25 September, 2018 LGBT WEDDING MERCER, WI
MEET BETH AND KAYLA!
How long have you been together?
2 years
Tell us a little bit about what you both spend a majority of your time doing.
We live in the country on a cute little hobby farm in Mindoro, Wisconsin. If we are not tending to our farm, we are either drinking coffee on our porch, out on an awesome adventure or sitting by a fire under the stars with a good beer.
What is the first thing you remember about the other when you first met?
Kayla: Bethie and I matched on Tinder, after I took a hiatus from the dating app. I was reluctant to put my heart out there, so when I saw this doe-eyed, innocent looking girl, I knew it’d be safe to take a chance. I “super liked” her profile and we chatted a little while until she asked me out to lunch. * After she complimented the landscaping at my work like a weirdo*…Pretty sure lunch was to make up for her acko-taco comment. We met at a coffee/wine shop near my work & I was anxious to meet her! As I approached the front door of Java Vino, i awkwardly held out my hand, wore a goofy grin and said “Hi, nice to meet you.” I remember Beth looking WAY hotter in person so..pretty sure I was nerding out the entire time.
Beth: Obviously I remember our first date vividly. She gave a goofy introductory handshake and wore a casual striped t-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers. Her hair was cute, curled and short. She pulled off the bad-ass cool-chick vibe pretty well. I thought she was way out of my league. I even told my sister she was not my type, mostly cause I didn’t think I was cool enough for her. My sister convinced me to take a chance. One week later I invited her out to my hobby farm, where she proceeded to say, “I’m going to make you a married women some day!” My gut reaction I thought in my head was, “You don’t even know. Who is this chick?” Really thinking, “Oh boy, she’s cool and ballsy!’ There was a curiosity that drew me to her. She was like no one I’d ever met before.
How did the proposal go down?
I took Beth to Java Vino for her birthday dinner with my son, Landon, sat at the exact table where we had our first date, got down on my knee with Landon at my side and asked her if she’d marry us. I had a good friend photograph our special moment secretly from a few tables away. Although we were only 6 months into our relationship, I KNEW I wanted to spend every adventure with her and to raise a family together.
Was there a memory from your wedding that sticks out more than others?
(Beth): After seamlessly taking pictures at my favorite fishing hole, “the rapids”, located in the middle of a river, we get stuck on a rock with the row boat that got us there. After my many attempts to get out with my dress hiked up above my knees, my parents came to the rescue wading across the river in their wedding attire. We were late to our reception, but were left with a great story.
(Kayla): Near the end of the reception, a few young girls who were working so hard to make our night perfect, came up to us and asked for our photo. One girl shared that in their home country, they were still fighting for marriage equality and our wedding was her first time seeing love in it’s beautiful natural state. Her sweet words brought a tear to my eye, and I knew how much of a blessing it was having the freedom to marry!
What is one piece of advice that you would give to other couples planning their wedding?
Excel spreadsheets are your best friend! (Beth is a planner!! And for that, I’m so thankful because no detail was missed and our wedding was perfectly how we wanted it to be.)
If you could change one thing about your wedding what would it be?
That we could relive it, each and every day. To us, our wedding including the entire weekend was perfect.
Why did you choose the wedding location you did?
(Beth): Mercer is where my grandmother’s cottage is located. Her father who immigrated from Italy, settled his family in Iron County and built the cottage after finding the land in Mercer. It was my second home growing up and has been a favorite family vacation spot ever since.
Did you run into any issues with vendors who were not gay friendly?
No. We were pleasantly surprised that none of the vendors had any issues. I think we were more worried of it happening, then we actually had to be for being a smaller town in Northern Wisconsin. We even were pleasantly surprised at the community. Getting all the waves and congratulations from people in kayaks on the water at the ceremony and when we ventured into town.
Top 3 things that make a marriage last?
Communication, honesty and unconditional love. Wait can I pick 4? I also pick “sense of adventure” (kayla)
What do you think makes it hard about planning a wedding without the support of your family?
The additional stress of why they choose not to support you in that special moment can simply break a persons heart. Especially when they support you as a couple in everyday life, but cannot support the union, makes you think more of how you use the word support. As open minded individuals, we want to share special days with the ones we love and are in our lives, so it is hard to understand why they choose to not be involved with the wedding.
Why’d you choose Steph to document your wedding day?
Because Kayla was obsessed with her work within the LGBT community and loved her as a photographer.
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