Pilot Point wedding venue provides special day
By Tatiana Ambrosio
Staff Writer
February 22, 2022, was the day of all twos on the calendar.
The date inspired some twos to become one.
Lizzy Gator, an event venue in Pilot Point, offered a special wedding package on the day for couples to get married.
Couples were able to have a one-hour rental of the venue that included accommodations for them, plus 10 guests, use of the chapel, a sweetheart table that was decorated in the couple’s theme and colors, a wedding photographer, an officiant, and a small cake.
Rebecca Talley and Justin Chambers took the chance to get hitched.
They traveled from their home in Blooming Grove, west of Corsicana, to celebrate their nuptials as the sun set.
Talley and Chambers chose a theme that incorporated stylized skeletons like those used to celebrate Día de los Muertos into their quick celebration.
“I told him at 8:40 yesterday morning,” Talley said about the date and the venue package.
The couple had had plans to wed at the venue over the past year, however, life had gotten in the way.
“We’ve had a lot of bumps in the road in the last six months,” she said, “... Jobs, cars, drama, [finances].”
Talley sent Chambers a text message that read, “Do you want to go do something crazy tomorrow?”
“It was really off the wall,” said the groom with a chuckle, adding, “I was ready.”
The “till death do us part” was her idea.
“I like witchy type stuff,” Talley said.
Chambers felt the venue fit in with both of their styles.
“Most of our people come from anywhere from one to five hours away,” said owner Elizabeth Jones of the couples that choose
the venue for their celebrations.
Jones brainstormed with Weirdo Weddings photographer Jennifer Sulak about the date and the idea to offer couples the elopement packages for the day of twos.
The venue on Massey Road has been featured in four wedding publications that focus on thematic weddings, three of which are based in the United Kingdom.
“Weddings in the UK seem to be a little bit funkier,” she said.
Lizzy Gator has an eclectic style that Jones referred to as speak-easy with added steampunk influences.
The venue often hosts weddings that have more thematic elements rather than the traditional, formal bridal style.
Themed weddings have ranged from “Alice and Wonderland” and “Bride of Frankenstein” to themes like bohemian and safari.
For the safari-themed wedding, Jones said she asked for help from her neighbor, Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch.
“[They] came out to help us with a boa and a skunk,” Sulak added.
That couple was able to pose with the snake for their photos.
“We let it slither around the rings, too,” Sulak said.
Jones also tries to include local businesses with her clients’ unusually themed weddings.
Local vendors that have been involved in weddings have included not only Sharkarosa but also Moms on Main and Slay Memorial Funeral Center.
Jones and Sulak hope to have more local vendors participate with them. They believe it gives those in creative jobs a chance to be more creative than the standard formal wedding.
Sulak spoke of a florist they have worked with who loves to flex her creative muscle when she works at LizzyGator.
“The wedding industry needs a break every once in a while to just come out and play,” she said.
