Virginia Marie Willmuth, originally from Batesville (now in Little Rock) and John Alton Porter of Little Rock married this past summer at the Ten Mile House. The two had been the plot of several mutual friends for months before they finally hit it off. The couple has been inseparable since John asked Virginia out for the first time.
- Wedding date: May 7, 2011
- No. of guests: 400
- Ceremony/reception location: The Ten Mile House, Little Rock
/ Bridal Inspiration /
“The same things kept inspiring me over and over, so I went with a gray and turquoise color pattern and very rustic touches. We wanted very Southern, outdoors and laid back. One way or the other I was wearing cowboy boots.”
HOW THEY CUSTOMIZED
“Because it was the day of the Kentucky Derby, we served mint juleps as the guests arrived and encouraged everyone to dress as if they were attending a derby party.
The property was once home to a lady that kept peacocks as pets, so we incorporated peacock feathers as much as possible, from details on the invitations to peacock feathers in the arrangements and in the bridesmaids’ hair.
One of my favorite things we did was have Hot Dog Mike show up late that night, he was a huge hit. We didn’t have much of a back-up plan; thankfully we had one of the most perfect days Arkansas saw all spring.
Also, I listened to John and never strayed from insisting that it reflect us and our family and friends and most importantly stayed relaxed and casual.”
Q: What one detail truly made the wedding yours?
“John and I have very talented friends, and we tried to incorporate them all as much as possible. Four of our friends happen to be musicians and they performed Van Morrison’s ‘Sweet Thing’ for our first dance.”
/ Because I said so… /
“I did everything my mother asked me not to. I had five flower girls all under the age of four (nieces and children of best friends), an outdoor ceremony and reception, cocktails before the ceremony, three pregnant bridesmaids, fried chicken and I wore cowboy boots. It all turned out perfectly, and she loved my vision once she saw it all come together.”
/ Mother Nature /
“It was an outside ceremony. We planned for it to take place under a beautiful old black walnut tree, Mother Nature had other ideas. Leading up to our wedding Little Rock had a few nasty storms, thanks to one of those, a week before our wedding the tree fell. We made the best of it and moved the ceremony underneath an equally gorgeous pecan tree. And we used the tree as a place for photo ops, where our darling wedding coordinator/designer/florist/magic man had his brother carve our initials into the tree to incorporate it into the day.”
THE DETAILS
- Photography: Sarah Bussey Photography, Little Rock
- Event planner/florist: Drew Holitik, Chicago
- Wedding stationery: Something Blue Paperie, Conway
- Cakes: Lisa’s Cake Boutique, Conway (now Tracy Cakes)
- Caterer/Drinks: Diane’s Catering, Little Rock
- Rentals/Lighting: Bylites, Little Rock
- DJ/Band: Danny Dozier & the Lockhouse Band, Batesville
- Bridal Boutique: Proposals Boutique, Little Rock
- Groom/groomsmen attire: Baumans, Little Rock
- Bridesmaids’ attire: J. Crew