How did you meet? Tell me your love storyMichael and I are both Wisconsin natives, but we met while living in the Twin Cities. As Michael would say, we were introduced the modern way via a dating app! We actually matched when l was on my way to Cozumel for my cousin's wedding and I had to message fast in an airport before I lost service for a few days. Michael messaged me back and in true form I didn't respond for several days as I was terrible at messaging people back with life being busy! Thankfully, Michael didn't give up and we agreed on meeting for drinks. On our first date, I found out he grew up in Wisconsin too and we both were Packers fans and we slowly dated from there, taking our time dating and getting to know each other!
What is one thing you love to do together on a free day?Golf! I'm terrible and Michael is great but as he would say--"I'm his life cartner" :) We also like to finish the day on a patio or outside with a glass of wine.
How long have you been together? And when did you know he/she was the one?Just about 2.5 years! We both knew each other was the one on our drive back home from my first weekend up in Michael's hometown of Grantsburg, meeting his parents. We just had this great talk and it literally changed our entire relationship.
How did the proposal go down?We had vacationed in San Diego in December 2018 and had such a great trip that we decided to go back again in December 2019 to use up our yearly PTO. This time we decided to add in Laguna Beach to our itinerary. Michael had just been to a work conference there in March at the Montage Resort. He would send me pictures of the amazing views and then also called to tell me Justin Bieber was also staying there. I immediately regretted that I hadn't taken time off of work to go stay with him during his conference. So when Michael mentioned going there for dinner one night while planning our trip, I definitely agreed that that was a great idea. Obviously, I had to see the place myself if Bieber had stayed there! :) So, on our second night of the trip, we arrived before our reservation so we could walk along the cliff overlooking the beach and ocean at sunset. I had no idea he was planning on doing it on our trip, so you can imagine my surprise, when halfway through our beautiful walk, he got down on one knee to ask me to be his life "cartner". As Michael would say, luckily I said yes, so the dinner and the rest of our trip wasn't awkward. But there was no doubt--I was saying yes!
Are you writing your own vows?Yes! We absolutely love when couples write their own vows!
How did you meet? Tell me your love story
Nick and Olivia met at Purdue in 2012 thanks to some mutual friends. They bonded over their mutual hatred of Bears Quarterback and Southern Indiana native Jay Cutler. (Little did they know that 5 years later he would become the quarterback of Nick's beloved Miami Dolphins.) They stayed in touch and start semi dating in the fall of 2014 after Olivia had moved back home from college and Nick was finishing up his last semester. Their first true date would be at Chriskindlemarkt in Chicago in the Winter of 2014.
After graduation in December of 2014, Nick landed a job in Atlanta, and was excited to move, but sad to leave behind friends and family. Nick and Olivia realized they didn't want to do the distance, and Olivia was able to find a job down south and join him in his move to Georgia.
In January of 2015 Nick and Olivia moved closer to friends and family, and to the city of their first date. Nick had accepted a new position in Chicago and Olivia was able to make a transfer from her job with Marriott at the time. Being from the area, Olivia was able to show Nick around and help him learn and fit in as a Chicago resident.
They continued to explore the city and traveled to many places together, one of their favorites being London. In 2017 they were able to go watch the Miami Dolphins get shut out in a game at Wembley against the Saints (what a game!), ironically being quarterbacked by the player whose mutual hatred they bonded over in the first place. Jay Cutler went on to get shut out, and although the game wasn't that great, the trip was one of their most memorable.
What is one thing you love to do together on a free day?Go the Chicago Botanic Gardens and walk around in nature
How long have you been together? And when did you know he/she was the one?5 years to the day on the proposal, almost 6 years now. I kind of knew when she agreed to move to Atlanta in 2015 without a job lined up that it would be likely. But it solidified in late 2018 after watching her battle and fight through her Chrons surgery that I wanted to save up and propose to her within the next year. - Nick
How did the proposal go down?
In 2019, while planning a trip to Austria/Europe to visit Olivia's brother Patrick, Nick decided to put a quick surprise on the agenda. In the middle of the trip he surprised Olivia with a quick 2 day trip back to London. He had kept that a secret for 4 months, with nobody knowing except for him and Olivia's parents, who he let know about his plans.
Once he let Olivia know about their surprise trip to London, he was excited to also have surprise reservations and a proposal at Olivia's favorite London restaurant, Dishoom, on their 5 year 'official' anniversary. The surprise didn't quite work out though, because as soon as Olivia found out she was going to London, her very next move was to look into reservations at Dishoom anyways. So in a quick change of plans, Nick gifted her a 5 year scrap book containing all of their concerts, ticket stubs, pictures, and memories from their 5 years of dating, and proceeded to ask the question. They then went on to their "surprise" dinner at Dishoom and had the best meal of their lives.
How did you meet?
A mutual friend introduced us! Amanda lived in WI at the time and Matt lived in MN but we would visit each other most weekends.
What is one thing you love to do together on a free day?
We love to take ski trips out west with friends and have enjoyed taking ballroom dance lessons together as well! We also enjoy trying out new restaurants or having a movie night at home after a long day at work.
How did the proposal go down?
It was perfect! Matt wanted it to be a surprise and it was. We went to a fancy restaurant in Minneapolis and then took a horse drawn carriage ride. Amanda was not suspecting anything because while she wanted Matt to propose, they still hadn't been ring shopping and Amanda thought Matt still needed to ask her dad. Turns out that on the stone arch bridge the carriage pulled over and Matt proposed! He had secretly driven out to Wisconsin the week before to ask Amanda's dad! Also, he proposed with his Mom's first ring so they could shop together afterwards! It was absolutely perfect and more than Amanda could have ever expected!
How long have you been together? And when did you know he/she was the one?
We met almost 4 years ago. We were pretty inseparable after that!
How did you meet? Tell me your love story
We met in college at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. We were pursuing the same degree and had several classes together. Our friend group would play basketball every Wednesday and Friday after class. During one of the warm-up 2 on 2 games, Shawn was guarding me and as I drove towards the basket, I stepped on his foot and instantly fell to the ground having sprained my ankle. Shawn and my friends thought I had just tripped, but realized I was injured after I started crying and couldn’t get up. I sat on the sidelines as the rest of the gang finished up playing for the day. Shawn felt bad for causing the injury and drove me back to my apartment. He even carried me inside, smacking my elbow against the door as he tried to maneuver into the room. Since the semester wasn’t finished and I lived a mile and a half from campus, Shawn picked me up to drive me to class. He must have felt really bad or liked me. ;) We started hanging out more as friends and eventually started dating. (Although, he never formally asked me out.)
How long have you been together? And when did you know he/she was the one?
We have been together for 3 years and 2 months. I knew Shawn was the one after 5 months when we started to talk about our future together and he finally said, “I love you.” Shawn knew sometime during the winter of 2017.
How did the proposal go down?
We took a trip to Colorado for Memorial Day weekend and were hiking in the Rocky mountains when Shawn got down on one knee and asked me in Chinese if I could tie his shoe. I leaned over to tie his laces and he pulled out the ring box. I said yes and grabbed the ring before he had a chance to put it on my finger.
Are you writing your own vows?
We are writing our own vows, but we are not exchanging them during the ceremony. We are going to give each other the vows before the ceremony, right before the first look.
How did you meet?
Tommy and I met in college playing pool at Partners Pub (Stevens Point) on a Wednesday on Dollar Bottle night. Super classy ;) We were both there with different people but had a mutual friend who introduced us so we could play pool together so that he could leave for the night.
When did you know you wanted to spend the rest of your life together?
(Jeanna) I would say I knew right after our first huge fight. It was actually a fight about getting married... I was grilling him on if he would ever propose or wanted to get married and he is such a pacifist, he just responded so vaguely that it annoyed me and turned into a fight. But once that fight was over and we realized what we were doing wasn't really "fighting", it was learning more about each other. How to communicate about different things and learning about how we saw our own futures; apart and together. It made us stronger, not weaker, and I knew I wanted to continue growing stronger with this amazing man :)
How and where did the proposal happen?
Tommy's proposal was absolutely perfect. And again, if it weren't for some disagreements we had had in the past to learn more about each other, it would never have been this way. We were looking at buying our first house and he was all excited and pushing forward HARD to get one ASAP. I on the other hand was very obstinate because I didn't want to buy a house until we were married or at least engaged; and he knew that. So when we found the house, put in the offer and it was accepted, we set up a time to go back on Monday (Also my Birthday) to show our family. Well, he convinced me to dress up a little so we could go out to dinner for my birthday after we saw the house. Well, when we got to the house, before we went in, he stopped me and told me that he cares about my feelings and wants me to be as excited as he is to buy a house. So he said something like "I don't want us to go inside and look at this with separate eyes, we should be looking at this together, as a couple, as our home." and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him :) I cried a lot... I don't even think I looked at the whole house again :)
What did you envision your wedding to be during the planning stages?
Totally different than what happened... Friday evening we had some pretty nasty storms roll through that knocked over part of the tent we had, but other wise didn't cause much harm. However, Saturday morning brought the hurt. Between 10am and 12:30pm, Central WI had 12 confirmed tornadoes touch down. Unfortunately, multiple of those went directly past the farm where we had worked for months to clean out an entire working and functional barn to make it a wedding space... as well as landscaped and decorated 4 of the 20 acres. By 10:40am power was completely out across the 2 counties. This meant, no hair, no nails, no A/C, no lights, no toilets, no nothing. We had to change everything. Our bus was late to pick up the girls due to downed power lines and trees EVERYWHERE. SO everything was postponed, and we were mostly concerned about everyone's safety. On the bus ride to the farm, we had to find alternative routes because the roads were all blocked. Originally we were getting married under the willow by the pond, but that was flooded. So we got married in the barn and it was gorgeous. We ended up getting 4 generators to run for lights, DJ and beer cooler. And that's all we needed. Thank goodness for solar lights port-a-potties too!
What was your color palette and style vision?
When we first picked a date and started planning it was tirquoise and grey. That quickly went away and turned to "summer colors" meaning farmers market flowers and black bridesmaids dresses. But again, that changed and I let my bridesmaids all decide what they wanted to wear which was lavender/lilac and denim/blue. Worked out beautifully :) As for the style, we knew once we were offered the barn for the wedding, we had to keep it as natural as we could. The barn was gorgeous on it's own so we did some lights and minimal decorations as to not take away from the absolutely gorgeous architecture of the barn.
What surprised you on your wedding day?
Where to begin.. I think first, I was surprised that so many people actually still came after the weather! I was also surprised that the afternoon was so gorgeous. The rings were also kept hidden from us until the ceremony. That was fun to see those for the first time together. Also, my brother released ducks lol they are still living on the pond happily!
What was you favorite moment from the day? and your detail?
Favorite moment: seeing Tommy smiling while I walked down the aisle, even after all the chaos Favorite detail: Either the rings or the flowers
What advice would you offer to other couples planning a wedding?
Relax and accept the help. If your parents want to push and be a part of the planning, dear lord LET THEM! It will only give you more time to enjoy the countdown :) And in the end, you won't even remember half of the day anyways :) only the parts you want to. Also, our running joke was "it's not about you." as in everything you plan for this wedding literally isn't for you; it's for your guests. You're essentially planning a party for other people who are going to constantly be pulling you in different directions and asking you the same questions... Make sure the ceremony is for you, then enjoy the party ;)
How did you meet?
First met running a tough mudder together. Ethan setup a team for coworkers to sign up, and Chris registered for the team. We chatted a bit before the race, but didn't officially meet until that day. We stuck close to each other the entire time, and exchanged numbers after the race. From there, we got drinks at a local bar and never looked back.
What was the moment you knew you wanted to spend the rest of your lives together?
Chris- I cannot think of a single moment when I knew this. It was really just a growing understanding over our relationship. Every once in a while (varying between daily and monthly) I'll find myself looking at him smiling while talking about some miscellaneous thing and all I can think of is about how immensely I'm in love with him and how much I look forward to spending more time with him. At some point that just came to include the rest of our lives so I instigated buying the rings.
Where and How did the proposal happen?
We both wanted to propose under the northern lights but after multiple nights in Iceland where the forecast suddenly switched from great lights to nothing we both updated our individual plans. One day we were walking down the coast and checking out beaches looking for beach glass (hobby of mine) and a couple beaches in we were in the middle of a fjord with some gorgeous mountains on either side when Ethan dropped down on one knee to ask me to spend the rest of my life with him. Unfortunately his ring was in the my other jacket so I couldn't drop down on a knee to ask back. Instead I said yes and then reversed the proposal later than night while stargazing to give him his own falling star back (our engagement rings had meteorite in them).
What unique elements did you include in the day?
We really enjoyed having our mothers come up for our whiskey unity ceremony. Both of our moms enjoy Bourbon so we had then pick their favorites so we could age them together in the barrel. Our officiant, Megan, also came up with fantastic descriptions on how each described one of us and really made it special. We also selected some of the flowers based on our mothers/grandmother's favorites.
What was your color palette and style vision
Our favorite colors are orange and blue so we decided to go with a sort of sunset over the ocean palette with reds and purples thrown in. We also like an outdoorsy/rustic feel and so we stuck with wooden chairs, lanterns on tables, etc...
What was your favorite moment of the day? And favorite detail?
Chris - The entire ceremony was perfect to me, but as I was tearing up practically the entire time I'll say Ethan's vows were incredibly heartfelt and very him and just made me feel incredibly loved. Favorite detail was probably the cake. We gave the cake company a fairly vague idea of what we wanted but it turned out absolutely amazing.
Ethan - everything about that day was perfect. Seeing Chris crying when we first approached each other made me feel so loved, and it was hard not to hold him close like I normally would. Seeing everyone we knew and loved from all different stages in our lives sitting under one roof was incredible.
What surprised you on the wedding day?
How incredibly busy we were the entire reception. There were so many friends and family to talk to that we barely had time to grab food and drinks but we had so many people helping that took care of everything for us which made thinks much easier than they could have been.
What advice would you offer to other couples planning a wedding?
Have a couple trusted members of the wedding party that can handle questions and tasks during the wedding. We didn't even realize how much our friends did for us until the end of the reception and everything was already packed up and ready to go, but I can't imagine how much time it would've taken to try to do it all ourselves when we already felt like we were incredibly busy the whole time. Also don't stress the little things, and by little things, I mean everything except you marrying the love of your life. That's why you're there, that's why everyone else is there. The food, drinks, and dancing are just a nice bonus
Grooms and wedding party attire: Nedrebo’s Florist/Decoration’s: Enhancement’s
Venue: The Oak’s Golf Course Cake: Carl’s Cakes Rings: Jeweler’s Workshop
Kallie and Devin met on the farm when he came to work for her Uncle, so it was only fitting they have their reception in her family’s barn. Everything about this day was relaxed and so much of both Devin and Kallie’s personalities in the details. The invitations designed by Kallie and put together by family and friends, each included a piece of wheat. They are both relaxed and never sweat the small stuff, like when the rings were forgotten in the church safe and had to be brought to the alter by the usher, Kallie’s cousin. The amazing locations of the fields on the farm, Kallie who also does photography knew just the best spots with the most amazing light. I LOVE shooting portraits in a location so beautiful and meaningful for the couple! And of course we had to get a couple of photos with the cows! And the reception all put together with the help of family and friends, Kallie spent the full year collecting unique plates and glasses for each setting at the reception. So Beautiful!
VENDORS
Florist—Flowers at the Inn https://flowersattheinn.com/
Ceremony Venue— North Cape Lutheran Church http://www.northcapelutheran.org/
Reception Venue—Kastenson Farms
Catering and Cake — Hoggin’ Cake https://www.facebook.com/hoggincake/
Dress— Amelishan Bridal https://www.amelishan.com/
Bridesmaids Dresses— David’s Bridal https://www.davidsbridal.com
Groomsmen and Groom attire— Men’s Wearhouse https://www.menswearhouse.com
Invitations— Designed by bride
Vendors:
Venue – Wild Eagle Lodge
Florist – Forth Floral
DJ – Kryptoni DJ Entertainment
Wedding Dress – Maggie Sottero
Tuxes – Generation Tux
Bridesmaid Dresses - David’s Bridal
Caterer – Reuland’s Catering
Paper Goods – Wedding Paper Divas
Cake – Nothing Bundt Cakes
