Suzie + Drake Barham Tie the Knot at Hope Municipal Airport

Suzie Gresham & Drake Barham
November 3, 2018
Hope Municipal Airport

Suzie Gresham and Drake Barham met in kindergarten, where they sat together side-by-side. In high school, the two began dating and they’ve been inseparable since. They both decided to attend Ouachita Baptist University where they survived four years of Suzie’s crazy softball schedule, classwork and graduating with business degrees.

Drake decided to surprise Suzie with the proposal during a trip to one of their favorite spots — Park City, Utah. The two were there for what Suzie thought was a quick work trip, but Drake had something else in mind. They had plans to meet some friends and Suzie’s parents for dinner at the Montage in Deer Valley, but as they parked, Drake directed her to the Ruby Express chairlift. Flower petals lined the path to a bench in front of beautiful aspen trees as snow quietly fell over the mountain.

“From it snowing in September to having a hidden photographer, to my parents getting to watch from a balcony to being in my favorite place with my favorite person getting down on one knee — it can only be described as perfect!”

THE INSPIRATION

Suzie and Drake both travel extensively for work. They have an ongoing joke that they’re either in an airplane or stuck in an airport all the time. Suzie’s family also happens to have a plane they keep at the Hope Municipal Airport. Thanks to a wedding brainstorming meeting with her godmother, Suzie landed on a theme tailor-made for an airport — “The Sky’s the Limit.” The couple couldn’t think of a better place than the airport Suzie had grown up flying in and out of to be the backdrop for the next chapter of their lives.

HOW THEY CUSTOMIZED

One of the most obvious customizations was Suzie’s bridal fashion. Jumpsuits have always been a favorite of hers, so she worked with Laine Berry of Laine Berry Couture to create her dream ’fit. A few weeks later, Suzie’s mom and Laine surprised her with a brand new wedding gown. The gown featured an exaggerated bateau neckline, a plunging v-back, long sleeves and a bodice decorated with hand-applied Swarovski crystals in the shape of poinsettia petals. Suzie decided to wear the gown for the ceremony and then change into the jumpsuit for a show-stopping — and easy to dance in — reception look.

Suzie has one word to describe her wedding cake — big. The giant cake had six tiers, with one being a hexagon shape with their crest imprinted in gold. Cascading florals flowed to the ground, puddling at the base of a hand-crafted stand made by Drake’s grandfather.

The hangar doors of the 1940s airport opened after the ceremony to reveal a gold-and-white wrapped dance floor bearing the couple’s monogram. Long banquet tables were adorned with soft lighting and chandeliers. Flowers and greenery made the industrial space feel intimate and inviting, and guests felt true Southern hospitality while savoring Suzie’s grandfather’s famous barbecue ribs.

The couple had a few different “rides” throughout the wedding day. On the way to the ceremony, Suzie and her dad rode together in a 1939 black Cadillac LaSalle. They spent time together chatting and sharing happy tears. At the end of the night, Drake and Suzie literally jetted off to their honeymoon in Hawaii. Thanks to their constant travel for work and play, the couple managed to score $11.50 first-class plane tickets to Hawaii.

“After all was said and done, and we got in the plane, we just sat there as our cups ran over and had so much joy and gratitude in our hearts as we had been surrounded by, loved on, and invested in by so many wonderful people,” Suzie says. “We were in pure awe.”

THE DETAILS

See this Real Wedding as it appeared in the print edition of ARKANSAS BRIDE

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