Laura + John Hill | Elegant Springtime Wedding

A grace-filled wedding day steeped in familial and spiritual significance

Laura and John Hill met in September of 2017 through a student ministry at the University of Minnesota, where they are both pursuing PhDs. It didn’t take long for them to realize that their connection was more than a casual interest, and they began seriously to date and to discern marriage. 

This time was filled with wonder and joy as they grew closer and became more sure of their mutual call to holiness through marriage, but it was also filled with struggle and sorrow, as they helped each other to navigate the burdens of graduate school, mental health ups and downs, and the death of two grandparents. 

Yet in and through it all, God was faithful.

In God’s perfect timing, John Hill brought Laura back to the same square of sidewalk concrete where he had asked her on their first date, and proposed, this time asking her to be his lifelong partner in holiness.

At the same time that they were discerning marriage, John Hill was also discerning the call to come into the Catholic Church, and meeting and falling in love with Laura was the confirmation of that call. 

Throughout their dating and courtship, Laura was consistently amazed by John Hill’s humble devotion to the Lord, his desire for a strong Catholic spiritual community, and his growing love for the Catholic faith. A convert herself, Laura delighted in sharing the faith she loves with the man she loves. 

John Hill made his first Confession, received Confirmation and Holy Eucharist, and entered into the sacrament of Marriage all in the span of four months. “The grace radiating from him was palpable!” says Laura. 

Prayer was beautifully woven into the whole process of preparing for marriage and planning the wedding day. 

From saying Night Prayer together almost every night before parting ways, to praying over each invitation as they were sealed and stamped, Laura and John Hill were conscious of making prayer the hallmark not only of the wedding day but of every day together. 

When the stress of logistics and planning threatened to become overwhelming, they decided to no longer talk about “The Wedding Day” but instead to call it “The First Day of Our Marriage.” 

This shift in mentality made all the difference, as it transformed the pressure for a single performance-heavy day into an opportunity to witness to the life that Laura and John Hill would start that day.

From the Bride:

The week leading up to our wedding was filled with small graces that made an enormous impact. 

The entire wedding party traveled in from out of town (including my Maid of Honor, who flew in from her Peace Corps posting in Kyrgyzstan!) and the support that they showed in helping with last minute details was inspiring. John Hill describes this feeling of support as like being embraced; everyone’s genuine happiness for us and investment in this day was truly humbling. 

My amazing sister-in-law Ellyn was the mastermind behind the floral for the day, which meant that the house where the women were staying was filled with blooms and life as she whirled around the kitchen crafting the bouquets, centerpieces, and other little touches that went into making the day an offering of beauty.

Because we would be walking down the aisle together in the Mass procession we chose to do a first look in the Church, where I walked down the aisle to John Hill, waiting at the altar. My mom walked me to the door of the church and had me take a moment to collect myself to let this moment be special. 

Yet, in my excitement and my joy, I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to run down that aisle and throw myself into my beloved’s arms. 

And the beauty of that feeling is that it is exactly how the Father wants us to approach Him: with joyful abandon and trust that He will embrace us, no matter how far we’ve had to run to Him.

Elements of family significance ran through the whole day, especially pertaining to those of our family who have gone to their rest. 

In John Hill’s pocket were two tributes to his Papa--his Aggie ring and a small wooden duck from his extensive collection--and tucked into my shoe was the dime that John Hill’s grandmother was married on. 

I also wore my Grandma’ pearl earrings and carried a coin from my PopPop’s collection, while my GrandBob’s rosary was wrapped around my bouquet and my GrandmotherBear’s diamond sparked in my engagement ring. (Fun fact that we didn’t discover until well into our engagement: my GrandBob and GrandmotherBear were engaged in the same church where we were married!)

Because the majority of our family and friends are not Catholic, and many are not Christian, we were very aware of the unique opportunity we had in shaping our Nuptial Mass to be a witness to the truth, beauty, and goodness of our Catholic faith and traditions. 

We chose our readings with the intention of encapsulating the whole of the Gospel message and the place of marriage in God’s plan for the salvation of souls. 

Ecumenism also marked several elements of the Mass, as our Methodist and Anglican siblings did the readings, and John Hill’s reformed non-denomination Best Man offered the Prayers of the Faithful alongside my Catholic Matron of Honor.

One moment of transcendent beauty in the Mass came after communion, when John Hill and I went to spend a few moments in prayer with the Blessed Virgin. 

We had asked our organist to play Schubert “Ave Maria” for this time, thinking he would choose an arrangement for solo organ. To our absolute surprise and utter delight, our cantor’s angelic voice rose over the gentle piano instead. 

This moment was a genuine heavenly gift because it offered a glimpse of how the Father wants to lavish goodness and beauty on His children.

After the Mass, John Hill and I set aside a half hour to simply be. 

As we retreated into the Adoration Chapel, we were overcome with the reality of the sacrament we had just entered into. In these few moments of quiet, John Hill gave me an icon of the Holy Family, in recognition of our devotion to that image and as a symbol that we two are now also a holy family.

The reception was a genuine delight. 

Walking into the ballroom to the sound of our friends and family’s cheering was such a joy-filled moment. There was much laughter, quite a few happy tears, and some excellent dancing that evening. 

John Hill and I chose to have a combined Parents’ Dance, where I danced with my dad while he danced with his mom. We chose Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" for this dance, which ended up being a surprising testament to the beauty that can come through suffering within families. 

Our parents then handed us off to dance our first dance as a married couple to Eva Cassidy’s rendition of "At Last"--an echo of Adam’s love song to Eve in the garden, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). At last and always.

Photography: Meagan Elizabeth Photography | Church: The Church of St. Mark, St. Paul Minnesota| Reception:St. Catherine's University | Rings: Arthur’s Jewelers + Buchkosky Jewelers | Flowers: Ellyn Hefflefinger Rothgeb-Odette the Flower Truck | Cantor: Katy Wehr | Stationary: Minted , Mass Program Designed by Bride| Bridesmaid dresses: Azazie | Groomsman: Gen Tux | Dress: David’s Bridal with significant alterations by Ginny’s Fine Fabrics | Cake: Queen of Cakes