Bride

Sheldon &William

William

WHEREVER YOU GO...

STORY BY LIESEL SCHMIDT PHOTOGRAHY BY MELISSA BRIELLE

While their paths to each other may have taken somewhat of a circuitous route back to one another after their first meeting, Sheldon Mills and William Morissette have a story that seems meant to be— and a love that has only grown stronger with time. “We met in 2013 when we were both in the Mobile Carnival Association Mardi Gras Court,” says Sheldon. “Although William was not my knight, he was my knight’s best friend, and we spent months together through the carnival season.”

Still, both went their separate ways when the season ended: Sheldon finished college at Sewanee, William at Ole Miss. After graduation, Sheldon moved to Colorado for the next six years, while William headed to the French Culinary Institute in New York City and began working as a chef in restaurants throughout the city after graduation. Later, Sheldon moved to Atlanta to attend Emory School of Nursing, while William left New York and headed to New Orleans. While fate closed the distance between them, it wasn’t until William’s sister Seline’s coronation as Queen of Mardi Gras that their paths crossed again fully.

The two began to date, and it only took a few weeks before William told his mom Melissa that he had “found the girl he was going to marry.” Almost immediately, the couple knew that marriage was in the cards. William asked Sheldon’s parents for her hand in marriage, and then, six months later, he proposed. With the help of his parents and sister, William planned a surprise engagement party at his grandmother’s home. Sheldon unknowingly thought they were going to stop by and visit before going out, but when they entered the house, William dropped to one knee and proposed.

Just over two years later, on July 23, 2022, Sheldon walked down the aisle at The Chapel at Beaver Creek in Colorado, wearing a custom made off-the-shoulder gown with a diagonally draped bodice and cathedral train extending from the A-line skirt, accented with a cathedral length veil handmade by her mother—though actually making it to the altar was not without its challenges. “My father and stepfather escorted me down the aisle, and even though we rehearsed this on Friday evening, we didn’t realize that the aisle wasn’t wide enough for all three of us and my dress,” says Sheldon. “Needless to say, a few flower pew markers lost their lives. I never thought I would laugh the whole way down the aisle at my wedding!”

With friends and family who had all gathered for an epic wedding weekend in Colorado looking on, Sheldon and William exchanged vows and were pronounced married. After walking back down the aisle without incident, the newlyweds and their guests adjourned to Sheldon’s family home in Mountain Star for a reception with a scenic view, nestled at the top of a mountain surrounded by The White River National Forest and overlooking Beaver Creek Resort. Having indulged in a buffet of delicious “Colorado-style” food, dancing commenced—as did a wardrobe change to a short cocktail dress made by Sheldon’s mother for the occasion. Sweetening things up was a stunning five-tiered cake with alternating flavors of pistachio, almond and peach covered in white buttercream and adorned by fresh flowers matching the flowers at the reception. Playing the perfect whimsical counterpart to such an elegant bridal cake, the groom’s cake was quite the fake-out. “My mom and stepdad surprised William with a special grooms cake made to look like a bowl of gumbo with rice, a three-tier seafood tower and a tray with oysters, lemon wedges and cocktail sauce,” says Sheldon. “When we were dating, William often took his family’s famous gumbo when we went to visit them, so they had Intricate Icings Cake Design out of Denver create the cake to memorialize that. It was so realistic that it fooled every guest and was the talk of the reception!”

After another wardrobe change to a knife-pleated gown topped off with a cream-colored cowboy hat, Sheldon and William made their escape in her stepfather’s 1995 Defender, ready to head off to honeymoon in the Maldives and Dubai. Now back home in Mobile, the couple is looking forward to finding out all the reasons that fate seemed so determined to bring them together.

WEDDING PLANNER: MarieeAmi - Mountain Brook, AL

BRIDAL GOWN: Sareh Nouri, New York HAIR & MAKEUP: BOMA - Kerri Bunn Vestavia Hills, AL PHOTOGRAPHER: Melissa Brielle - CO

VIDEOGRAPHER: The Film Poets - Birmingham, AL FLORIST: Bare Root Flora - Denver, CO BRIDAL CAKE: Megan Joy Cakes - Eagle, CO GROOM'S CAKE: Intricate Icings Cake Design – Denver, CO CATERING: Red Maple Catering - Vail, CO BAND: Az-Izz - Atlanta, GA