This Highland Park Wedding Turns Into a Parade — With the Sweetest Mom Ever Leading the Way

Home is where the heart is, and it’s no wonder that bride Haley Hall Tamlyn never dreamed of having her wedding anywhere else.

That reverie became reality. Tamlyn and her now-husband Trevor, who met as students at The University of Texas at Austin, danced the night away in her parents’ backyard beneath a canopy of fairy lights, surrounded by the people they treasure most last spring. The crisp white color palette and the home’s stunning arches were a knockout.

After an intimate church ceremony, Haley, Trevor and roughly 300 of her family, friends and loved ones strolled from Highland Park Presbyterian Church to her childhood home, a sprawling Spanish Colonial in Dallas draped in greenery and cascading roses for the occasion.

Perhaps stroll isn’t quite the right word. And procession doesn’t fit either, even with the throngs of blushing bridesmaids in pale floral patterned dresses and nattily dressed groomsmen. The ceremony had just concluded, the rose petals had just been tossed, and the party had begun.

“We had a parade to the reception,” Haley laughs. Her doting mother Michele had orchestrated a fabulous surprise to turn the promenade into a parade. Thanks to her clever and quiet planning, a rousing Mariachi band serenaded delighted guests all the way to the home.

It was an element this bride will never forget.

“We were blown away,” she says. It was just the first secret personal element of the night. “My mom came up with the most fun little touches,” Haley adds.

The comfortable, at-home, family style of the reception had always been part of Haley’s vision, with sleek tents and towering trees in the backyard. Especially because long distance had characterized a lot of her relationship with Trevor.

The Sky-High Proposal

The couple dated from afar for four long but lovely years. “Even with the long distance, it wasn’t a hassle or a pain. It was worth it because we knew we wanted to be together forever,” Haley says.

Trevor proposed the summer after that fourth year. He whisked Haley to the rooftop of  The Peninsula New York hotel and popped the question with a three-stone diamond Sackowitz Jewelers ring, all before bringing a family touch — taking her to the storied River Cafe in Brooklyn, the restaurant where her parents had gotten engaged.

The besotted pair planned a spring wedding, and joyously tied the knot on March 24th of last year at 5:30 in the evening. The ceremony was held at the Presbyterian Church where Haley attended school at an early age.

But she also wanted to include a Catholic priest to honor her upbringing and personal religious beliefs. The Catholic priest co-officiated the ceremony with the Presbyterian minister.

The bride looked radiant at the altar, donning an off-the-shoulder, white lace Monique Lhullier gown cut in a classic A-line silhouette. Her hand was adorned with a stunning ring set with a blue stone, an heirloom from her mother that covered the something old, something borrowed and something blue bases in one swoop. Her gorgeous dress fulfilled the new category.

“My veil was one of my favorite parts, a very long cathedral lace veil by Monvieve,” Haley tells PaperCity.

Following the ceremony in the church, the reception began in a light, bright al fresco setting. “I wanted a garden feel, with a lot of greenery. Kind of natural greenery with elegance tied into that,” Haley says. White garden roses, majolica roses, ranunculus and sweet peas from Bella Flora of Dallas made a soft, romantic impression in all subtle graduations of white.

“Walking up to the house and seeing it the house with all the beautiful flowers was breathtaking,” Haley says.

The look may have been understated and delicate, but the band was raucous and the dance floor was rocking and rolling. The music was a medley of classics, like the First Dance “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You,” to contemporary ultra-danceable pop by Bruno Mars.

The band, Party on The Moon, had all the guests on their feet — that is, when they weren’t delighting in the delicious food courtesy of Wolfgang Puck Catering.

“It was sophisticated food, super tasty with a variety of different things,” Haley says. Her personal favorite? The risotto station, complete with all manner of tantalizing toppings.

The four-layer white wedding cake was a marriage of simplicity and elegance, made with love by Dallas’ Vera Bakery. Then, another twist orchestrated by the mother of the bride.

“At the end of the night, there were little churro donuts. I’m obsessed with donuts! That was really fun,” Haley laughs.

Her mother took the personal element to the next level in an inventive way that would only occur to the most creative minds: monogrammed ice cubes and a signature ice luge bearing the bride and groom’s names in stellar cursive lettering.

“The bartenders made this specialty cocktail called the Tamlyn Twist. They poured the drink from the ice luge, with tequila and fresh grapefruit juice,” Haley says. “My mom is just super thoughtful.”

This wedding truly hit home.