By Meredith Scheneman and Danny Hill wed on May 20, 2017, at Sorensen Estate. The wedding had a romantic garden feel and the reception, fueled by 2,000 cookies, was punctuated by a lively yet poignant dance to the ’80s favorite, “Footloose.”
The couple met in August 2012 through a mutual friend. In 2014, they traveled to Grand Cayman where a chef, Rosie, prepared incomparable meals for them. Three months later, Danny proposed to Meredith over a meal of lobster with lemon and caper sauce that he had prepared from Rosie’s recipe.
“It was quiet, intimate and perfect,” Meredith says.
Meredith wanted a timeless look for the wedding. “I didn’t want to look back at my wedding pictures in 10 or 20 years and say, ‘What was I thinking?!’”
She chose light blue, white and ivory with touches of green to carry out the theme. She gave the florist, Addie Jane Originals of Hallsville, Missouri, free rein to select flowers that exuded a lush but polished
garden atmosphere.
The bride wore an ivory, two-piece Martina Liana gown. The top was a lace corset with a scalloped lace sweetheart neckline and back zipper. The floor-length skirt was billowy and layered with French tulle. Her cathedral-length ivory veil served as her train; it had ribbon and Alençon lace along the bottom edge. She wore ivory Badgley Mischka sandals decorated with an intricate crystal motif. For jewelry, she wore petite teardrop Kenneth Jay Lane earrings with leaf-shaped crystals. Her hair was styled with soft, natural waves and curls. When she removed her veil after the ceremony, she added two ivory garden roses to her hair.
She carried long-stem David Austin Patience garden roses accented with white lisianthus, white football mums, white stock and an assortment of eucalyptus greenery including silver dollar, seeded and gunni. The bouquet was wrapped with white organza ribbon with pearl accents.
Bridesmaids wore floor length Azazie chiffon gowns in a pale blue-gray color called “mist.” Each bridesmaid chose her own style of neckline and fit. They carried bouquets of ivory vendela roses, white lisianthus and white stock with accents of assorted eucalyptus.
The groom wore a black Byron suit from Binghams with a white button-down shirt and black bow tie. His boutonnière was made of ivory majolica spray roses accented by eucalyptus. His groomsmen were similarly attired, with the addition of Jos. A. Bank paisley ties, gifts from the bride and groom.
The ceremony took place at Sorensen Estate, a venue east of Columbia that was donated to the University of Missouri and is operated by the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. Boxwood wreaths and garlands of eucalyptus placed on the estate’s white fences greeted wedding guests as they turned into the driveway. Meredith designed two large flower-filled garden planters made of reclaimed wood to flank the entrance. Smaller versions of the planters accented the aisle of the marquee tent where the ceremony took place. The aisle was lined with fresh ivory vendela rose petals between rows of white chairs. Guests were treated to flutes of Champagne as they were seated.
John Tinnin of The Crossing officiated over a traditional, faith-based ceremony and lent a personal touch to the nuptials as a friend of the bride and groom. The ceremony was the most memorable part of the event for Meredith.
‘“When you start this planning process, you tend to focus on the day as a whole, and since there are a lot more details that go into the reception, your focus tends to be on that. But on my actual wedding day, I remember thinking how excited I was
for the ceremony — how excited I was to marry Danny. I wanted to remember that out of everything.”
Following the ceremony, guests drifted to the reception tent emblazoned with the bride and groom’s logo — their initials surrounded by a green wreath. A leaf design was projected on the tent’s ceiling. Classic ivory linens topped round and rectangular tables decorated with assorted eucalyptus garlands, glass lantern vases, white hydrangeas, vendela roses and votive candles. The bride and groom’s chairs were decorated with fresh eucalyptus swags and ivory
satin ribbon.
The two-tiered wedding cake was French vanilla, frosted with homemade buttercream icing with a hint of cream sherry. It was topped by an assortment of roses, hydrangeas and ivy. French vanilla cupcakes wrapped in gold foil and 26 kinds of cookies — 2,000 cookies in all, baked by the bride’s aunt — added to the dessert table. The couple’s initials, created in moss letters, decorated the table along with classic cookie jars, cake pedestals and floating candles in cylinder vases.
When it came time for the father-daughter dance, Meredith took a big gulp. Her father had died just months before, but before she could shed a tear, her mother, sister and brother whirled her onto the dance floor.
“I remember dancing to ‘Footloose’ with my sister and brother while we were cleaning up the kitchen when I was little,” Meredith says. Soon other family and friends joined in and together they all stood in for her departed dad.
The couple honeymooned in Jamaicafor five days before returning to their home in Columbia, where Meredith is an
executive assistant at Veteran’s United Home Loans and Danny is the owner of Show-Me Hardball, a private baseball training company.
The bride is the daughter of Mary Ann and the late Stephen Scheneman of Columbia. The groom is the son of Mike and Sandy Trefney (mom) of Weimar, Texas, and Randy (dad) and Brenda Hill of Belton, Texas.
