Chelsea and Nathan met at Winona State University where they both went to college during their junior and senior years. Nathan had caught Chelsea’s eye during intramural basketball and she loved the fact that he worked extremely hard on the court and always seemed to get the “hustle” plays. Nathan and Chelsea are huge sports fanatics, even though Nathan is a Minnesota Vikings fan and Chelsea is a Green Bay Packers fan. (I see some fun conflict in their future.
Chelsea was formally introduced to Nathan in the library by a mutual friend and “matchmaker”. They stayed up late chatting online until 2 a.m. both with finals the next day. One thing that Chelsea instantly fell in love with about Nathan was how their values and vision for the future matched perfectly. It was as if the stars had aligned and neither of them new it yet.
The day Nathan proposed, he arrived home from work early with TWO surprises. While Chelsea was getting ready for Nathan’s parents to come to the house for the evening, Nathan managed to sneak their future puppy INSIDE A BACKPACK and then downstairs.
Chelsea was surprised to see Nathan home early from work but didn’t become suspicious until she heard a high-pitched “yip” coming from their basement. Chelsea had been highly anticipating picking out a dog together, so she thought for sure the surprise was some sort of prank. At the bottom of the stairs, waiting in a kennel was the most adorable yellow lab puppy! Overwhelmed with excitement, Chelsea ran over to the kennel and as quickly as she could scoop up their new puppy. Holding on to Remy and smothering him with kissed, Chelsea turned around to give Nate a huge hug and a thank him only for seeing Nathan down on one knee! A double surprise! An astonished Chelsea said YES and YES!
The rehearsal and Groom’s dinner was held at Pine Peaks with the dinner in the Pavilion. The guest of honor was the father of the bride so a special cup cake was made for him. Family and friends enjoyed a perfect evening.
The outdoor ceremony was held in the garden surrounded by family and friends. The couple was the first to use Pine Peaks new birch arch and decorated it with a fabulous chandelier. The Officiate of the ceremony, Steve Nordyke gave the couple a Lego set with instructions for their marriage. The Legos came with instructions that showed how 3 different structures could be built. He stated that Nathan with his engineering background would likely use the instructions and figure out how to use all of the pieces to their fullest. Chelsea with her teaching background would like the instructions, however, would likely look at the project from an emotional standpoint and suggested that she would build something that made her feel good, and looked good. The suggestion that the same pieces could be used in a multiple of combinations is similar to many situations in a marriage. He challenged the couple to work together to build their future.
Both families came together with a Unity Plant. The parents combined dirt from each of their homes and combined them together into a plant for Chelsea and Nathan. The happy couple said IDO and the celebration began! An outdoor reception was held in the Pavilion with pianist and vocalist Jack De Sousa in the background. Yard games were enjoyed on the perfect summer night.
Clyde from Safe Ride shuffled the bridal party to our lake home a few miles away for photos by the vintage stacked stone gate as well as by the lake. Their photos were fabulous with many different backgrounds at Pine Peak and the lake. Clyde even stopped on the way for a photo op next to a bale of hay!
The dinner was held in the Event Center with Chef Brian of Maucieri’s Catering serving the guests a fabulous buffet of house salad, antipasto, chicken fettuccine and cheese ravioli. Kate later baked pizzas for the guests in the wood fired oven during the dance. Great job Maucieri’s!
Chelsea and Nathan will be traveling to Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) in December for their honeymoon. We at Pine Peaks are so very happy for the newlyweds and wish them a fabulous future of great surprises together! We also challenge you to work to build your future “together”.
– Dave and Julie Peterson