Huxley Brown and Taylor Maury knew each other from a young age but lost touch over the years. Through mutual friends, they met again after college and dated briefly, but the timing just wasn’t right for either of them. Once they reunited a second time, the flame was strong, and the second time was the charm.
Huxley and Taylor following their wedding ceremony at Idlewild Presbyterian Church
The couple had their first date at Mollie Fontaine, so that is where they planned to celebrate their two-year anniversary. They arrived and had a drink at the bar, and then Taylor asked Huxley to walk outside for a photo. As they got outside, rose petals had been sprinkled all over the front porch. There was a table set up with a bucket of champagne, Huxley’s favorite candle and a hand-written note addressed to Huxley and stamped with a wax “M.” After reading the note, she looked up and Taylor was down on one knee.
The top of Huxley’s dress had a fitted, sweetheart bodice, and the bottom was made of a beautiful French lace with a latte-colored underlay.
Huxley’s dress, purchased at Maggie Louise Bridal, was made by Nashville bridal designer Olia Zavozina. The top of the dress had a fitted, sweetheart bodice, and the bottom was made of a beautiful French lace with a latte-colored underlay. “The French lace was a selling point for me. I fell in love with it from the get-go,” Huxley recalls. They added lace straps for a more traditional look, and Huxley added a lace bolero over it for the ceremony. “I brought my grandmother to Maggie Louise for the final decision because I knew if she liked it, we had a winner!”
Huxley’s “something old” was the first pair of diamond earrings that her grandfather bought for her grandmother years ago. Her dress and shoes were both new. She borrowed her veil from her friend Alex Heflin. And another friend purchased her a pair of Hanky Panky‘s with “Mrs.” written in blue on them.
Mona Dunlap was hired to assist Huxley and her mother in wedding planning and day-of details. “She was incredible! Her team took so much of the worry and stress off of my mom and me,” Huxley says.
Huxley and Taylor exchanged traditional marriage vows on April 30, 2016, surrounded by friends and family at Idlewild Presbyterian Church.
Huxley is the fifth generation of Browns to marry at Idlewild. Kallen Esperian, along with Gary Beard on the organ, performed during the ceremony, accompanied by a few stringed instruments.
Since Huxley has been in a number of weddings, choosing a bridal party was tough for her. She chose to have her sister, Amelia Brown, as her maid of honor, and Taylor’s sister, Rebecca Maury, as a bridesmaid standing beside her. Then she had 22 honorary bridesmaids sit in the first row. All 24 girls wore the same Joanna August dress. Taylor and Huxley’s sisters wore their own color, while the other 22 girls chose between two other colors. Taylor had 11 groomsmen and 4 ushers. His father, Bill Maury, was his best man.
The bridal party included 22 honorary bridesmaids.
Huxley’s cousin Mimi Beasley was their flower girl.
Following the ceremony, guests attended a reception at the University Club of Memphis, where Huxley’s family has been members for her entire life. Guests were handed blush champagne as they arrived at the reception. They then made their way into the library, which was transformed into a wine and cheese room.
The flowers were a traditional mix of whites and greens with soft accents of Huxley’s favorite color of pink and gold.
Jackson vine and lights were draped along the ceiling in the ballroom.
There was a seating area with a wall of boxwoods, gardenia and Jackson vine behind it, and a hallway bar just outside the ballroom, where food and drinks were served.
Food stations included beef tenderloin, spinach and twice-baked new potatoes as well as shrimp and grits, a BBQ-tini station and a Mexican station. There were also peach, goat cheese and arugula crostini and toasted ravioli.
A wedding cake made of five vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and caramel tiers with white textured icing was placed in the center of the ballroom. A spread of flowers sat on top and cascaded down. It sat on a table with a gold sequin cover draped over it.
The groom’s cake became an exact replica of Taylor’s guitar case, complete with fondant versions of the many band stickers found on the case. The groom’s cake was served at the rehearsal dinner on Friday night to give it the spotlight they felt it deserved.
“The groom’s cake was one of my favorite parts of our wedding weekend!” says Huxley. “Taylor is very musical, so his mother and I knew his cake needed to be something related to music. He had jokingly asked for a cake of his favorite band, but his mom and I knew we could do better! He was completely shocked and blown away when he saw the cake, and the look on his face was priceless!”
Huxley and Taylor cut the wedding cake and then entered the tent for their first dance. Singer/pianists Hudson and Saleeby played in the ballroom during dinner.
A tent was located outside the main hallway. All of the furniture in the tent was white and gold with a full-length white bar along the back. Sheer, white drapes covered the walls of the tent, and the ceiling of the tent was clear.
Gold light fixtures hung from the ceiling, and gold lamps accented a few tables. Seating areas with white, leather banquettes and Lucite chairs surrounded the dance floor.
Taylor surprised Huxley just before they cut the cake and serenaded her to “The Way You Look Tonight.” “He’s got quite the Frank Sinatra pipes,” Huxley reminisces.
Huxley and Taylor danced their first dance to “You’re All I Need to Get By” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.
Huxley and her father danced to “That’s How Strong My Love Is” by Otis Redding.
Taylor and his mom Becky joined in halfway through the father-daughter song.
A 14-piece band out of Atlanta called Life of the Party played a continuous 180-minute set for guests in the outside tent.
Since Huxley, Taylor and their families are all Michael Jackson fans, they had the band play 30 minutes of Michael Jackson hits in chronological order beginning with songs by the Jackson 5.
Taylor and Huxley wore Michael Jackson leather jackets, and all the guests received sequin gloves and light up tambourines.
Prince died the week before their wedding, so the uplights in the tent emitted purple lights at the beginning of the night in his memory.
Chicken fingers and Krystal burgers were passed around to guests as a late-night treat.
Guests sent the couple off with a shower of white rose petals.
A Raiford’s limousine whisked the couple away to Paula Raiford’s Disco and later to the James Lee House Bed and Breakfast in Victorian Village.
After researching tropical honeymoons, Huxley and Taylor settled on Sugar Beach in St. Lucia. “The resort was nothing short of magical!” they both recall.
Congratulations and thank you, Huxley and Taylor, for sharing your story with us. Here’s to a lifetime of happiness!
Resources
Wedding planner: Mona E. Dunlap Events
Invitations/paper products:Â Stovall Collection
Furniture: Liz Luxury Events
Florist: Garden District
Wedding cake: The Flour Garden
Groom’s cake: Cakes by Mom and Me
Photography: Russell Hays Photography and Whitney McNeill
Ceremony music: Kallen Esperian with Gary Beard
Reception music: Hudson and Saleeby and Life of the Party
Venue: The University Club of Memphis
Ceremony: Idlewild Presbyterian Church
Makeup: Kendrick Simpson
Hair: Rod Henson/Quitman Deloach and Ronald McKnight of Salon Liani
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Bella Bridesmaids
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