When Alex and Cam Elpers first met at a 7th and 8th grade dance, they knew they liked each other. However, it wasn’t until their junior year at Mater Dei High School that the couple began dating. Five years later, on June 29, 2013, they exchanged vows at St. Boniface Church on the West Side of Evansville in front of 400 friends and family members.
The wedding at St. Boniface marked the fourth generation of weddings in Alex’s family at this church. Her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents all exchanged vows at this twin-spired church, first built in 1881 and then rebuilt in the Byzantine style in 1902 after a fire destroyed the original. The priest who presided over the ceremony married Cam’s parents. Another personal touch for the wedding was that Alex’s voice teacher growing up, Michael D’Alto, and good friend from grade school, Lindsay Mann, sang for the wedding, which Alex described as a “very traditional Catholic wedding.”
The dress Alex is pictured in is from Ella Park Bridal in Newburgh, Ind. She went dress shopping three times before selecting this dress with her mother, aunt, and cousin. Originally, Alex wanted a strapless gown, but then changed her mind and decided to use straps. “When I put it on,” Alex says when asked how she knew this was the right dress for her, “I didn’t want to take it off.”
Much like the venue, this was very much a local wedding. Rhonda Fehrenbacher made the cake, Kokies Catering & Banquet Centers catered the food and served as the site of the wedding reception, Studio B took the photographs, and T.R.U. Event Rental Inc. helped with the decorations as well as the setup. Alex’s great-aunt played a vital role as she provided all of the flowers and bouquets. The only out-of-town presence was the band, a small group based out of Cincinnati.
Alex and Cam still reside in Evansville on the West Side and both work in the plastics industry — Cam in management and Alex in inventory control. While their lives have since moved on, Alex has a favorite memory from the wedding.
“After everyone threw the rose petals as we were walking out, we had to quickly go to the side of the church to go back in,” she says. “With that many people, it’s easy to be stopped and start talking — and on our wedding day we had to hurry to get our pictures done in the church because of the next Mass. So as we were walking, I remember Cam picked up the back of my dress. It was our first moment by ourselves. We hugged and kissed and were so excited! Turns out Daniel Knight captured the whole thing. It’s probably one of my favorite photos from the day.”
