Madeline Phillips & Hayden Balgavy
December 22, 2018 / Little Rock
Junior League of Little Rock
After meeting in high school, Madeline Phillips and current THV11 Sports Anchor Hayden Balgavy reconnected in 2014 and were completely smitten with each other. Knowing the engagement was on the horizon, the couple was gifted a trip by their families to New York City.
The city held a special place in their hearts after the couple visited for the first time in 2015. It was their first time traveling out-of-state so they did plenty of research before arriving. Madeline wanted a rooftop view of Times Square, so the couple found Bar 54 atop the Hyatt in Times Square.
"Across from the rooftop is the H&M headquarters building, which we initially did not notice until someone pointed it out in the photo we posted online from our trip," Madeline says. "So ever since then, we’ve always traveled to NYC about once a year for our H&M (Hayden & Madeline) photo atop the Hyatt. This is where Hayden proposed!"
We can't get enough of their holiday wedding complete with gingerbread houses, real evergreen trees and plenty of winter whimsy. Read on to find out all the details about this gorgeous day brimming with creative inspo.
On the gown: "I’d known for years what type of dress I wanted— long sleeves, lace, off-white low-V neckline. No beading. We went to Inverness in Conway, a shop I had been following for a while on Instagram. The dress I chose was the fourth one I tried on! It was exactly what I wanted in every way. I wasn’t concerned about the name of the designer, but was pleasantly surprised to see my gown would be made by Pronovias."
On the rest of the bridal fashion: "I wore a gorgeous diamond pendant necklace Hayden had given me for Christmas a couple of years before we were engaged. I wore diamond studs to match, also a gift from Hayden. The ring I wore was a silver spoon ring with a Taurus emblem and emerald stone, representative of my zodiac sign and birthstone, which was given to me by my Grandmother when I was a teenager. Although they couldn’t really be seen, I wore pink velvet shoes for that little eccentric touch that was just for me! At the end of the reception, I changed into a one-piece dress with a white wrap top and silver-sequined skirt."
On the venue: "We chose the Junior League of Little Rock Ballroom for several reasons. We loved its central location in downtown Little Rock, which is special to us because we live in Little Rock and one of our first apartments together was downtown. We love old charm and beauty, and the JLLR ballroom is exactly that. It also provided something else we wanted — the ability to have the ceremony and reception in one place, instead of asking our guests to travel to more than one location. We loved, too, that JLLR was walking distance from our rehearsal dinner location and from the hotels where our guests stayed."
On the wedding inspiration: "The style and theme was largely inspired by all things Christmas! We told our designer we wanted to walk into a winter wonderland, and he made it happen."
On the ceremony decor: "The Junior League Ballroom was transformed into a sparkling winter wonderland as guests were met [with] the scents of fresh-cut Frasier and Douglas Fir trees ranging from 4 feet to 7 feet, grouped around the ballroom. The trees were lit with small warm twinkle lights and filled with silver and gold painted Grevillea and hundreds of black and white photos of the bride and groom hung with soft white ribbons. Billows of soft, snowy tulle were wrapped around the bases of the trees."
On the fun centerpieces: There were actually three different centerpiece concepts that graced the tables at the reception. One of them featured floral arrangements of blush and cream roses, hydrangea, cymbidium orchids with accents of pine, cedar, holiday ornaments and green hypericum berries. The second concept featured a clear glass cylinder of gold and silver holiday ornaments topped with white birch branches and hanging black and white photos of the bride and groom. The third centerpiece featured gingerbread tree forests with royal icing snow and a sprinkle of sugar.
On that adorable gingerbread house: "There was a custom-designed miniature replica of the bride and groom’s new home, entirely in gingerbread, complete with royal icing snow and sugar. Loblolly Creamery designed the piece from a photo. This showstopper was placed at the back of the ballroom between the bride and groom’s cakes."
On their first dance song: "We chose 'Golden Hour' by Kacey Musgraves, who is one of our favorite musicians. The lyrics really represent what we mean to each other — we are each other’s 'golden hour,' now and always. One of the lines that repeats is 'I know everything’s gonna be alright,' which is always true when we’re together."
On what Madeline loves most about her groom + her favorite moment of the night: "I love the fact that Hayden is as cool as a cucumber all the time. He is the calm in any storm. He makes me laugh every single day. He is supportive and encouraging through all things! His level of patience and understanding is unparalleled. My favorite wedding moment was when Hayden was reading his vows after I’d read mine, and we realized we’d both referenced cheeseburgers and fries in our vows. It was just too funny!"
Madeline and Hayden Wedding Film from Forestland Films on Vimeo.
The Details:
Photography: Levi Stephen Miller Photography, Little Rock
Videography: Anthony Byrnes
Planning and florist: Selby Brown Making Nice
Day-of coordinator: Carol Ann Conner McAdams
Furniture rentals: Confetti’s Party Rentals, Little Rock
Cake: Sweet Lavender Bakeshop, Little Rock
Groom’s cake: Cheyenne Stokes
Other desserts: Loblolly Creamery, Little Rock
Caterer: Cathead’s Diner, Little Rock
DJ: DJ Nick Hud
Invitations: Elli
Wedding dress: Inverness Bridal Couture, Conway
Bridesmaid dresses: Venus
Groom/groomsmen attire: Jos A. Bank
Jeweler: Cecil’s Fine Jewelry, Little Rock
Hair: Lynlee Wyatt
Makeup: Jessica Humerick, Little Rock
Rehearsal dinner venue: Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro, Little Rock
