“It just felt right,” says Sarah Beth Saffell Fronterhouse about her decision to host her wedding to fiancé Hayden Fronterhouse in her hometown of Baton Rouge.

The pair met in Texas and are residents of Dallas. But, for some reason, Baton Rouge kept calling Sarah Beth home.

She considered booking in Dallas. And then California. But she just couldn’t commit.

“There’s something sentimental about getting married in the town you grew up in,” she says. “Baton Rouge was just right.”

And when you know you know.

Starting with a first date that saw Hayden fly in from Austin to Dallas to take Sarah Beth out for dinner and followed by three months of long-distance dating, Sarah Beth says their relationship progressed in a natural way that, again, “just felt right.” After nine months together, Hayden popped the question to Sarah Beth on February 25, 2023, at Dallas Hunting & Fishing Club.

“The photographer totally missed the moment,” Sarah Beth says with a laugh, recalling the proposal that happened on a cold night around an open fire. “But it was sweet and very low-key.”

Once Sarah Beth decided on Baton Rouge for their wedding day, she knew Capitol Park Museum was the only venue for her and Hayden. December 16 was one of only two open dates. So Sarah Beth said “yes” to a winter wedding, dashing the dreams she had of summer nuptials in favor of dodging hurricane season. Unwilling to scratch her vision of a colorful wedding day, though, she enlisted the help of August Events.

Event designers Tiffany Pilgrim and Maranda Cardinale searched alongside Sarah Beth for nearly six months to find the perfect metallic chinoiserie wallpaper to be applied to custom-built installations behind both the band and bars.

“The whole color palette came from the wallpaper,” Pilgrim says. “Dusty blues. Whites. Pinks. And we really fought for that metallic finish. We wanted it to really stand out.”

From there, Root Floral Design used overflowing floral installations of roses, blue delphinium, hydrangeas and plenty of greenery to transform the “concrete jungle” of the Capitol Park Museum into the romantic, dreamlike vision that Sarah Beth had for her wedding day.

“Sarah Beth had a really strong point of view in the best way,” Pilgrim says. “The result is a wedding that felt really unique, special and personal to her and Hayden.”

And after months of planning, that’s what every bride hopes for.

“Wedding planning can be so stressful,” Sarah Beth says. “But in the end, so many things ended up being better than I even imagined they would be. It was the perfect start to our life together.”

Hear from Him & Her

What is your favorite things about one another?

H: My favorite thing about Sarah Beth is her personalty: sweet, loving caring and always positive and fun. And her faith.

SB: My favorite thing about Hayden is his kindness, patience, humility and compassion. I also love his extremely witty sense of humor. And his hair!

How did you know he/she was the one?

H & SB: It was clear from the beginning that we had the same values. Our relationship has always been so lighthearted, fun and easy, but there is also a depth we share with our faith and worldview.

What is one detail that sticks out when you think back on your wedding day?

SB: It’s hard to choose, but the metallic chinoiserie wallpaper that we used in the stage and bar backdrops was my favorite detail. That was the foundation of our design plan and it brought a sense of romance and warmth to the venue. The floral trees were another detail that was part of my vision from the beginning. I love how they broke up the space and drew the eye up.

Did you disagree on anything during the planning process?

H & SB: There were really no disagreements. We were pretty laid back about the planning process.

What is one piece of advice that you would give to engaged couples?

SB: A great wedding planner can make all the difference and help you stay focused on your vision throughout the processes when there are so many big and small decision to make.