Some places become part of a love story long before the wedding day. For Ellen and Liam, that place was Tulane University, where they first met as students and built a relationship that would eventually lead them to Dallas, the city they now call home together.
Ellen had grown up in the Greek Orthodox Church in Dallas: the same church where she was baptized, where generations of family memories had been made, and where she always envisioned saying “I do.” For Liam, preparing for marriage meant embracing that tradition alongside her, completing the process of converting to the Greek Orthodox faith and attending weekly classes together in the months leading up to the wedding.
Although Ellen had always planned to save their first look for the aisle, there were three first looks she couldn’t imagine skipping: with her dad, her grandfather, and her brother. Those quiet moments became some of the day’s most emotional memories before she made her way into the church where Liam waited.
“I didn’t realize he was crying until my dad handed me off,” Ellen laughed. “Then it made me cry.”
One of the most meaningful moments came quietly after the ceremony, when the newlyweds found themselves alone for a few brief minutes inside the chapel before joining their guests. “That’s when it really hit me,” Ellen said. “He started crying again, and he told me he’d waited 2,100 days for that moment.”
Following the ceremony, guests stepped into a ballroom transformed by cascading white blooms, soft blue details, and an unforgettable suspended tulip installation overhead. Seeing the vision come to life was one of the moments Ellen had anticipated most. “The best moment was walking into the ballroom and actually seeing it in person, not just on a screen or a layout, but seeing the tables, seeing the people, and seeing it all come together.” For Liam, the reveal carried another layer of appreciation. Having grown up helping with his family’s floral business in New Orleans, he understood the craftsmanship behind every arrangement and was struck by the scale of the design.
Throughout the weekend, thoughtful details honored both families and both cities. The New Orleans-inspired rehearsal dinner celebrated the place where Ellen and Liam met, while custom paper goods, layered blue accents, and abundant florals carried a cohesive design throughout the wedding day. Even Liam’s groom’s cake included playful nods to both Tulane and his lifelong LSU roots.
Music reflected the couple just as personally. Their first dance was to Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” followed by a father-daughter dance to Phil Collins’ “You’ll Be in My Heart” from Tarzan. As the evening continued, Greek dancing invited nearly every guest onto the dance floor, creating one of the celebration’s most joyful moments. “Most of our friends aren’t Greek,” Ellen said. “Everyone was on the dance floor. They were looking at someone else’s feet trying to figure out what to do, but everyone was out there.”
From cherished family traditions to unforgettable floral artistry, every detail reflected a celebration rooted in faith, family, and the people who had shaped their story. It was a wedding that honored where they came from while marking the beginning of everything still to come.
