“We thank you for this joyous occasion. For this marriage of Grace and Austin.
“We thank you and praise you for them … and for the families and friends gathered here to celebrate this occasion,” were words spoken by Grace’s mom, Donna Poimboeuf, as guests sat down in Arlington Hall on Turtle Creek Boulevard for the seated dinner. She asked God to bless the food at the wedding reception, to bless the couple and their lives together.
Austin and Grace made quite a splash when they walked into the hall for the black-tie seated dinner. Showing off her stunning gown with a lacy halter bodice and layers of silk slipping to the floor in the back hemline, the bride raised her arms to let guests know she and Austin had arrived.
The bride is the daughter of Shreveporters Cliffe and Donna Poimboeuf. Pipkin’s parents are Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Phillip Pipkin.
They married at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, anchored by white and pink blossoms arranged dramatically in urns, with the Rev. Dr. Abe Smith as the officiant. Maid of honor was Molly Matthews Bowman, and best men were Gregory Phillip Pipkin Jr. and William Conrad Pipkin.
The some 250 “families and friends,” of whom Donna spoke, included pals who skimmed over on I-20 from Shreveport for the black-tie affair with a seated dinner.
A reception for early arrivals followed the night-before rehearsal dinner, where attendees were smitten by what Austin read about his bride-to-be, according to guest Waynette Ballengee.
Partygoers who showed up later in the evening were met by a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd packed so tightly one could hardly move around when departing the elevator.
The Shreveport crowd included pianist Winston Hall; Jeffrey and Sandi Kallenberg; Morris Nichols and Waynette Ballengee; Allen and Serenity Evens; Kenn and Lisa Babin; Russ and Dr. Marsha Friedrich; Linda Biernacki; Nikki Biernacki; John and Emily Biernacki of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Brian Sullivan; James Osborne; Gregory and Heidi Kallenberg; Bonne Summers; Robby Woods and his wife; and Jeff and Lisa Free.
With them was Mark Crawford, who handles public relations for the Shreveport Airport Authority.
More faces in the crowd at the events included Quintin Hardtner, Allison Younker, Yulonda and Roy Mayo, Jacob and Dani Henderson, and Ken and Lisa Rose. Others included Nikki Biernacki of Oxford, Mississippi; Mr. and Mrs. John Wrenn of Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Shreveporter Linda Biernacki.
Mark Jungmann, husband of former Shreveporter Morgan Ballengee Jungmann, was a groomsman in the wedding. Although Morgan was at the rehearsal the night before, she regretted the wedding/reception to stay home with her newborn, Stinson Jungmann, granddaughter of Waynette Ballengee.
Wedding Notes
PLEASE RSVP. Invitations were written under a rendering of a simple cross, asking recipients to: “The celebration and blessing of the marriage uniting … Grace and Austin.”
CLASSICAL MUSIC SET THE SCENE. Families were seated to Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”; the bride’s procession featured Pachelbel’s “Canon in D”; and the recessional featured Handel’s “Water Music.”
GREEN BUTTERFLIES STAMPED THE INVITATIONS. Wedding invitations were sealed in pale pink, written in sage green, postmarked on exquisite green butterflies and blossom-inspired stamps.
TAKE A FLOWERY PEEK. The towering six-tiered cake, accented with floral vines and placed upon a glass top, circled the table on the floor below.
CREATIVE ARRANGEMENT. A gigantic arrangement of the same tulips was placed on the ceiling upside down, looking down on the dance floor.
