The idea of meeting your lifelong partner in your first week of college is a romantic notion that doesn’t come true for most people. Frances Page Tompkins and Ryan Lawrence Goodwin are different.
They became friends during their first week of their freshman year at LSU, and by Christmas that same year Page decided to give Ryan a lovely gift with a visit to his hometown of Shreveport. Ryan treated Page to a classic “dinner and a movie,” and the romance blossomed.
Seven years later, Page and Ryan were strolling through Audubon Park sipping on snowballs when he asked her to climb to the top of the playground’s climbing structure to see if the echo walkie-talkie horn worked. It did, because Page heard Ryan’s sweet proposal of marriage through the pipe.
With the park close to their hearts, the couple chose The Audubon Clubhouse as their rehearsal dinner venue for June 2, 2017.
The next day on June 3, 2017, Page’s father walked her down the aisle at the chapel of The Academy of the Sacred Heart, her alma mater and where Page’s sister was also married. Fr. Michael Schneller officiated the wedding Mass and Sarah Jane McMahon and Dale Melancon performed the ceremony music. Flowers by Meade Wenzel adorned the beautiful chapel.
Guests celebrated the marriage at The Orleans Club where they enjoyed a sumptuous meal that included a cochon du lait, bourbon glazed shrimp and candied bacon, all catered by the club. Guests also enjoyed frozen margaritas from Felipe’s.
The non-traditional wedding cake was created by St. James Cheese Company and featured wheels of different types of cheese stacked into tiers. Ryan’s love of vinyl records was reflected in the groom’s cake created by Leah Michael in the design of a vinyl record player. It was also the inspiration behind the guest book, which consisted of old record covers featuring the word “love” for guests to sign.
A highlight of the night was Page and Ryan’s first dance to “Higher and Higher” by Jackie Wilson performed by the BRW band. As it happened to be National Donut Day, the couple chose donuts as their parting favor. The whole event was captured in a live painting that the couple took home with them that same night.
The couple honeymooned in Riviera Maya, Mexico, and now live in Dallas, Texas, where Page is a commercial insurance agent for Roach Howard Smith & Barton and Ryan is a commercial banking credit analyst for Bank of America.
Left: Shelley Tompkins, Peter Tompkins, the Bride, Jennifer Tompkins and Lydia Butler
Right: Hannah Claybrook, Shelley Tompkins, Marguerite Henry, Lydia Butler, Caroline Schumacher, Jenn Brown, Mae Casey and Ellie Baker
Left: John Martin Anthony, Carlton Holland, Tyler Goodwin, Jeff Springmeyer, Timothy Brown, Brooks Baumann, Ryan Goodwin, Jordan Adams, Mark Dupee, Reed Gibbs, Hunter Latham, Austin Reed and Rocky Goodwin
Right: Rocky Goodwin, Bride and Groom and Luann Goodwin
