If you looked at Machen’s wedding day vision board you would immediately know that she had always dreamt of having a winter wedding that would incorporate her love of a sophisticated black and white colour palette as well as showcase modern touches and her bold personality. She wanted to be able to look at their wedding photos and not have them age at all so her and Peyton went about designing a timeless, modern and classic wedding. Arkansas wedding photographer ERIN WILSON was on hand to capture their special day which was planned by ANNE-CLAIRE ALLEN.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS LOCATION? Peyton and I wanted to get married in Northwest Arkansas, and OSAGE HOUSE happened to be the first venue we visited. We fell in love with it instantly. Osage House was perfect because it matched the sophisticated black and white aesthetic we wanted for our wedding. We also loved that Osage House provided all the amenities needed for our wedding day. The spacious bridal suite provided a glamorous area for my bridesmaids to gather during the day and get ready. The dark wood of the bar, concrete walls, and pool-table in the groom’s quarters provided the perfect masculine atmosphere for Peyton and his groomsmen to get ready that day. One of the main reasons we decided to get married at Osage House was the picturesque design of the chapel. The chapel is stunningly designed by the owners, Ashley and John Starns and portrays an industrial modern space with an all glass wall at the back and glass doors along both sides. The Hall (reception) is a one-of-a-kind design that matched the modern aesthetic I envisioned for our special day. I loved that it was a striking room that acted as a “white canvas” which allowed me to really plan/design our reception exactly how I wanted to.
HOW DID YOU MEET? Peyton and I met in 2014 on campus at the University of Arkansas at a Sigma Chi fraternity function. Throughout the night we kept glancing over at each other… at that time Peyton had long curly hair which made him stand out in a crowd and definitely caught my eye. Peyton finally made his way over to me and introduced himself. During our conversation that evening we discovered we had several mutual friends. Peyton had been to my hometown of Searcy, Arkansas to play in golf tournaments for several years and each time our paths never crossed. We met exactly when we were supposed to! We haven’t been apart since that random Thursday night – I met my best friend and future husband!
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: I had recently completed my graduate degree from the University of Arkansas and was starting my first job as a Speech Language Pathologist. On Saturday, June 27, 2020 Peyton planned a special date night to celebrate the start of my new job. Peyton mentioned that his mother had recently asked him to take a picture of his grandfather’s name engraved on the University of Arkansas’ Senior Walk near the historic Old Main building so she could frame it for him. Since this location was near the restaurant we had reservations to, Peyton thought it made sense for us to stop on our way to look for Papa’s name. Once we located Papa’s name engraved on the sidewalk, Peyton bent down on one knee to “take the picture” then turned around and asked me to marry him. It was such a special moment that we will both never forget. Peyton had made arrangements for our friend to hide behind a tree to take photos and capture all the precious moments of our proposal. Peyton had planned an engagement party for our family and friends to celebrate at a friend’s house after his proposal. They were all waiting to shower us with love. It was the perfect evening! Peyton truly made this an incredibly special day that we both will remember forever.
We wasted no time beginning our wedding planning. I wanted to make sure we were able to hire the best of the best for our wedding day. Thankfully it all worked out, and we hired our wedding planner, ANNE-CLAIRE ALLEN and our photographer and videographer, Arkansas wedding photographer ERIN WILSON within a few days of getting engaged.
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: Throughout my years of “pinteresting”, I always found myself saving the beautiful gowns by the same designer. Once engaged, I knew I wanted a Pronovias wedding gown so I was determined to find a bridal shop that stocked them. Little did I know a bridal shop named Tesori in my hometown of Fayetteville was the only one in the state of Arkansas that sold Pronovias gowns. Tesori is the cutest bridal shop that welcomed me with open arms and helped me find my dream dress. My first visit, I was treated with a private appointment and my bridal consultant, Stacey, truly made me feel so special. I tried on various dresses, yet I did not feel like I had found “my gown”. A few weeks later, Stacey called me and told me that Tesori was having a Pronovias trunk show featuring their new collection. I immediately made an appointment for the trunk show and I found the most perfect wedding dress during that visit. My dress was the third dress I tried on during the appointment, and I knew instantly that it was the one. I didn’t say anything to my Mother as I had several more dresses to try on and I wanted to give them a chance. I decided to put the dress that had given me the most wonderful feeling back on again, along with a veil and jewellery. I remember turning to my Mother and with tears in my eyes saying “this is it! This is my dress!!”. Pronovias describes the Adrienne gown as inspired by screen-siren glamour, a mermaid-cut gown in soft crepe that expertly frames the upper-body with drapery and a cut-away back before falling into a fluid skirt and train. It was the perfect dress and everything I could have ever dreamed of wearing on my wedding day.
DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: Brittany Cantwell of SILKS A BLOOM worked closely wit
h me and my wedding planner to create an unbelievably beautiful floral design for our wedding ceremony and reception. Calla lilies were the flower of the day and were a statement throughout all the florals for the evening. All white florals lined the reception tables with centerpieces made up of roses, hydrangeas, tulips and calla lilies. My mother and I were in agreement that when it came to the flowers we wanted large and lush statement pieces scattered about the room to accent the high ceilings of the reception hall. The altar and ceremony aisle were adorned with hurricane vases filled with floating candles. I wanted every aspect of the floral design, from my bouquet to the unique floral arrangements at the reception, to be visually stunning and memorable.
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: I have many favourite details from my wedding day, but at the top of the list was our live artist, Kristen Hess. Kristen is extremely talented and one of the sweetest women I have met. Peyton and I actually both reached out to Kristen to see if she was available for our wedding without each other knowing. We both wanted to surprise the other with a painting from our wedding day. Throughout the evening our guests were able to watch Kristen create a beautiful oil painting that captured our first dance as well as some of our favourite details from the reception such as our unique dance floor, our elegant wedding cake, and the towering floral arrangements designed beautifully on tables. Our guests were in true awe as they watched her create the piece of art. The painting is so life-like that it transports us back to our special day and it will be cherished forever.
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: Throughout my years of “pinteresting”, I always found myself saving the beautiful gowns by the same designer. Once engaged, I knew I wanted a Pronovias wedding gown so I was determined to find a bridal shop that stocked them. Little did I know a bridal shop named Tesori in my hometown of Fayetteville was the only one in the state of Arkansas that sold Pronovias gowns. Tesori is the cutest bridal shop that welcomed me with open arms and helped me find my dream dress. My first visit, I was treated with a private appointment and my bridal consultant, Stacey, truly made me feel so special. I tried on various dresses, yet I did not feel like I had found “my gown”. A few weeks later, Stacey called me and told me that Tesori was having a Pronovias trunk show featuring their new collection. I immediately made an appointment for the trunk show and I found the most perfect wedding dress during that visit. My dress was the third dress I tried on during the appointment, and I knew instantly that it was the one. I didn’t say anything to my Mother as I had several more dresses to try on and I wanted to give them a chance. I decided to put the dress that had given me the most wonderful feeling back on again, along with a veil and jewellery. I remember turning to my Mother and with tears in my eyes saying “this is it! This is my dress!!”. Pronovias describes the Adrienne gown as inspired by screen-siren glamour, a mermaid-cut gown in soft crepe that expertly frames the upper-body with drapery and a cut-away back before falling into a fluid skirt and train. It was the perfect dress and everything I could have ever dreamed of wearing on my wedding day.
DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: Brittany Cantwell of SILKS A BLOOM worked closely with me and my wedding planner to create an unbelievably beautiful floral design for our wedding ceremony and reception. Calla lilies were the flower of the day and were a statement throughout all the florals for the evening. All white florals lined the reception tables with centerpieces made up of roses, hydrangeas, tulips and calla lilies. My mother and I were in agreement that when it came to the flowers we wanted large and lush statement pieces scattered about the room to accent the high ceilings of the reception hall. The altar and ceremony aisle were adorned with hurricane vases filled with floating candles. I wanted every aspect of the floral design, from my bouquet to the unique floral arrangements at the reception, to be visually stunning and memorable.
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: I have many favourite details from my wedding day, but at the top of the list was our live artist, Kristen Hess. Kristen is extremely talented and one of the sweetest women I have met. Peyton and I actually both reached out to Kristen to see if she was available for our wedding without each other knowing. We both wanted to surprise the other with a painting from our wedding day. Throughout the evening our guests were able to watch Kristen create a beautiful oil painting that captured our first dance as well as some of our favourite details from the reception such as our unique dance floor, our elegant wedding cake, and the towering floral arrangements designed beautifully on tables. Our guests were in true awe as they watched her create the piece of art. The painting is so life-like that it transports us back to our special day and it will be cherished forever.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? This may sound cliche, but my advice to other couples planning their wedding would be to not let the stress of planning a wedding interrup
t the amazing months of their engagement. You should make your wedding planning experience fun and enjoyable. Savour every moment of the planning process. I would also advise brides to pick two to three things as “splurge” items and make everything else fit within your budget.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? For Machen: My most memorable moment happened right before I walked down the aisle. As my father and I stood outside the beautiful black and gold double doors of the chapel listening to one of my favourite church songs being played on the cello, the moment hit me and my tears started flowing. Anne-Claire, my wedding planner, gave me the sweetest pep talk. She told me to savour the moment and reminded me how special the rest of the evening was going to be. My Father told me he loved me, made me laugh, and was truly the support I needed as my emotions ran wild and tears of happiness still flowed. When the doors opened and I saw Peyton smiling at me it was the most magical moment ever.
For Peyton: For me the most important aspect was that Machen got “her moment.” My wife is someone that puts others wants and feelings before her own quite often so I wanted the wedding to be all about her. When the doors opened and every set of eyes in the room went to her, that’s exactly what I wanted. She was beautiful and looked amazing.
WHAT ASPECT OF THE WEDDING WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU AND YOUR PARTNER? The most important things to us were the food, cocktails, florals and entertainment. We wanted to throw a great party and have fun with the people we love the most. Following the vows, the multi-coursed food and drink experience commenced. Cocktail hour began with a champagne wall and signature drinks featuring Cranberry Moscow Mules and Classic Old Fashions. Custom Hors d’oeuvres were served while our guests listened to soft background music being played on the cello and violin. Up next was the delicious food served by our caterer, The Event Group. Later in the evening our guests were treated to Lemon and Puff’s luxury cotton candy cart. The flavoured cotton candy sat on top of Glo-Cones which made our wedding reception even more fun on the dance floor. The Jordan Kahn Music Company kept the celebration going long into the night. We always knew we wanted to have a big party and our band was incredible. The live band brought the party and the energy to our wedding and had everyone dancing all night long!
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR HONEYMOON: Peyton was so excited to plan the honeymoon and decided on the Excellence Oyster Bay in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Peyton wanted to make our honeymoon extra special because it would be my first time to travel outside the United States. Peyton and I both love beautiful beaches so we both wanted to go somewhere that would have gorgeous views and warm weather. Our travel agent did a fantastic job of planning and recommended this beautiful resort and she made the whole process very easy for us. Everything about Jamaica was “Excellent.” The travel getting there, the staff on the resort, the accommodations at the resort, everything was perfect! Would definitely, and already have, recommended this resort to several people.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD CHANGE OR DO DIFFERENTLY? There is absolutely nothing I would do differently. Our wedding day was perfect and we will cherish the memories for the rest of our lives. We can’t thank our families, Anne-Claire, and all of our other remarkable vendors enough for making all of our wedding dreams come true.
A huge thanks to Arkansas wedding photographer ERIN WILSON for sharing this stunning winter wedding with us. Erin is known for her dreamy wedding photography and loves to serve others by encouraging their creative sides, reminding them how beautiful they are and being as positive and calm in wild situations. “I am extremely passionate about people, art and love. I photograph weddings on film and digital and very inspired by timeliness images that have a little artful vibe.” You can see more of Erin’s portfolio in our VENDOR GUIDE and you may also want to check out this Stunning Italian garden wedding inspiration.
