Classic Southern Wedding at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Long Beach, Mississippi

Marla Lawton (24 and a nurse) and Stephen Hansen (25 and a small-business owner) wanted two words to come to mind when you thought of their wedding day: simple and elegant. With fuss-free sentimental details and a timeless color scheme of petal pink, ivory and light tan, they did just that. Even though she told herself she would never get married in a lace dress, Marla was shocked when a fitted lace trumpet-style gown turned out to be the one. "As I looked in the mirror, I felt it. I started to tear up because this was the dress," Marla says. "It was the first time I could picture myself standing up on that altar with Stephen right next to me." Both the ceremony and the reception were held at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, which Stephen's family has been attending for five generations (including the couple's one-year-old son, Carter, who was baptized there on Mother's Day). "I fell in love with the sense of community at St. Thomas," Marla says. "It holds a significant place in our hearts, to say the least." —Meghan Overdeep