The wedding day of Allison Meador and Taylor Sullivan was full of sweet sentiments, starting with the ceremony, held in the same church that Taylor’s parents were married in. With the groom growing up in St. Francisville and the couple moving there after marriage, the wedding was not only a celebration of their love but also a testament to the strong roots of the small town. And to end the night, the couple had the first-ever after-party and private event at Proud Mary’s speakeasy, located within Big River Pizza Co.

“I wanted our wedding to be classic and elegant,” Allison explains. “But for the after-party, we wanted it to be more fun. The interior design of Proud Mary’s is so cool, and it was the perfect vibe for the final part of the night.”

When the couple reached out to the owners about renting the space for the after-party, the owners said they were just discussing adding such an offering. “We had a lot of people coming from out of town for the wedding, so it was just a lot more fun for them to be able to stay out and get to see more of where I was going to live,” Allison says.

With their wedding reception held at The Mallory right next door, guests could simply walk across the lawn to reach the next location. Because it was a winter wedding, they began the ceremony early enough to still have sunlight for photos. “But nobody wants to end the night at 10:30 p.m.,” the bride laughs. “I remember the band announcing that the next song would be their last, and I was like, there’s no way! It just flies by, but luckily, we got to have more time with guests at the after-party.”

Allison says she would strongly encourage other couples to do the same for their wedding. “For me, I was on the dance floor the entire time at our reception,” she says. “So that was another really great part of the after-party: we got to really talk with our guests.”

And in the intimate setting of Proud Mary’s, guests dined on pizza from Big River Pizza Co. and savored the ending of a beautiful day, celebrating the love of the sweet couple and the welcoming town they now both call home.