April is a beautiful person – absolutely beautiful, inside and out. I know that's cliche to say, but her cheerful upbeat attitude, easy-going charm, and warm generosity just make me smile. She's got sparkle, spunk, and flair, and isn't afraid to be her wonderful self. While we didn't get to spend nearly enough quality time with this bride, we're glad that David gets to be the one to stand by her side. Happy One Year Anniversary, April & David. We are so very honored to have played a small part in your incredibly special day.

I can't get enough of their wedding photos and can't wait for you to read their story below:

Sapphire and diamond engagement ring with diamond wedding band. On ecru wedding invitation.

David and I met while working as Archaeologists in Illinois. We did not get a long at first, but we soon became really close friends and eventually started dating. We got engaged at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It was a complete surprise to me! We had been together for seven years, so I wasn't expecting it!

David and I love the outdoors, it’s where we met, worked, and got engaged so we wanted to incorporate that into our wedding. It was really important to us to be close to family and friends, so we chose a location in Illinois to have our wedding. The Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, was the perfect venue location for us with its beautiful scenery. We loved the natural beauty of the outdoors and the historic feel of the Founder's room, the historic library of the Morton family. The carved wood and the stained glass windows perfectly fit our personalities. We both love the mix of modern and vintage styles. We wanted to keep with the vintage feel of the room, so we had a harpist to play our ceremony, she was amazing! I walked down the aisle with both my parents to the song "At Last".

Our officiant was wonderful; she really connected with our personalities and wrote an absolutely beautiful ceremony for us. We had a rock ceremony, every guest made a wish on a stone they held the whole ceremony and all the stones were combined into a vessel with ours to symbolize bringing our two families together. David and I designed and made our own programs and we had bubbles for our exit outside to the cocktail hour. I love sewing, so I made the ring bearer pillow my nephew used to walk down the aisle with.

I saw a dress on Justin Alexander's website and fell in love. It had the sparkle and vintage feel I was looking for. I contacted Ellie’s Bridal in Alexandria, Virginia to see if they carried it in store. They didn’t but, said I could have the sample shipped in on loan for me to try on. They were super helpful both over the phone, email, and facebook. I scheduled several appointments at various bridal salons in the metro area, but saved Ellie’s for last. I had some okay experiences and some awful ones at the other salons. I tried on a lot of dresses, but nothing felt right. I finally had my last appointment at Ellie’s. They had my dress ready for me hanging in the dressing room; as soon as I saw it I knew it was the one. I didn't try on any other dresses there because that dress was perfect. It was the only one that made me feel like a bride and had just the right amount of drama I was looking for.

I wore my grandmother's vintage necklace that I have always wanted to wear on my wedding day. It was important to me to find a dress that matched the vintage feel of the necklace. My veil is very unique and really shows my personality. I love the large flower and crystals, I really wanted something different. My amazing shoes also had a larger flower on them as well. I really wanted to look and feel like a beautiful flower on my wedding day and I did!

I had three bridesmaids and I could not have chosen better ladies to be there for me on my day. They wore necklaces I made for them in mint and silver. I found very romantic dresses in the color mint, which is my favorite color!! The dresses flattered everyone.

Our groomsmen wore the same tux as David, but they had mint ties to match the bridesmaids. They all looked absolutely stunning!

Tall centerpieces with hydrangia and roses. Ivory tablecloths with green napkins. Mint green wedding cake.

Hydrangea and rose centerpieces with candles.

Our wedding colors were mint, blush, lime and ivory. We really wanted to have fresh colors that represented the beautiful landscapes of our venue and the feel of summer. Our flowers were absolutely beautiful! Our florist, also my father-in-law, did an amazing job capturing our vision. Our theme was "Natural Elegance" and it really fit with our venue and the feel of our wedding! Our cake was beautiful and yummy! It was done in mint colored fondant with lace ribbon. We had three large ivory roses at the top instead of a cake topper. Our tables were decorated with ivory, blush and green flowers with lots of candles. Our welcome table had a bonsai tree and place cards that matched our invitations. The entire room smelled like peonies.

All our guests had an amazing time as did we! David and I planned the entire wedding ourselves from out of state, which was a lot of hard work! In the end, everything came together beautifully and we could not have asked for a more perfect day!