two main front doors to The Cliff House and the natural lighting that was able to shine throught the windows, creating the perfect light and airy photo-style we loved. We also loved taking family pictures at the front stage area with the new wooden wall that added to the natural style of the venue.

Me being from Texas and Luke being from Alabama has always made it hard to have everyone we love in one place at the same time. In the months leading up the wedding, we didn’t know exactly who would be able to make it and who wouldn’t be, but in the end, everyone we loved were able to make it and we were so thankful for that. It was surreal to have high school friends, college friends, and family friends from all different walks of our life in the same place to celebrate us. It truly meant the world to us.

We wanted our wedding to feeling intimate and personable. My dad passed away 2 months before our wedding from his battle with cancer, so we wanted to be extra intentional in the wedding planning process in honor to honor him as much as possible while also celebrating with all of our loved ones.

Looking back, what words would you use to describe the day?

Special! It was just so special to have everyone we loved together especially after everything we had been going through the past few months with my family. It felt like a day of joy, laughter, love, healing and celebration for each of us.

The toasts from some of our family members were definitely a highlight of the night. My sister, our maid of honor, gave a really great and hilarious speech that really defined our relationship as sisters and also spoke to her love and respect for Luke.

I have always been a huge Dallas Mavericks fan ever since I was a little girl. A huge part of my dad and I’s relationship revolved around the Mavericks and I always knew I wanted a little part of them at our wedding, especially since I converted Luke into a fan the moment we started dating! During a meeting with our photographer one day, our photographer mentioned that the Mavericks once had their mascot, Champ, surprise a couple on their wedding day and it was super fun for everyone. I gave my mom a look and she just laughed it off. But then on our wedding day, she actually ended up surprising us with a visit from Champ! It was so special, especially coming from the fact that my mom set it up all on her own. It felt like a special moment for us as a family and a fun way to honor my sweet dad who would’ve absolutely loved it.

Other than the fun visit from Champ, we had a Mavericks basketball as our guestbook instead of a traditional book. We had everyone sign the basketball and now we get to display it for a lifetime amongst all of our other memorabilia. We also had custom drinks cups made with the Alabama “A” and a stethoscope wrapped around it to represent how we met in nursing school. They were a huge hit, especially with all of our friends from college.

We did a special cocktails that was inspired by Luke and my dad’s favorite drink - an old fashioned. Luke and my dad bonded a lot over crafting the perfect old fashioned and experienced with lots of different recipes and ingredients over the past year. We were so excited to be able to serve Luke’s perfected version of the old fashioned at our wedding, especially as another special ode to my dad.

I think our guests loved all the personal touches that we had and also the fact that it was in Bishop Arts which allowed our guests to really explore the area during the weekend of our wedding. We’re glad we chose such a fun area and venue.

While some girls have always dreamed about their wedding dress, cake, or flowers, I had always dreamed of the music. As a huge music lover, I was determined to create 100% of the wedding day playlist and I was able to connect with my DJ, Eryk Choinski from DFW Sound Sensations, who gave me total creative control for the playlist. This was so special to me as this was kind of a strange request for a typical DJ. Eryk allowed me to choose every song I wanted and completely honored my request, so I was able to choose every song for the whole night. It was such a fun part of the wedding planning process for me to able to choose the music. It’s something I’ll always treasure as part of our day.

Do you have any advice for future couples?

Don’t feel pressure to make your wedding one way or another. It will all come together in the end and when you look back on it, you won’t remember the little things that you stressed over! It will truly be about the people who are there to celebrate and love you, and those things will stand out more over little details!

Madison and Luke, thank you so much for sharing your intimate Dallas wedding with us at the The Cliff House! We wish you nothing but the best in the years to come! Read more about their stunning nuptials in a feature at Wed Society North Texas!

There is so much to be shared and discovered on The Cliff House Blog. Be sure to 'Like' us on Facebook and Follow us on Instagram for updates. Planning an amazing event is challenging — we want to be your resource to help along the way!

Thomas Bain
Previous

Real Wedding | Blair + Gabriel | June 2, 2023
Next

Real Wedding | Niki + Wesley | June 4, 2023