Mary Semon & Derek Walker
April 19, 2019 / Bentonville
Record
Thank goodness for retail jobs! Mary Semon and Derek Walker met while working at Abercrombie & Fitch after college. Derek recognized Mary and he asked her out quickly after they started working together.
Years later, the two took a trip to New York City during Christmastime. While they were there, they looked at rings — so Mary knew a proposal was coming soon. The year passed, holidays passed, and two days before their fifth anniversary, Derek proposed.
“Derek had spent weeks planning and tricked me by saying he was in meetings all day, but really had left work early to decorate our kitchen,” she says. “I walked in after my workout (disgusting) and was completely surprised — he had strung lights all over the kitchen and had candles everywhere. He had put together a playlist and it was all perfect. And then we had our favorite dinner from Saiwok to celebrate.”
Read on to find out the details behind the couple’s beautiful modern boho wedding at Record Downtown in Bentonville.
On the gown: I reached out to Joon Bridal and scheduled a fitting. Beth was so sweet and helpful, and we tried on dresses until finding the one — a romantic lace Made with Love gown with a train. I added a front slit for a little drama, and a long veil for the ceremony.
On those pretty florals: We worked with Zuzu’s and Cindy was incredible with what she designed. I wanted the cake wall to be dramatic. Cindy used greenery, palms, pampas and blooms, which were then repeated on the ceremony arch. The boutonnieres were a mix of greenery and blooms. My bouquet was mostly white, and the bridesmaids mixed in some roses.
On flower girl fashion: Jade wore a tiered white tulle and lace dress. She had a basket with petals to throw but instead walked down the aisle holding her puppy and her flower crown. We were just happy she had finished her Sonic fries.
On the venue: We wanted a modern venue, one that was minimal and could be decorated to our style. The Record was perfect because we were able to set up the North Room for both the ceremony and reception. We love Bentonville and the square, so having it there allowed for us to do the pictures on the square after the ceremony, and for our guests to go out after the reception ended.
On her wedding style: I wanted the flowers to be the focus, and the room was built around the cake wall and the ceremony arch. The bar has a massive arrangement in the middle and then two of our favorite candles to make the whole room smell like Volcano. We love Bentonville and had Yeyo’s cater a taco bar. We went outside after the ceremony and walked through our friends tossing flower petals which was fun and gave us some of my favorite pictures.
On wedding decor: We had long farmhouse tables, eucalyptus runners, candles and grey linen napkins. The head table had an arrangement that spilled over the front of the table. We used two peacock chairs for our chairs, and moved the ceremony arch behind our seats during the reception. I had cocktail napkins made that said “Drunk in Love” and “Love on the Brain.” My friend built the easel for our wedding sign. As a fun surprise, we had cookies that were our cat’s face on the favors table. Outside Victory & Co. created a seating area.
On her cake: Earth and Honey made us a three-tiered cake that was champagne with lavender on two layers and the middle was lemon. The icing was textured and Zuzu’s added some blooms.
On the moment they were declared man and wife: We were so happy! My friend officiated the ceremony and he actually forgot the rings! We wrote our own vows, and then did the traditional vows and Gabe went straight to the end. We had to say, “The rings!” So we were laughing up to the end.
The Details
Photography: Stephanie Parsley
Month-of coordinator: Victory & Co., Little Rock
Florist: Zuzu’s Petals & Gifts, Fayetteville
Furniture rentals: Victory & Co., Little Rock, Hank’s Event Rentals, Little Rock, Somthin Borrowed, Rogers
Cake: Earth + Honey Cakes, Rogers
Other desserts: Alexander Baking Co., Rogers
Caterer: Yeyo’s, Bentonville
DJ: DJ Afrosia, Fayetteville
Invitations: Minted
Wedding dress: Joon Bridal, Fayetteville
Bridesmaid dresses: BHLDN and Asos
Groom/groomsmen attire: Indochino through the Black Tux
Jeweler: Catbird, New York City
Hair: Anna Evans
Makeup: Adriann Duncan
Venue: Record Downtown, Bentonville
