James Stokes Photography: 2011

Andrew and Emilie set the bar for weddings this year. I had the pleasure of getting to know them a little before their wedding thanks to their personal 'see you on the court' style engagement shoot. They were high school sweet hearts and attended different Universities. Both grew up in the Abbotsford area, but now reside in Madison. Emilie was kind enough to share a little about her wedding! Thank you both so much for letting Katie and I be apart of your day. May God be the center of your lives together. Your day was beautiful and filled with many fond memories of you both, especially Andrew's wedding speech. Em- you are great sport and a beautiful bride. James
From the Bride: The Frank Wedding, September 17th, 2011 I couldn't have expected a more beautiful wedding day. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted a slim, lacy gown that flowed in a long train, held by small white buttons down my back. Yet, when I put my simple, ball-gown style wedding dress on, I knew it was it! It went perfectly with what I envisioned for our wedding day. Simple Elegance. While planning our wedding day with all DYI projects, I pictured elegant table linens, lighted with dark lanterns and whimsical table numbers. I envisioned a beautiful piece of furniture that would hold our place cards, a cake full of gorgeous peonies, and a lighted chandelier surrounded by other white lights hanging above the dance floor. And this is exactly what it was! The table linens we used were actually from a friend's wedding a year previous. I got them about a month before my wedding, only to realize we were about 15 short! I went to the nearest craft store, and thankfully they had the exact style linens on sale! I made the rest of the table runners in my simple, one-bedroom apartment a month before. The lanterns for our centerpieces were found on craigslist from a couple in Chicago. They told me where they got them (IKEA) just in case we needed more. We ended up buying a few more from Minneapolis, and they worked perfectly for the setting! The table numbers I created on my Mac with a vintage border I found on a DYI wedding site. The oversized clothespins holding each table number were found at JoAnn Fabrics, stained by my mother and myself the night before our wedding. One of my favorite items of our wedding were the mason jars filled with hydrangeas hung on the church pews. I found these mason jars at thrift shops and in cupboards. The morning before my wedding, my best friend Bethany and I filled each one with the hydrangeas, roses, and berries I bought in bulk online. We actually only bought 50 hydrangeas, 100 roses, and 35 bunches of berries. However, I knew I wanted a reception hall FULL of hydrangeas. I picked the rest of our flowers off a hydrangea bush from an elderly gentleman who lives in a small town near my grandparents. Each mason jar was tied with bailer twine and hung on each pew lining the aisle of our Baptist church. To save some money, we used these same flower-filled mason jars as a part of the reception centerpieces for each table. Also, each bridesmaid plopped her bouquet (which a friend and I also made ourselves) into a vase set on the head table to save more on flowers. This was one of our biggest budget saver! The vintage photos of my grandparents on their own wedding days were a wonderful touch that many people enjoyed viewing throughout the night. These photos were compliments of my Aunt Sally, who is wonderful at keeping and creatively using these beautiful images in unique crafts and cards. They were strung at the entrance of our reception hall on twine and clipped with small clothespins. My grandma made the tasty candies that I received compliments for all night. She has been making and selling candy for the past 10 years, and is amazing! The cake was a masterpiece made by my mother-in-law herself. She made each fondant-crafted peony by hand. It took my, as well as many of our guests', breath away! She also has been doing cakes for quite some time. Another fun touch were the mason jars strung by bailer twine and hung on shepards' hooks lining the sidewalk of the reception hall. We set a candle inside each jar, which lit the path for our guests as they walked down the sidewalk.