FEATURED WEDDING – March 2010

Sara Beth Wyatt and Johnathan Leader

2.20.10

Sara Beth Wyatt said she wanted a wedding that exuded elegance and Southern tradition when she married Johnathan Leader.

With the help of florists, family and a posse of wedding experts, Wyatt was able to create her dream wedding with a mix of Little Rock edge and New Orleans flare. Leader is from New Orleans and Wyatt said it was important to her to showcase that at the reception.

“Having the food heavily inspired by New Orleans cuisine and having a fun, lively band, the guests were able to enjoy what New Orleans is well known for: a huge party,” Wyatt said.

Café 42 at the Clinton Presidential Center catered the New Orleans-inspired food, which included traditional shimp po’boys and muffulettas. Wyatt chose that location for the reception because of the evening view of Little Rock that it provided.
Wyatt also said her décor taste was simple and she didn’t want to take anything away from the reception room at the Clinton Presidential Center.

Wyatt chose ivory floral arrangements of orchids, tulips, roses and lilies to grace the reception room. Distinctive Designs by Tanarah created the arrangements. About Vase crafted a traditional chuppah out of curly willow and cherry blossoms and Wyatt’s bridal bouquet.

Tanarah Haynie, owner of Distinctive Designs, said white and ivory are typical flower colors for anyone wanting to stay with a traditional and classic look. “They tend to add a more formal feel to the wedding and an overall feeling of elegance,” Haynie said.
Wyatt and Leader chose a five-tier lemon meringue wedding cake by Donatella, and a more nontraditional groom’s cake.
“We had cupcakes by Cupcakes on Kavanaugh as the groom’s cake,” Wyatt said.

Three types of cupcakes represented various parts of Leader’s life. A red velvet cupcake with white icing and a red crawfish represented his high school football mascot, the crawfish. A white cupcake sporting SAE represented his fraternity. The third, a chocolate cupcake holding a New Orleans Saints symbol tied into how Wyatt and Leader met.

“Jonathan worked with my roommate’s boyfriend at Stephens. A large group of us met to go to dinner and he and I started to talk about our mutual love for the Saints,” Wyatt said. “He is from New Orleans and I think they have the best team colors in the NFL.”

Wyatt and Leader chose champagne gold and pearl as the wedding colors. Wyatt’s bridesmaids wore gold dresses and Wyatt wore a silk gown with a ruched sweetheart neckline by Paloma Blanca she purchased at Low’s Bridal and Formal in Brinkley. Leader wore a classic black tuxedo with a satin finish lapel from Baumans Fine Men’s Clothing in Little Rock.

The ceremony, a unique combination of Methodist and Jewish customs, was held at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church.
“Johnathan and I worked with both the rabbi and the reverend to make sure that both religions were equally displayed throughout,” Wyatt said. “We wanted the congregation to have a strong sense of community. It was very well received.”

Wyatt and Leader brought the reception to a close as they walked under an arch of long-stemmed sparklers to a car rented from Vintage Motor Cars for the special evening. Rob Haynie, owner of Vintage Motor Cars, whisked the newlyweds from the Clinton Presidential Center. The couple spent their honeymoon in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Looking back on the night, Wyatt said the best part was when she looked around the dance floor at the reception and saw so many happy faces supporting her and Leader’s marriage.
“It was a really special moment to see that so many important people to us were as happy as we were,” Wyatt said.

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