Real Weddings

Alley Theatre stage makes star-studded locale for this couple's wedding and reception

Cassie Gladden and Matt Stone live in New York and hail from Cleveland and Connecticut respectively, but when it came time to say, “I Do,” there was only one place that would do.

The Alley Theatre. In Houston.

Grand yet cozy, familiar, but with transportive abilities, the Alley Theatre was the perfect stage for the couple's new roles as Mr. and Mrs.

It was a home of sorts for Gladden, who's father Dean Gladden, is the theater’s managing director. In fact, it was Gladden who suggested the theater for the wedding and reception after Cassie and Matt were in a quandary about where to have it.

Turns out, father knows best. The couple were at the mercy of the theater’s schedule, but Cassie said they were flexible and open, especially since a fun, inclusive wedding was the highest priority.

“I wish I could do it again,” Cassie Stone said. “It was so much fun. We were so humbled by all the family and friends who came. It was awesome.”

The Stones met at a friend’s party in 2009 and became engaged in 2015. While many brides find planning a wedding stressful, Cassie reveled in the preparations, but kept it all in perspective.

“Stay organized and don’t let it take over your life,” Cassie said.

In addition to the sheer novelty of getting married on the Alley Theatre stage, there were other perks to the unusual wedding locale. The caterers, decorators, and wedding staff started setting up for the wedding Friday evening, allowing for a low-stress wedding day.

After the wedding ceremony, guests enjoyed cocktails while the wedding staff did a speedy scene change, setting up for dinner, dancing, and cake balls made by Butter Catering. It was the ultimate sweet start to Cassie and Matt’s happily ever after.

• Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Jackson Street BBQ
• Rehearsal Dinner Music: Buck Yeager Band
• Rehearsal Dinner Dress: Self Portrait
• Wedding Venue: Alley Theatre
• Photographer:FotoWerk Wedding Photograph
• Florist:AJ Petals
• Dress: Badgley Mischka
• Shoes:Shoes of Prey
• Groom's Tux: My Suit
• Wedding Planner: Anna Psaras (Events by Anna)
• Band:In10City
• Ceremony Music: Grad students from the University of Houston
• After Party DJ:Jamison Hewitt

Happily ever afters always begin with a good love story and this one plays out on the Alley Theatre stage.

weddings

H-Town rising

Houston leaps back into top 50 'World's Best Cities' list for 2025

Photo by Adrian Newell on Unsplash

Houston made a big leap back into the top 50, ranking No. 40, after previously plummeting into No. 72 last year.

Lively Houston has regained its rightful place among the top 50 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious new report by Resonance Consultancy.

The Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors ranked Houston the 40th best city worldwide for 2025 in its annual "World's Best Cities" list.

The report quantifies the relative qualities of livability, "lovability," and prosperity for the world's top 100 cities with metropolitan populations of 1 million or more. New to the 10th anniversary edition, Resonance partnered with global market researchers Ipsos to include perception-based data into the rankings, surveying over 22,000 people in 30 countries worldwide to determine "the most desirable places to visit, live or work."

Houston made a major rebound after plummeting to No. 73 in last year's report. In 2022, Houston ranked No. 42.

Resonance refers to its previous "World's Best Cities" reports and its 2024 "America's Best Cities" list – which ranked Houston in the top 10 – when explaining the Bayou City's successes. The report praised Houston's vast cultural diversity and placed a great focus on its economic prosperity, even going so far as to suggest Houston residents make more money "and can sock more away."

"...[W]here America’s fourth-largest city truly takes off is in its economic heft and wealth, ranking No. 9 globally for GDP per Capita and No. 14 for Fortune 500 companies in town," the report said. "All that rolls up into an overall Prosperity index ranking of No. 36, which is even more impressive given the No. 14-ranked Price-to Income Ratio [of the city]."

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin and Dallas also earned spots on the World's Best Cities list for 2025, but only one made a similar rebound from the previous year's rankings. Dallas moved up from No. 66 in last year's report to its current rank as No. 55. Meanwhile, Austin took its first tumble out of the 43rd spot (which it had occupied for two years straight) and now ranks No. 53.

London held onto its crown as the No. 1 best city in the world for 2025, followed by New York (No. 2), Paris (No. 3), Tokyo (No. 4), and Singapore (No. 5).