John was married for 25 years to a wonderful woman who passed away. He was lonely and was doing the Lonely-man-hanging-out-at-the-bar thing at Harpo’s in Merrifield. Dianna was recently divorced and had never heard of Harpo’s but was muscled into going out with a friend that night. She sat down at the bar and ordered a scotch on the rocks. John leaned over and said, “I’ve never seen a girl order a scotch before!” Dianna told him “I didn’t order it to impress you”. From that point on they talked the whole night. They discovered they had many of the same interests. Their first date was magic, and they were hooked on each other ever since.
Dianna thought John was a kind, sweet person. However, convincing her daughter, Shayna that dating again was a good idea, was a whole other story. Shayna swore that John was a serial killer and buried bodies in the observatory in his front yard. After a lot of patience and spoiling her, she finally turned the corner on John and now they are besties. She has completely accepted him and loves him as much as Dianna does. John still teases her that he is a cereal killer when he dumps a box of stale cereal in the garbage.
Dianna and John had a lot of fun while they were dating. They went on trips, went camping, geocaching, skiing, and kayaking. One of their favorite things to do was grab some refreshments and head to a state park. It was during one of these state park visits that they decided they wanted to live in the area on a lake versus moving to the cities. It was during one of these trips to Crow Wing State Park on April 18, 2015, that Dianna found a geocache with a lovely diamond ring in it. After she had found it, John tried to get on one knee to propose and wound up tripping on a stick and falling on both knees. No knees were seriously injured, so John was able to pull off the proposal perfectly on both knees! SHE SAID YES!!
After the proposal, they had several stressful months with every life event you could imagine. John put his house up for sale; Dianna moved into John’s house with Shayna, Dianna’s mom moved in, Dianna switched jobs and started a master’s degree program. They bought a house in Crosslake on the lake, moved into that house (mom came with), sold the other house, saw Shayna off to college and started planning a wedding!
Pine Peak’s had everything Dianna and John needed to through the party of the century for their family and friends and to have them all witness the joy of their marriage. They chose a regal head table setting for the reception which allowed their closest friends and family to celebrate together in the center of the room. It was the coming together of their two families. They used all Pine Peak’s decorations and turned the space into a winter wonderland.
The day was crisp, but love was in the air. A few of the wedding party, including the bride and groom, enjoyed the wood-fired sauna on Saturday morning. Then Diana and her entourage got ready in the salon in the bridal suite. Captivating Beauty pampered the bride and quickly transformed her into a glowing bride.
For the candle lit ceremony, Dianna’s choir stood in the gateway between the pavilion and the dining room. After the personal vows and rings had been exchanged, the choir filled the room with joyful music. Candles were lit from guest to guest first, and then the flame was shared with the couple to light their unity candle. Then the party began!
Wes and Tony of Maucieri’s Bar greeted the guests in the fireside room. Doug Taylor of Action Entertainment proved horse and sleigh rides around Pine Peak’s Country Estate.
Kate and Chef Brian and the great team of Maucieri’s Catering rocked the wedding feast! For dessert, Maucieri’s served warm bread pudding! Yum! The guests are still raving over this fabulous meal.
Dianna and John took dance lessons and for their first dance to the delight of the guests, the newlyweds transformed into a romantic “Dancing with the Star’s” hot couple were they danced the tango!
Later in the evening, Kate of Maucieri’s baked fresh pizzas in Pine Peak’s very own Mugnaini Wood Fired Oven.
We at Pine Peak’s Event Center were honored to host the beautiful wedding and celebration of Dianna and John. We wish you the best of luck and love in your lives as husband and wife. And yes, Dianna and John, it is fair to be this happy! We are so glad you found each other!
Please enjoy Julie’s photos.
Dave and Julie Nyland Peterson
