Jake and Abby

Beloved Deerly

Wedding photos by Brittany Dufrene Photography, Engagement photos by Alyssa Arnold Photography

Jake Pierce was all set to ask his sweetheart, Abby Bates, to marry him. He had not, however, counted on a baby deer diverting her attention away from his well-laid plans. Thankfully the little fawn was just a temporary detraction, because on June 7, 2024, at the Holy Ghost Church in Hammond, La., the couple was married.

Jake and Abby were students at Mississippi College when they met.

“We met each other through classes we were both taking at MC. I was honestly intimidated by her beauty, so I never engaged with her,” Jake said. “That was until she approached me after class and asked if I wanted to join her and some other classmates for a study group. Obviously, I obliged.”

At the time, Jake said he and Abby were dating other people, so the relationship was purely “platonic.”

“However, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. For two years we would occasionally see each other in class and meet up at study groups with other students. It was a bit torturous for me to be around her,” Jake said. “She was so bubbly and gorgeous and funny I just couldn’t stand not having her.” So, when both found themselves single, Jake said he worked up the courage to ask Abby out on a date. “She said ‘yes,’ and we have been inseparable ever since.”

THE PROPOSAL

Jake and Abby were set to visit her family for the weekend. During their stay, plans were to go to the woods and move deer stands and feeders that were on the property.

The couple was also planning to ride over with her father to her grandparents’ home, which was on the family land. On the way back to her dad’s house, Abby said she saw a baby deer.

“He ran across the road and then the whole way back I was telling Jake how we could’ve saved that deer and raised it,” she said.

It was while she was turned around sharing this notion with Jake, who was in the back seat of her father’s truck, that she completely missed seeing the romantic backdrop Jake had created on the water’s edge.

“There’s a pond and deck at my dad’s house and I somehow missed seeing the whole set up,” Abby said.

Once the truck pulled to a stop and Abby got out, the surprise was revealed.

“I remember getting out of the truck and Jake opening my door. He reached his hand out to me, and I made a joke by shaking it saying, ‘Hey how are you doing?’” Abby said.

At that point, Abby said Jake got a little smile on his face and she kind of giggled wondering what was going on.

“Jake then took my purse out of my hand, and I called him such a gentleman for carrying my stuff, but then he threw it back into the truck and slammed the truck door, I looked at him, so confused and asked, ‘What are you doing?’” Abby said. “He grabbed my hand, and he started pulling me toward the front (of the truck) and that’s when I heard music start and as we rounded the corner, I saw the set up. It was so beautiful. There was a rug, flowers and candles.”

Abby said she then realized what was about to happen.

“I absolutely broke down crying,” she said.

When she finally got her composure, Jake walked over to the beautiful arbor that had been erected. At that point, family began to come out from hiding. As she watched everyone coming toward them, Jake fell to his knee.

“When I turned back, Jake was on one knee,” Abby said. “He looked at me with his eyes and I knew this was the love of my life and that I was going to say ‘yes.’”

TRADITIONAL TENDENCIES

After trying on “probably 30 dresses” Abby finally found her wedding gown.

“My dress was absolutely gorgeous. It was a mermaid style, satin gown that had flowers embroidered with pearls and sparkles. It also had a massive satin overlay skirt. My veil was a cathedral veil that stretched 10 feet long,” Abby said. “I knew that that was my dress and veil the moment I put it on because I had tried on probably 30 dresses at that point and I was tired and I was actually changing back into my clothes to leave the bridal shop when one of the workers came in and said we just got this dress and why don’t you try it on.”

It was at that moment, she said she “fell in love.”

“I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.”

Abby said another indication that this was the dress for her is when it fell off the hanger. “I’m very big on superstitions and when we took it off to think about it, it fell off the hanger and I knew that it didn’t need to be hung back on the shelf, it needs to come home with me,” she said.

In keeping with a more traditional style, Abby said she covered her face with a blusher — a traditional part of a wedding veil that adds a bit of romance and mystery to the ceremony. She did a bouquet and garter toss and she and Jake did not do a “first look.”

“The first time me and Jake saw each other was when I was walking down the aisle in the church, we locked eyes, and we never looked away,” Abby said.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

At the end of the night, when guests began to leave, Jake and Abby gifted them with a bottle of wine.

“My family makes wine from berries from our family farm or from berries that my dad grows and so our wedding favors for our guests were homemade bottles of wine that either Jake and I, or my dad and I, had made,” Abby said.

As an ending to their special day, Abby and Jake enjoyed relaxing in their “villa” and recounting all that it had entailed.

“It was the end of the day when I finally got to sit with my husband and just smile and laugh and reminisce on how crazy the day was and how much we were loved and supported through the whole day by our family and friends and I think that’s what made it just so special — just being able to take a second and be with my husband and realize how amazing the day was,” Abby said.

For their honeymoon, Jake and Abby traveled to the British Virgin Island of Tortola.

The couple are at home in Vicksburg where Abby works in human resources at Golding Barge Line and Jake is a sales rep for Hometown Medical.