As 417-land natives, Meg and Michael incorporate as much of the Ozarks as they can into their wedding day. They say they couldn’t imagine a better place to tie the knot than at historic Finley Farms.
Weddings
Meg Alumno & Michael Baldus
Meg and Michael’s love for the Ozarks shines through in their choice of historic venue and local florals.
by Kali Salazar
Dec 2023
Photo by Meg White PhotographyMeg and Michael’s love for the Ozarks shines through in their choice of historic venue and local florals. The subtle integration of Meg’s Filipino heritage meshes beautifully with the local colors at Finley Farms.
Meg and Michael met in college at Drury University during the end of Meg’s senior year. Meg thought Michael was cute and loved his sarcastic humor similar to her own, but she was planning to move to Florida and didn’t want to start a new relationship. Michael turned out to be good friends with the boyfriend of Meg’s roommate, so they saw each other a lot that summer. The night before Meg flew to Miami, Michael drove to her house with Andy’s and told her he couldn’t let her leave without expressing how he felt and trying long distance dating. Meg didn’t think it made logical sense, but she followed her heart and the rest is history. They’ve now been together for seven years and have a beautiful daughter.
When it came to the proposal, Michael had to get creative as they had just had their daughter Lucy in December of 2019 and a few months later were placed in lockdown due to COVID-19. He planned a weekend away in mid-September with Meg to Northwest Arkansas. During the getaway, Michael and Meg walked down to the dock to kayak and he got down on one knee and popped the question.
Meg, Michael and their daughter, Lucy, light up the dance floor inside The Workshop for a few special songs.
Photos by Meg White Photography
Meg and Michael wanted to incorporate as much of the Ozarks as they could into their wedding since they both grew up here. They chose to have their wedding festivities at The Workshop at Finley Farms because they saw it as a true Ozarks landmark. Meg also wanted to incorporate her Filipino heritage into the wedding and did so by gifting her bridal party woven mahogany hand fans and by wearing a blue topaz ring from her great great grandmother. Meg and Michael's favorite moment from their wedding day was when it was them and Lucy on the dance floor for a few special songs together. Meg says, “I look at those pictures often and I smile big every time.”
