Treadway-Garrison Wedding

Although Elizabeth Frances Treadway and Dustin Todd Garrison first met in high school, they don’t exactly call themselves high school sweethearts. After years of being close friends at Mandeville High, Elizabeth went off to college at the University of Alabama and Dustin joined the U.S. Army, serving in the War in Iraq. When they both returned home one weekend, they met up again at an engagement party for some mutual friends. Soon after, Dustin began calling Elizabeth and going to visit her at Alabama. From there, their whirlwind romance began.

Right around Christmas 2007, while walking around Christmas in the Oaks, Dustin stopped in front of a giant tree of poinsettias and got down on one knee. He opened the ring box, revealing a gorgeous round-cut diamond, flanked by two additional round diamonds and two baguettes, all set in white gold from Boudreaux’s Jewelers.

Following the proposal, Dustin planned on heading to Irene’s Restaurant in the French Quarter, but didn’t think to get reservations on the Friday before Christmas! When they arrived, the wait was more than two hours for a table, but when Dustin just happened to mention they had just gotten engaged, they were whisked away like VIPs, something the couple definitely didn’t expect. After dinner, a few of the couple’s friends threw together a party for them Uptown. Elizabeth and Dustin had no idea. It’s lucky they didn’t have to wait two hours to eat dinner!

The couple wed almost exactly a year later, again close to Christmas, December 13, 2008. The night of the rehearsal dinner was the night of the infamous snow day in New Orleans, so it truly was a white wedding. The couple exchanged vows at Christ Episcopal Church, where Elizabeth had attended school, making it a meaningful ceremony for her entire family. During the ceremony, the children’s bell choir from Christ Episcopal School played, which was another meaningful moment for the bride, who played in the choir as a child. Frank Maselli, who sang at Elizabeth’s parents’ wedding, sang “Ava Maria” and the Lord’s Prayer.

The bride walked down the aisle in a replica of her grandmother’s wedding gown, which her mother also wore at her wedding. Seamstress Mary Williams created the gown to look just like the original, and even used lace from the original 65-year-old gown. Elizabeth wore a veil from her other grandmother, given to her as a gift from Brussels, Belgium, in 1948.

Her bridesmaids wore gold-and-silver damask tea-length gowns, with crumb-catcher tops from Wedding Belles on Magazine Street. Keeping with the Christmas theme, the bridesmaids carried bouquets of bright green flowers with green berries, while the bride carried a bouquet of red roses, red berries and holiday greenery, all by Meade Wenzel.

The reception was held at the Tchefuncta Country Club in Covington. The couple was thrilled because they were the first to wed there after its opening. Following the newlyweds’ first dance to James Taylor’s “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved by You,” guests enjoyed a wide array of menu items including duck; lamb; filet; shrimp; and the bride’s personal favorite, beef sliders, passed out on the dance floor.

The band, Sha’on and the Girls with Success, got guests dancing all night long. “I didn’t leave the dance floor,” the bride says. “I danced all night!”
When it came time to cut the cake, the bride almost didn’t want to cut into the gorgeous six-tier creation by Zoë’s Bakery. Each layer of the cake looked like stacked Christmas presents, with a long ribbon of icing cascading down each tier. The groom’s cake, also designed by Zoe’s Bakery, was a two-layer chocolate cake with a giant golf ball on top, because whenever Dustin isn’t with Elizabeth, he can be found on the golf course.

That night, the bride and groom second-lined their way out of the reception to their accommodations at the Ritz-Carlton on Canal Street. They took a cruise for their honeymoon out of New Orleans on the Norwegian Cruise Line to the Caribbean. They currently reside in Covington, where Elizabeth is a professional liability sales representative for Gilsbar and Dustin is the Mandeville/ Covington sales representative for Glazer’s of Louisiana.

Get Our Email Newsletters

The best in New Orleans dining, shopping, events and more delivered to your inbox.

Digital Sponsors

Become a MyNewOrleans.com sponsor ...

Give the gift of a subscription ... exclusive 50% off

Limited time offer. New subscribers only.

Give the Gift!

Save 50% on all our publications for an exclusive holiday special!

Limited time offer. New subscribers only.