Real Weddings

Couple lets the good times roll at New Orleans-themed wedding in Houston

There was definitely a spark when Julia Longoria met Justin Vollmer in college at Baylor University, but it was six years after they'd been dating that the fireworks really went off.

Literally.

Under a Fourth of July sky at on a Lake Travis golf course, Vollmer proposed to Longoria. She said yes just as fireworks illuminated the night. He’d arranged for her family to share in their unforgettable evening and Longoria was taken completely by surprise.

Once the couple set a date of June 11, 2016, they began mulling over wedding plans and their mutual love of New Orleans. A destination wedding would be perfect, but making sure it was easy for family to attend was more important, so instead, they incorporated the best of the Big Easy into their big day in Houston.

“We are both traditional and love Southern elegance, so we created a New Orleans-inspired wedding,” Julia said. “It wasn’t kitschy. It was fun and romantic.”

The menu included Creole favorites such as boudin-stuffed mushrooms and gumbo, plus signature cocktails like a Hurricane and Mint Julep. The Junior League’s garden became a little piece of New Orleans, where the Hustlers Brass Band played and guests paraded in creating a Second Line.

There were also special, sentimental touches woven throughout the day. Blue hearts made from shirts worn by Julia’s brother Aaron and grandfather Noe, were sewn into her wedding gown, fulfilling the Something Old and Something Blue wedding tradition. Her aunt, a baker, gifted them the wedding and groom’s cake as another way to commemorate their day.

“Justin and I had the combination of all the things we wanted,” she said.

And now, Mr. and Mrs. Vollmer have the very best gift of each other.

• Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Nino's
• Rehearsal Dinner Dress: Saks Fifth Avenue - Halston
• Reception Venue: The Junior League of Houston
• Ceremony Venue: Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church
• Photographer: Akil Bennett
• Florist: Plants 'n Petals
• Dress: La Reve Bridal Couture
• Shoes: Kate Spade
• Groom's Tux: Men's Warehouse
• Wedding Planner: Pomp & Circumstance
• DJ: LG Entertainers
• Ceremony Music: Divisi Strings
• Cocktail Hour Music: Hustlers Brass Band

Southern elegance touches were seen throughout the wedding.

weddings

holiday budgeting news

Here's how much Houstonians are budgeting for holiday gifts in 2025

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

San Antonio residents are expected to spend over $900 on their Christmas gifts this year, WalletHub found.

Residents living in Houston's well-to-do suburbs aren't stressing about stretching their holiday spending this year: A new report from WalletHub found Pearland, The Woodlands, and Sugar Land residents are all among the top-25 biggest holiday spenders in the nation for 2025.

Pearland gift givers are expected to spend $3,277 on their festive presents, says WalletHub's 2025 "Holiday Budgets by City" report.

Pearland's holiday budget earned it No. 19 in WalletHub's national ranking of cities with largest holiday budgets, with The Woodlands and Sugar Land appearing right behind as No. 20 and No. 22, respectively.

To determine the U.S. cities with the biggest holiday budgets, WalletHub's experts compared 558 cities across five categories: Income, age, a debt-to-income ratio, residents' monthly income-to-monthly expenses ratio, and their savings-to-monthly expenses ratio.

The three U.S. cities that boast the loftiest holiday budgets are Palo Alto, California (No. 1); Mountain View, California (No. 2); and Newton, Massachusetts (No. 3). Palo Alto residents are expected to spend nearly $4,500 on their Christmas gifts this year, with the latter cities budgeting for $4,266 and $4,069.

Pearland's current holiday budget is $711 higher than it was in 2024, when the city ranked No. 31 in WalletHub's list of U.S. cities with the biggest holiday spenders. It's also much higher than the $2,127 projected budget from the 2023 report, when Pearland ranked No. 36 nationally. They're definitely competing with Mr. Claus for the "best Christmas present" award.

Festive neighbor The Woodlands ranked as the city with the 10th-highest holiday budgets last year, so its current rank as No. 20 is a bit surprising. Even with a dip in the rankings, The Woodlands residents are still expected to spend a lofty $3,265 on their holiday presents this year, or about $51 less than last year.

Residents living in No. 22-ranking Sugar Land are projected to spend $3,191 on their holiday gifts this year, or $19 less than last year, the report found.

Houston proper ranked 285th on the list with a $1,302 projected holiday budget this year, or $6 more than last year's budget.

Five more Houston-area cities landed in this year's report on the heftiest holiday budgets:

No. 34 – League City ($2,997)
No. 291 – Pasadena ($1,294)
No. 321 – Missouri City ($1,233)
No. 412 – Conroe ($1,063)
No. 490 – Baytown ($890)

Regardless of the dollar amount, Houstonians should pay attention to their spending and pick a budget that works for their financial situation, experts say. The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales to surpass $1 trillion this year, and the report warns credit card debt is a major challenge faced by many Americans as they plan their holiday shopping sprees.

"The holidays bring plenty of joy, but they can also spark seasonal stress, much of it tied to overspending," the report's author wrote. "In Q3 2025, the average household carried $10,227 in credit card debt, up 2.3 percent from the year before, according to WalletHub data. Adding holiday shopping on top of that can quickly increase the financial strain, especially if balances roll into the new year."

Other Texas cities that ranked among the top 100 biggest holiday spenders include:

No. 4 – Flower Mound ($3,941)
No. 12 – Frisco ($3,491)
No. 28 – Allen ($3,055)
No. 31 – Cedar Park ($3,028)
No. 40 – Plano ($2,812)
No. 47 – Round Rock ($2,641)
No. 55 – McKinney ($2,502)
No. 56 – Carrollton ($2,498)
No. 82 – Richardson ($2,146)
No. 96 – North Richland Hills ($1,985)

According to the study's methodology, a consumer is considered to be in a "comfortable financial position to engage in holiday spending if they have: 1) enough emergency savings to cover at least six months of expenses and 2) a debt-to-income ratio smaller than 22 percent for a renter or 43 percent for a homeowner."

holiday budgets holidays christmas wallethub houston pearland the woodlands sugar land suburbs