Bride

MADELYN + AUSTIN

SAVE THE LAST DANCE

Story by Liesel Schmidt // Photos by Laura Caraway

Some people still meet the old-fashioned way, without the help of apps or websites. That was the case for Madelyn Light and Austin Brannon, who were introduced during their senior year at Louisiana Tech by a mutual friend in 2017—no swipe rights or lefts, no match algorithms telling them they were a good fit or weren’t. The next three years of dating only deepened the compatibility they already knew they had, and on October 24 of 2020, their match became a forever thing.

W“ e’d gone to my family farm in Shreveport that day, and Austin had tricked me into thinking there was a party out that way,” says Madelyn, who works as a marketing manager at Northshore Dermatology, while

Austin is an Occupational Hand Therapist at AVALA. “We drove to the farm, but what was really going on was that he was proposing! My brother and sister-in-law were hiding behind a barn taking photos of the whole thing. I said yes, of course. Afterwards, we went back to my parents’ house, where a huge engagement party with our closest family and friends was waiting for us!”

A year and a half later, on June 25, 2022, their closest family and friends waited again as Madelyn walked down the aisle at Trinity Heights Baptist Church, the same church where her parents were married 33 years before. Wearing an ivory satin sleeveless v-neck gown with spaghetti straps and a mermaid silhouette, she met Austin at the altar. “It was timeless and simple—exactly the look

I was going for,” says Madelyn, who found her dream dress at Town and Country Bridal in New Orleans.

After exchanging vows and being pronounced married, the newlyweds joined their guests for a reception at the Scottish Rite Temple in Shreveport—and their entrance was nothing short of epic. “The entire wedding party entered the reception with a trumpet player and the band playing a New Orleans second line song,” Madelyn says. “Then we all passed out custom medallion beads with a picture of Austin, me, and our cat, Peanut to all of our guests at the reception.”

With 300 guests, it was, indeed, a party. Dining on an array of food including heavy hors d’oeuvres from Savoie’s Catering as well as a buffet style dinner of favorites such as chicken alfredo, mozzarella sticks, chicken quesadillas, pulled pork sliders and kabobs, the couple and their nearest and dearest were well fueled to celebrate. When it came time for the cake cutting, the newly married Brannons sliced into a five-tier strawberry and vanilla bridal cake adorned with white florals and topped with their duogram. In honor of Austin’s love for the Saints, the chocolate flavored groom’s cake was shaped like the Superdome.

Before setting off on their honeymoon, the couple took a few moments to do something very special. As their guests gathered outside in preparation to send them off, Madelyn and Austin had a private last dance in the space, just the two of them dancing alone as husband and wife. “It was our favorite part of the entire day,” says Madelyn.

Finally ready to make their escape, the Brannons honeymooned in Riviera Maya at the Excellence Resort. Now back home on the North Shore, they’ve settled into life as a married couple… with plenty of dances alone, just the two of them.

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