Junior Haley Phillips and senior Creed Burkhead won a Facebook contest that gave them their wedding venue, Robbins–Sanford Grand Hall in downtown Searcy, free of charge.
The couple spent two weeks campaigning online for votes from family, friends and to the far corners of their online circles. They used their signature hashtag, #BecomingABurkhead, throughout the competition. Phillips and Burkhead’s engagement picture is now displayed on the homepage of the venue’s website.
“My dad works at Acxiom and he had an email go out to the whole company,” Phillips said. “And (from that) we had people voting all the way from India. It was amazing to see how far the competition reached across Facebook.”
Phillips sent out daily messages on Facebook to everyone in her contact list that said they would vote to remind them about the competition. The couple spent the two weeks constantly monitoring how they were doing in the competition.
Burkhead is a member of Knights social club and had his club voting daily as well.
Junior Sara Anne Gill is one of Phillips’ bridesmaids. The two became friends while serving as Resident Assistants in Pattie Cobb last semester.
“Every time I got on Facebook, more and more people were sharing it,” Gill said. “I found out my suitemates were voting for her and they didn’t even know her, they just saw it on Facebook.”
Winning this contest will save the couple $3,400. They received more than 9,000 votes over the span of two weeks ending on Valentine’s Day.
Since Phillips is from Vilonia, Ark., and Burkhead is from Fort Worth, Texas, the couple chose Searcy as a central location for both families to meet.
Burkhead worked in his hometown during the summer to buy the ring for Phillips, even working 10 double shifts in a row at his job at Starplex Cinemas Movie Theater. The couple got engaged on Oct. 25 when Burkhead surprised Phillips while taking family pictures.
The couple said they are looking forward to their upcoming wedding especially with the added surprise of not having to pay for their venue.
“She hasn’t made the wedding just about her, she takes time to ask my opinion about things and make it about us,” Burkhead said.
