KATIE + BILL

Katie and Bill first met around 6 years ago through a group of mutual friends in Bill’s motorcycle club.
Katie:“I thought he was soooo handsome and had the best smile, and looked pretty dang good on his Harley! I realized very quickly that he was a biker with earrings on the outside but a big softy teddy bear on the inside!”
Bill:”I just couldn’t get past her beautiful eyes and her smile was so cute! She was tall and beautiful and I couldn’t stop looking at her! 
Their first date happening during covid sounds like it wouldn’t be great, but it ended up creating a tradition for the two that continues to this day.  “Our first date was towards the end of COVID shutdowns, so we had a parking lot dinner date in his truck at Chick-Fil-A. It was also my first time eating Chick-Fil-A so I was super excited about that as well – I said it better live up to the hype! That became like a tradition and sentiment for us – parking lot dinner dates!”
They dated for 11 months until a Friday night date night when everything changed.
Katie: “Bill knows I love to go to the movies for a date night and stock up on popcorn and candy, and at the time the new Clifford the Big Red Dog movie had come out and I REALLY wanted to go see it! (Clifford was a big favorite of mine as a child) So Bill planned a Friday night date night and rented out the whole upstairs movie theater for us to have a private rental to watch Clifford. We get there, I make sure to get all of my extra snacks and upgrade my drink size (at this point Bill had to have been rolling his eyes inside) and we go take our seats. Conveniently as the previews started, Bill had to get up to use the restroom…”

Bill: “I planned this for quite some time trying to work out all the details so it really seemed like an ordinary movie date night. I had to sneak down the stairs and pretend to use the restroom so that the slide show would start while she was there. It was a nerve-racking experience for me and we had a minor glitch when the sound wasn’t working correctly…”

Katie: “I’m sitting there by myself watching the big screen change from a preview to a slideshow of pictures of us with our song playing asking me to marry him at the end of the video.”

Bill:  “I snuck back to the top of the steps to see her reaction and that made it all worth it! When she realized I was at the top of the stairs she ran to me and I got down on one knee and proposed! Of course, she said yes and gave me a big hug and kiss.”

Katie: When I finally gathered myself to get up and go to him, I realized that our families were hiding in the theater also and were able to witness the whole thing. It was the most perfect engagement ever!! Although I was only just a little bit salty about how long it took to actually see Clifford once it came to Netflix. LOL

There are so many things to love about Katie and Bill both individually, but the two together makes my heart full. If I had one word to describe them it would be “unwavering”. The two are so clearly one anothers’ rock.  They provide a calm in the storm and just visibly feel home when they are together.
I also love their love for all things sentimental and nostalgic. Katie is such an old soul and I love that about her.  When she loves something or someone she does so with her whole heart.  The day encompassed that feeling. Nostalgic, sentimental, warm, home…

Enjoy a peek at Katie and Bill’s wedding day <3

“I will always remember the special one-on-one time with my mom as she helped me get dressed.” 
Most often, Roger isn’t in the room when the bride gets dressed. I mean – that can be awkward having a man in the room during that time. But for the last few touches while Katie got dressed, Roger also photographed. And while he’d probably not admit it if you asked, this was the first time I’ve seen him cry at a wedding. The emotion was so deep in that room.  What an honor to witness. When Katie envisioned her day, I am certain she didn’t envision gale-force winds, but that’s what the day delivered. All of the photos she wanted to do outdoors at her home had to be done inside. But here’s the silver lining – because we were limited to indoors, we were able to take our time and slow things down a bit, and create images that never would have happened had we been outside. The moments we had in the home where both Katie and her mother grew up were tender and sweet – moments I’ll never forget.  “There are so many things I love about Katie honestly. Her smile instantly can change my mood on any given day! I love the silly faces she likes to make, and I love how she is so tender-hearted and usually always tries to put everyone in front of herself because she doesn’t want to upset anyone. She is an absolute animal lover and treats them like her children! I could go on and on about all the things that are my favorite things about her, but mostly my favorite thing about her is how much love she shows me every day!” – Bill

“My favorite thing about Bill is the way he never stops trying to learn more and more about me every day to be able to be my true partner in life and help me through it all. His unwavering love for me is so apparent and I can never express how much I love this about him. He also has the BEST laugh!!” – Katie“The moment I had been looking forward to the most was seeing my beautiful bride walking down the aisle after arriving via firetruck complete with lights and sirens. The only thing leading up to that day I knew nothing about was her. When I first saw her you would expect that I’d be drawn immediately to the dress, but that wasn’t the case. See, Katie has always been about style and I knew that wouldn’t come up short there. I took the time to look at how her hair was done up and how her makeup looked and how her face was just beaming! It wasn’t until she was literally at the end of the aisle that I took the time to look at the dress. The whole ensemble did not disappoint! She was the most beautiful I had ever seen her! She looked absolutely stunning and majestic and at that point, I couldn’t hold my emotions back at all! It was everything I hoped for and so much more I can’t even begin to explain!” – BillMy cousin, James Duncan, officiated the wedding and we asked him to write the vows that we would say to one another and make them personal for us. When I was reciting my vows (which we had not heard prior to the wedding day) James got to the part where he said that I promise to love Bill from “Rides on the Harley to rides on a Huffy…” I’m standing there having a blonde moment trying to figure out the Huffy reference when the entire crown erupts into a roar of laughter, coming to realize they all thought he said “Hubby” instead of “Huffy”! That is something that will stick with us forever!!The most incredible thing happened after Katie and Bill’s ceremony and family photos. The day began so cloudy and incredibly windy that we thought we would have to do all their portraits indoors. But praise be, the winds laid down and the sun came out and we were able to take the two newlyweds and spend golden hour with them before the reception. We are so thankful the guests patiently enjoyed themselves so we could get these beautiful shots of these two. 
If your wedding dress doesn’t have pockets is it even worth wearing? lol We ended at sunset at Katie and Bill’s home for some romantic and sentimental photos in their driveway. I absolutely love thinking about the fact that Katie’s grandparents drove down this lane to build this home, and how her mother may have learned to drive on this lane, and how Katie may have walked home from school here… And now a new set of memories will be made here.  What a perfect place to create wedding photos. “Our wedding was very vintage and bohemian-inspired. Bill knew I had a vision for the event space setup and decor and he was very supportive in helping make sure my vision came to life! I wanted a lot of natural and earth tones as far as colors with a lot of dried floral arrangements and a lot of vintage wooden accents and furniture. I really enjoy putting together floral arrangements, and while I didn’t want the pressure of making the Bridal Party bouquet and arrangements, it was so much fun for me to arrange all of the centerpieces for the reception and bring all of my ideas for decoration from the ceremony to the reception to life!! We couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out!”“Bill and I were having a hard time deciding what we wanted to do for a dessert, and one of my good friends suggested the idea of friends/family making different homemade desserts and that may have been my favorite part!” (Same Katie. Same. lol)We really tried to make a lot of details very specific to us.  I was super excited about the coffee bar from Hawthorn Tree Coffeehouse as our guest treat. – Katie “We LOVE Hawthorn and it was amazing what they did for us!” – Bill“Our first dance song was “Steady Heart” by Kameron Marlowe – when this song came out we both loved it and knew it would be perfect for our first dance. The lyrics really speak to and apply to us and we just love this song!”

Katie – My advice for future brides is to let yourself feel all of the feels and emotions through the entire process and don’t let people tell you “you won’t remember” something from your day. You will go through lots of emotions and it’s OKAY and part of the process! Take it all in and remember this is the one time you get to do this! Yes, it will go by in an absolute blink, but you will remember EVERYTHING and no matter your worries leading up to the day, your wedding day will be perfect and everything that it’s supposed to be. My advice for future grooms would be to just enjoy the process with your fiancee and offer to help with the little details, even if she says she doesn’t need it. Just like us, you will have memories of stickering 250 dessert boxes for your reception together instead of by herself.
Bill – All I can say is take your time that day. Enjoy every second of it because it does go by fast. As Katie stated relax and soak it all up and trust that you will remember more of it than you think. I remember a lot of the small finer details for sure. Take the time to look around the room and recognize everyone that is there for you on your day – that is also important! Make sure to take the time to enjoy all the things you will do with your new spouse that day because some may seem small but mean the most in the big scheme of things. Last thing I can say is make sure you remember how you felt that day. For us it felt like we had fallen in love all over again and it was amazing! Spend time making sure you keep things alive down the road and always work on understanding your spouse and their needs and help them through everything you can. Love one another unconditionally!

Katie and Bill’s Wedding Professionals:
Fat Albert’s BBQ – https://therusticvenues.com
Hawthorn Tree Coffeehouse – http://hawthorn-tree.com
Miles Station – http://www.milesstation.com
Hair by Hannah Cox and Patti Olive (Studio 133) – https://www.facebook.com/hairbyhannahjeancox Makeup by Tarren Hogue – https://www.facebook.com/tarrenhogue
Candid Jewelry Co. – https://www.facebook.com/candidstampingco
Adore Bridal – https://www.adoreyourdress.com
Peg’s Flower Cottage (Peggy Reynolds, Bride’s Aunt)for Wedding Party floral – https://www.facebook.com/pegsflowercottage
B&G Cutting Cake – Tish Chism
Officiant – James Duncan
Kim Rhodes at the Macoupin County Fairgrounds

Katie – I am most looking forward to having my best friend beside me every day to do life with. I feel like we can conquer the world together and I’m just excited to settle into our life and see what the future has in store – hopefully a growing family one day! Bill – I am looking forward to spending more time with the love of my life. I want to be able to focus more on us and stop worrying about all the world around us sometimes. I want to hopefully add to the family soon as well! You only get one life to live might as well live it up while you are here!

The two call Katie’s childhood home in Carlinville home.