Vendor List
Photography | Salvatore Cincotta Photography
Florist | Brides Mother and Grandmother
Ceremony Location | ICD Catholic Church
Reception Location | Whitmoor Country Club
DJ | Mark Wendle
Dress Designer | Vera Wang
//Tell us how you first met?
Joel and I met in college, we were actually first introduced when he was a freshman and I was a sophomore. Unfortunately, at the time I was dating someone else. We would remain cordial friends the next few years, but things didn’t heat up until after I became singe again about three years later. We both had returned to from a semester on co-op at our respective companies, ARCO and Altec. We ran into each other at the bookstore on our first day back. I remember him asking me if I was still seeing my old boyfriend and I had said no. He said we should hang out sometime, so I smiled and agreed. Later that week we ran into each other at a party. He convinced me that I needed a date to my sisters upcoming wedding in a month. I then took the bait and said he was free to join me. There were a few parties and dates in between the invitation and the wedding, but my sister’s rehearsal dinner is considered our first real date. He fit in with my family like he had been there for years… I think in the few short days of our beginning I knew that he would be the one I eventually marry. And he was… just took another five years. 🙂 We met in college which is interesting because we went to a smallish engineering school in Missouri where the guys outnumbered the girls 4 to 1. She was actually dating another guy in my fraternity, which proved to be really awkward later. But it gave me a lot of time to see the best looking girl in school on a regular basis! I was always drawn to Holly for various reasons, and later when she turned out to be single, took a chance and basically invited myself to her sister’s wedding. That turned out to be our first date. Little did I know that a little more than five years later, we would be married!
//When did you know he/she was the one?
It is funny, because I felt like I knew before we even started dating. A year or so before we started officially dating, Joel and I was talking at a party. I remember thinking, maybe I am dating the wrong guy! I also remember thinking to myself… I am glad he is going on co-op like me so maybe we will get a chance to date when we get back. In all honesty, I can’t remember not thinking he was the one. From the moment we started dating, it just felt right. I feel like I knew all along. I knew something was different with Holly from the very beginning. I had dated a fair amount of girls, and something always wasn’t quite right after we “formalized” our relationship. There would be a change in attitude, or behavior, or I would learn about their true values or motives. With Holly, I began to see right away that her beauty was just the beginning, and that there was an incredible personality with robust values, morals and faith behind the surface. I loved her from day one.
//Tell us about the proposal.
The proposal was perfect… however leading up to the proposal wasn’t exactly as perfect. This, as you might have assumed, was a long time coming. We had been dating for 4.5 years at the time. Of course I would bring it up somewhat frequently (ie. All the time!), how I would love to get married… and you know how it goes. Well Joel behind the scenes had been shopping for a ring for months. I had no idea, all I knew was that he was having a hard time finding it. 🙂 Finally one day, the week we were leaving for my family vacation in Gulf Shores, Joel decides he wants to buy a new car. We headed to the dealership and picked our the perfect car, test drove it and finally decided to negotiate the price. By this time Joel was ready to sign papers and get out of there with his new wheels. Once the price was agreed upon, they went in the back to fill out all the paperwork, which can take some time. Joel asked that I head to his car and clear everything out of the trunk and put it in my car. So I did… 🙂 In the back of his car laid a white bag, with a bluish-green bag inside of it. I freaked out! I knew it was something, but couldn’t let Joel know. I packed everything up, pretended as if I never saw the bag, by the way I never looked in it, and put it all in my truck. As I came back in to give Joel’s keys back to him, I could see in his face that he remembered what he put back there and he figured out what he had just made me do. I was trying to play it off and pretend I saw nothing, but he said he could tell how happy I was. I guess I wasn’t so good at hiding my smile. 🙂
Later that week we headed to Alabama for vacation. I figured there was no chance of me getting my ring days after I saw it, so I threw out the idea all together that it was coming that week. Half way through vacation, on a Wednesday, my family all wanted to go to dinner early. I couldn’t figure out why and I was actually annoyed by it, blatantly expressing my annoyance with multiple complaints. Finally we left, dinner was short and we were back before the sun set. Joel asked me if I wanted to test out the new camera he recently had given me, that I never use. I was happy to test it out because I felt bad for never using such a nice gift. So we headed for a walk along the beach and I was taking pictures of everything the signs, the grass and the sand. I finally came up to what looked to be a campfire with branches stacked on top of each other in a pyramid formation. I of course started shooting away as Joel told me how it is probably someone setting up to roast marshmallows. Turns out, it was his marker… There he took the camera from me and set it down on the ground. I knew something was up at that time. He grabbed me and told me all is looking forward to. He said everything a girl would love to hear, then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I think at this time I started screaming and I am pretty sure I jumped back in awe of my beautiful ring. I of course hugged and kissed him and said of course!
The best part was that I found out he had the marker set up because my brother and brother in law were stationed up the hill on a balcony filming the entire proposal. So now I can remember that day for the rest of my life.
//Tell is the one thing you love most about each other.
The list is really endless, but if I have to pick one thing I would have to say I love how Joel loves. He has a heart of gold and doesn’t care about titles or things, he treats everyone as if they are his best friend. He loves unconditionally and he cares more than everyone probably knows. He never thinks bad of anyone and he cherishes his family and friends. Best of all he makes me feel loved every day, like I am the most special person in the world. And… he gives the best hugs!
//If you feel comfortable, share with us something silly or quirky the other person does.
Holly loves to slowly rub her feet together when she’s laying down relaxing on the couch. It’s so funny (to me at least) because I’ll look down at her feet, and every single time those things are slowly moving back and forward. Apparently it feels good!
//Besides getting married – whats the one thing you are looking forward to on your wedding day?
I love forward to walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing Joel for the first time after months of preparation and a full day of getting ready. I can’t wait to say our vows and celebrate the joyous occasion. I’m a fairly traditional guy and it was important to me not to see Holly the day of our wedding until she walked down the aisle. That was what I looked forward to the most, and I’m sure glad I did. She was absolutely gorgeous, the most beautiful I’ve ever seen her in my entire life.