Virginia Caroline Seale and Mr. Samuel Dixon Cole IV were married at 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014, in Shreveport, La., with the Rev. Alston Boyd Johnson, dean of St. Mark’s Cathedral and the Rev. Kenneth Wayne Paul, rector emeritus of Holy Cross Church, officiating in the wedding ceremony and Holy Eucharist before family and friends gathered at St. Mark’s Cathedral.

Parents of the couple are Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Charles Seale of Shreveport and Mrs. Walter Benjamin Huffman Jr. and the late Mr. Samuel Dixon Cole III of Catahoula Parish.

The bride is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. William Ray Sydnor Leckie of Shreveport and the late Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Loid Seale of Alexandria.

The groom is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. William Howard Davis Jr., of Clayton and the late Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Dixon Cole Jr. of Ridgecrest.

Music for the ceremony was provided by Mr. Stephen Distad, organist for Memorial Drive Methodist Church in Houston, Texas; Mr. Chandler W. Teague Jr., timpanist; and Dr. Rick Rowell, trumpeter. Mrs. Margaret Williams Jones was the soloist.

The bride was given in marriage by her parents and escorted by her father.

She wore an elegant couture bridal gown of Italian silk faille, designed by New Orleans designer Suzanne Perron. The strapless silhouette featuring a dropped torso, voluminous pleated skirt and cathedral train was the foundation for two different looks.

For the ceremony the gown was accented with a French re-embroidered lace jacket with a portrait neckline and fitted sleeves. A cathedral veil bordered with hand-appliqued lace completed the formal look.

For the reception, draped faille wrapped the shoulders and back. The bustling of the skirt complimented the new shoulder detail.

Caroline carried a bouquet of peonies and garden roses in pale pink.

Her life-long friend and Shreveport neighbor, Mary Jane Hobgood, served as maid of honor. Bridesmaids were Leslie Elizabeth Hobgood of Shreveport and Anna Lane Cole of Baton Rouge, daughter of the groom. Bridemaids wore identical silk faille, princess-style dresses in ruby red, petal pink and royal purple. Dresses were custom made by Sang Kim Allen of Kim’s Tailoring.

Elizabeth Mae Edel, cousin of the groom, served as flower girl. She wore an embroidered white silk organza dress with a pink sash, which had been worn by the bride when she was a child.

Members of the house party were Margaret Lee Mockbee of New York City and Courtney Michele Mayfield of Shreveport.

Walter Bemjamin Huffman III, brother of the groom and Samuel Dixon Cole V, son of the groom, both of Baton Rouge, served as best men.

Ushers were Michael Joseph Black of Barcelona, Spain, Marshall Kenneth John, John Henry Hobgood and Brady Marshall Stewart III, all of Shreveport.

Landmark St. Mark’s Cathedral remained decorated as it was for Advent with numerous blue spruce trees. For the wedding, pink roses were displayed on the altar and on the guest book table. In addition, there was a large crèche, which was the creation of Mrs. Joni Scott Dickson, close family friend of the bride.

Both the bride’s mother and her good friend, Mrs. Dickson, built the crèche 25 years ago. It has been used continuously at St. Mark’s since 1988.

A reception followed at the Shreveport Yacht Club on Cross Lake where the grounds were tented and lit. Guests entered through an archway trellis of smilax and roses. The custom-made guest book was white faille embroidered with the Cole family crest in gold thread.

A bonfire was surrounded with white Chippendale-style benches. In the tents, guest tables were covered with dark green faille cloths and topped with cutwork tablecloths in white.

Mary Marston, proprietor of Plum Nelly-A Flower Farm, was the floral designer.

Found and re-purposed gilded candlesticks hand-made from old lamps, held bouquets of pink roses and fern and were centered with prayer candles. Smilax draped from the ceiling and chandeliers in the three white tents.

In the largest tent, the black and white checkerboard dance floor was decorated at one end with oriental rugs and upholstered furniture to form a conversation area. Each of the tents as well as the club house were accented with ceiling height Cherry Laurel and Leyland cypress trees lit with tiny white lights. The patio deck area was decorated with Maiden’s Blush sasanquas.

In addition, Southern Charm magnolias were used in the mid-century, glass walled clubhouse where the food was served from tables laid with hunter green faille topped with antique heirloom cutwork tablecloths.

Life-like, gilded woodland creatures roamed the tables with the heirloom silver serving pieces.

Tents, lighting and accessories were from Moss Duvall of Pelican Tents and Events. Blake Jackson of Drake Catering provided the food. Cakes were the creation of Shane Morgan, master confectionary cake artist of the Silver Palate.

Photography was by both Brian Lewis and his daughter, Mary Charlotte, of Brian Lewis Photography. The videography was by Clinton McCommon of Fairfield Studios.

The overall design and innovative plan of the wedding was the creation of the bride who is the proprietor of Foxtrot Events, LLC. However, she chose Audra Muslow, her long-time friend and owner of Fancy Frolic Events, LLC, to coordinate.

Easy Eddie and the Party Rockers, friends of the groom’s late father, Samuel Dixon Cole III, entertained and played music for dancing. Having performed together for more than 35 years, the group is quite famous along the Delta region of the Mississippi River.

Yacht Club Commodore, Tom Hadel, provided boat transportation for the departure of the bride and groom amid the explosion of fireworks nearby.

Following a honeymoon on Ambergris Caye, Belize, the couple will reside in New Orleans.