Whim Hospitality To Host Live Wedding On Parade Float During Dripping Springs Founder's Day Parade

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas, April 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Whim Hospitality will be hosting the wedding of Alee Abbott and Tom Phillips on a parade float as part of this year's Founder's Day Parade and Festival in Dripping Springs, Texas, on April 26^th, 2019.

Whim will be providing the rental items and florals for staging the flat-bed truck that will act as Alee and Tom's ceremony site while Pam Owens, the President and CEO of the Dripping Springs Visitors Bureau will serve as the wedding's officiant as vows are exchanged.

"There are so many talented professionals in the wedding industry at Whim and around the Dripping Springs area that we really wanted to do something that highlighted our thriving wedding industry," Whim CEO Kim Hanks said. "We started looking for an engaged couple that might be interested and Alee and Tom were the perfect couple to celebrate their love for each other and their Dripping Springs community."

Alee and Tom, members of their families, a ceremony officiant and musician will be stationed on the parade float with the formal exchange of vows scheduled to take place at the announcer's stage on historic Mercer Street.

The marriage of Alee and Tom will unite the couple's families, as each have a pair of children from a previous marriage. It was out of consideration for their kids that led the engaged couple to consider such a non-traditional approach to the traditional wedding ceremony.

All six family members currently live together under one roof, so the family dynamic has already been established and the couple was really looking for a ceremony that included every member of their blended family. They were receptive to the idea of getting married during the Founder's Day parade because it would give their children a special way to participate in the event.

"We've never been conventional," Alee said. "With both of us being divorced and with kids, there wasn't a whole lot of tradition to consider. It's not that we didn't look into all of the traditional approaches, but we wanted to prioritize something that was special to us."

Alee and Tom also wanted to create an inclusive event, but inviting more than 200 guests for a formal ceremony didn't make sense. The idea of getting the entire community involved was an added benefit for two people with deep ties to the area. Alee is a native of Austin, having relocated to Dripping Springs several years ago. Tom moved to the area in 2006 from Connecticut and lived in the West Austin development of Belterra, where he served on the community's water board for 11 years. Holding a ceremony on a parade float during one of the area's biggest annual events turned out to be the ideal setting for Alee and Tom to celebrate their upcoming nuptials in a memorable way.

"What better way to create an awesome memory than this?" Tom said. "When our kids grow up, as long as we stay here in Dripping Springs, they will remember this wedding. They will get to be a part of something special in the community, and they will always remember our wedding anniversary. It will always be the same weekend as the Founder's Day Festival."

The wedding also honors the city of Dripping Springs' title as the "Wedding Capital of Texas," as designated by the Texas State Legislature in 2015. Dripping Springs and the surrounding area is home to more than 35 wedding venues within a 15-mile radius of city limits, and has built a reputation as a leading destination for Hill Country weddings.

"Couples want to get married in Dripping Springs not only because we have outstanding wedding venues, but because we have an abundance of natural Hill Country beauty and because Dripping Springs is a town that likes to have fun."

The Dripping Springs Founder's Day Parade will take place on Friday, April 26^th, beginning at 6:30pm. The wedding ceremony is expected to begin at the Announcer's Stage at 7:00pm on Mercer Street.

ABOUT WHIM HOSPITALITY

Based in Central Texas, but serving the entire Texas-Louisiana-Oklahoma region, Whim Hospitality's family of services includes cater, event rentals, tents, florals, and venue management to bring people together and make any upcoming event memorable. Founded in 2012 by the husband and wife team of Kim and Whit Hanks, Whim has grown into an organization that employs more than 200 individuals and has been recognized by the Austin Business Journal and Inc. 5000 for is rapid growth and success in recent years as an industry leader for catering, rental services and florals. Whim Hospitality also manages the luxury resort Camp Lucy and its onsite upscale dining restaurant Tillies in Dripping Springs. For more information about Whim Hospitality, visit www.whimhospitality.com.

ABOUT FOUNDER'S DAY FESTIVAL

Hosted by the city of Dripping Springs and a 12-member Founder's Day Commission, the Founder's Day Festival is a weekend celebration that includes live music, local food vendors, carnival rides, street dances, cook-off competitions, and more than 150 arts and craft booths along Dripping Springs' historic downtown district. The Founder's Day Parade traditionally kicks off the celebration on the Friday evening of the festival weekend. For more information about the Founder's Day Festival, visit www.foundersdayfestival.com.

Contact: Travis Summers
(512) 858-9446
[email protected] 
www.whimhospitality.com

SOURCE Whim Hospitality

Related Links

whimhospitality.com