A Santa Barbara Wedding Marked by
Community and Second Chances
Frankie and Taylor Madden’s Long-Awaited Ceremony
Followed a Childhood Plane Crash and
a Stage-Four Lymphoma Diagnosis
By Tiana Molony | February 26, 2026
Read more from the 2026 Wedding Guide here.
By the time Francesca “Frankie” Madden stood at the altar to marry her now-husband, Taylor Madden, the act of getting there had already required more resilience than most people face in a lifetime.
Frankie is the sole survivor of a 2007 plane crash in Panama, an accident that occurred when she was just 12 years old — an unthinkable beginning to any life story. Almost two decades later, she would face another unimaginable test: a 2024 diagnosis of stage-four lymphoma, which led her and Taylor to postpone their wedding, originally set for September 4 of that year.
Initially, Frankie was determined to keep the wedding on track, but Taylor knew it would be wiser to postpone. Soon, she saw his point. “I was like, ‘What am I thinking?’ ” Frankie recalled. “I can’t be trying to worry about a wedding right now. I need to focus on this.” Shortly after her diagnosis, they reached out to their vendors — who, she said, were “so understanding.”
In the end, waiting proved to be the right choice. When they finally married on September 5, 2025, at the Santa Barbara Zoo, the day became more than a celebration of matrimony — it was a testament to everything they had endured to get there.
“When you go through something like that,” Frankie pondered, “what’s your purpose or your reason? Why did you go through this crazy event? And why are you still here?”
Standing beside Taylor and surrounded by the people who had carried them through it all, the answer felt clearer. “[The ceremony] allowed us to reflect on not only our relationship,” she said, “but what we both have overcome, individually and as partners, and get to share that with everyone.”
Taylor’s realization came less as a single moment than as the steady accumulation of the weekend itself. It was an “entire weekend of just hearing people look back on some not-so-great times,” he shared, “but then be able to recognize the celebration at hand and really appreciate the moment that was being had.”
To Taylor and Frankie, both Santa Barbara natives, it felt only natural that they would marry in the place that raised them. “Especially for me,” Frankie recalled, “I feel like it is a big part of what shaped me as a person is growing up in that town.” Though they walked the halls of Santa Barbara High School five years apart — one living in Mission Canyon, the other on the Mesa — they never crossed paths as teenagers, their lives unfolding in parallel against the same hometown backdrop.
Years later, through a series of chance connections and perfect timing, those paths finally converged. All those separate Santa Barbara memories suddenly felt like pieces of a shared history, quietly waiting to be woven together.
Rather than condense their celebration into one day, they chose a full week of festivities, beginning with a welcome party at the Santa Barbara Yacht Club and a rehearsal dinner at Zaytoon. Friends and family traveled from across the country to celebrate.
Even over the phone, unable to see their faces, it’s clear they are both beaming — likely looking at each other as they recount their special day. At the time of our interview, the couple had recently returned from their honeymoon to Singapore and Thailand and were settling back into life in Austin, Texas, as newlyweds.
Looking back on their wedding day, one truth stands out above all else: Their community — friends, family, and vendors — showed up for them in ways they’ll never forget. Without that support, they say, they’re not sure how they would have made it through.
Frankie reflected, “I think, when you look around at an event like your wedding — not only at the person you’re marrying and how much they mean to you — but also at the community and the people that love you so much, that is a good reminder.”
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