Published on May 7th, 2007.
Viewed 1717 times.
Story rank of 8.
They were excited to be having a winter wedding. Not rain, sleet, nor snow could keep them from having it either!!!
The Story of Jennifer and Matthew’s Wedding
Matthew and Jennifer met for the first time in December of 2003 in the apartment building they shared in Elgin, Illinois. Both of them were employed by the Illinois Department of Transportation based in Schaumburg. Though Matt thought he had formed a great friendship with the “girl next door,” it soon flourished into something different. Matt and Jen started dating in January of 2004. In February however, Matt’s transfer to the Central Office in Springfield, which he had requested well over a year ago, had finally been approved. Matt soon left the big city to pursue his advancing career. Fortunately, Jennifer too was able to request a transfer and moved to the Springfield area in March of 2005. The long distance relationship had paid off and the couple purchased their first home in Rochester, Illinois in October of 2005.
Little did Jennifer know that before they had even purchased the home, Matt had already purchased a diamond for her finger. With the assistance of Matt’s coworker, he created a video montage depicting Jennifer’s childhood, Matt’s childhood and their lives together. Matt presented this video to her for Christmas of 2005 and at the end of the video was the big question, “Will you marry me?”
The planning for the big event began immediately. Matt and Jen are both very organized individuals and were up to the task of planning such a huge party. The couple, at first wanted a fall wedding but was willing to push it back slightly due to the families’ involvement in football. The couple pushed the date back to December 2 and decided to have a winter themed wedding. Little did they know that this would eventually come back to haunt them.
After months of planning the big event, the wedding week was finally upon them. While the temperatures for Monday thru Wednesday of their wedding week were forecasted to be approaching 70, an arctic front was scheduled to move in and a major temperature drop was anticipated for Thursday into Friday. The temperatures did not bother the couple at all as this was supposed to be a winter themed wedding. There was a slight concern when they heard the arctic front might be blowing in the first winter storm of the season. As the day got closer, the meteorologists revised their forecast to say 10-14 inches of snow may be possible. The couple blew it off thinking a couple inches may fall and create a beautiful backdrop to their wedding.
The couple decided to leave Rochester in the morning of Thursday, November 30 as the rain in that part of Illinois was to change over to freezing rain and slight by late morning and early afternoon. Matt and Jen drove straight to the tuxedo shop in Peoria as Matt has never had good luck finding a tuxedo that fit him on the first try. Matt tried on the tux and everything fit perfectly except for the vest which was way too small. The store ordered him another vest and said it would not be delivered until Friday around noon. Later that day Matt’s brother, Jason, went to try his tux on also and the same problem had occurred. They ordered him a new vest and said he could pick it up on Friday.
Matt and Jen proceeded to his parent’s house where they just sat back and relaxed because everything was under control and they were right on schedule. Matt even commented to Jennifer about how relaxed he was and couldn’t wait to see everything come together. However, the forecast seemed to be declining. The sleet and 10-14 inches of snow were still on their way.
Matt’s mom and Jennifer, along with their friend Andrea had an appointment Thursday evening to get their nails done for the wedding. Matt and Jason met up with them and some other friends to have a pre-event dinner to discuss a few final details and just relax. During the dinner however, the sleet moved in. It was a very dry sleet and it wiped right off the cars and they were able to sweep it right off the deck when they got home. Matt starting thinking to himself, “This shouldn’t be too bad.”
Matt and Jennifer both went to bed that evening with the weather weighing heavily on their thoughts. Matt was finally able to fall asleep around 1:00 AM but woke back up at 3:00 AM. He was wide awake and went to check on the snow situation. It had arrived but he wouldn’t know how bad it was until daybreak. Matt sat and watched infomercials for a while until he heard a noise. It was Jennifer. She couldn’t sleep either. The couple had a bad feeling coming over them.
By the time the sun came up, there were several inches of snow on the ground and the wind had picked up. Matt’s brother, Jason, had gotten up early to head to work. He called the house to tell us that the roads were really bad and that we should try to stay home if at all possible. Jen and Matt just sat on the couch and wondered how bad the situation would really get. Would they get the food they needed for the reception? Would any guests be able to attend?
Around 9:00 AM on Friday, December 1 Matt’s cell phone rang. It was his neighbor, Monique. She called to tell us that two of our neighbor’s trees had fallen into our yard and one narrowly missed hitting our house. The tree in the back yard had also pinned our dog Bosco in his kennel. And to top it all off, the entire village was without power. Her husband and boys were in the back yard with a chainsaw trying to free Bosco. Matt and Jen’s neighbors offered to take Bosco to a relative’s house with them so that he could be in a heated garage as his heat lamp would not work without any power.
Jennifer and Matt’s mom starting calling around to the various food vendors as Matt and Jen were to pick up all the food for the reception and get it to their caterer, Wanda. Jen finally got a hold of Wal-Mart who was to provide all of the deli meats and cheese. Thank goodness they were open! Matt’s mom however was having troubles getting a hold of Danner’s who was to provide fresh vegetable and salads. His mom called her cousin who knows the owner of the company. She in turn called the owner to see if they would be open due to the weather. She said they were not open but there were a couple of delivery drivers at the store that would be leaving within the hour. Matt and his father suited up to head out into the elements.
Matt’s first step onto the deck was very startling. The drifts were up to his knees and that was just at the front door. “How bad is it out there” he was wondering to himself. Matt fired up his truck and put it in 4-wheel drive to head down his parent’s steep driveway. When they reached the bottom of the driveway, they encountered another big snow drift. Matt tried to punch through it with his truck but got stuck. Matt and his dad were smart enough to bring a shovel so they hopped out and started digging around the front wheels to free the truck. They were able to get out fairly quickly. Matt kept telling his dad that they should just go back but his dad was persistent that they would be fine. Driving conditions were very difficult as the road did not exist. Matt was aiming between the power poles to keep it on the road. There were vehicles abandoned everywhere. It literally looked like a winter war zone!
While in route to Danner’s Matt’s mom called and asked them to swing by Trefzger’s Bakery to pick up the cake for the rehearsal dinner. That would be their first stop. They were able to blow through the snow drift at the front of the bakery’s parking lot and slit right up to the front door. They had accomplished their first of a hundred tasks for the day!!!
After pulling out of the parking lot they approached a two wheel drive Mazda stuck in a pothole of ice and in the middle of a usually busy intersection. Matt hopped out of his truck to assist the stranded driver. He pushed with all his mite and was exhausted when the car was finally free. Not even two blocks down the street, that car got stuck again but Matt and his dad had no time to stop and help again.
They continued onto Danner’s passing more stranded motorists. They could see Danner’s from a distance but were unable to get to it due to snow drifts. The parking lot across the street had just been cleared so they decided to park in their lot and walk the rest of the way. Little did Matt know that the snow would be up to his knees once again. The two delivery drivers were still there as they could not get their trucks out of the lot. They were extremely nice men and insisted on carrying all of the boxes to Matt’s truck through the drifted snow. Matt was extremely grateful for their help.
Matt and his dad then decided to venture over to the local Wal-Mart to pick up lunch meat, cheese, bread and other items for the reception. Once again, they passed several abandoned vehicles. They had a difficult time getting into the parking lot as semi truck was stranded trying to get out of the lot. Once wiggling their way into the lot, they found out the lot had not been cleared and vehicles were stuck everywhere. A single lane of snow had been cleared all the way up to the store front and back out. Vehicles were simply parking on the sidewalk right in front of the store. Matt and his dad made themselves a parking spot and proceeded in doors.
Matt first went to the deli and all the lights were out. “Had they already sliced the meat and cheese,” he wondered to himself. He tracked down a manager and the manager appeared perplexed. He went in the back and walked through all of the refrigerators. He came out to say that it was not there and he only has 9 employees in the store and didn’t know when he would get someone in that could cut our meat and cheese. Matt and his dad had several other items to get at the store they continued shopping. Just then, Jen called Matt and said the tuxedo shop would only be open for an hour or so and most of the tuxedos were still there. Matt and his dad abandoned their shopping carts and headed to the tuxedo shop.
Upon arrival to the tuxedo shop, the mall appeared to be a ghost town so Matt and his dad parked right up on the sidewalk. When they walked into the tuxedo shop, they gentleman working was conducting surgery on the white vest I had tried on the day before. He told me there was no way the truck would make it with my new vest and my brother’s vest. He let out the seams in the white vest and I tried it on again but with no luck. I then asked if I could try on my brother’s vest even though it was blue. It fit perfectly. If nothing else, I could wear a blue vest. My dad then offered his vest to my brother and then the two fathers would just go with no vests. Another crisis averted!!!
Matt and his dad then had to take the tuxedos somewhere as they were out of room in Matt’s little pick up truck. They headed to Jason’s place of business to put them in his Explorer. Once again, they passed numerous abandoned vehicles and stuck semi trucks. Jason called and asked Matt to bring him some food. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyplace to get any food! Matt and his dad hadn’t even had anything to drink let alone food. They dropped off the tuxes and headed back to Wal-Mart.
Upon arriving back at Wal-Mart, the semi was still there and the parking lot had still not been cleared. They first checked the deli and the lights were still out. Matt’s mom called and came up with an alternative to going to the restaurant she had reserved for the rehearsal dinner. Obviously, the roads were too bad for everyone to drive clear to Lacon for Matt’s favorite restaurant. A phone call to the restaurant also unveiled the fact that two of their three furnaces in their dining areas had failed and the only one operating was in the room we had reserved. They were willing to open the restaurant just for us but my mom thanked them and said they should use it for their other guests. She instead had Matt and his dad pick up several frozen lasagnas, garlic bread and salad. Matt picked up 20 loaves of bread for the reception as well as other items. While shopping he received a phone call from Jen’s mom. The minivan had broken down!!! What else could go wrong??? He told her to call her husband who was coming down from Dixon later in the day. They continued shopping and then had to get creative while packing all of the groceries in the truck.
They continued to take the food to Wanda’s church where she was going to prepare the food for the reception as well as the food for the rehearsal dinner. This was also the location of a number of items purchased about a month before the event and taken here for storage. Unfortunately, the parking lot for the church was drifted over and nobody was going to be able to get in. They ended up taking the all of the food to Wanda’s house for the evening and she would prepare as much as she could at her house.
Matt and his dad then headed toward the church for rehearsal. Matt’s cell phone once again rang and of coarse it was bad news. Matt’s mom and Jennifer were stuck in the driveway at home. Matt and his dad proceeded to the house but just as they arrived, 2 police and an off duty fire fighter stopped to pull them out of the driveway and onto the snow covered road.
Everyone, except for the best man who could not get off of Route 6 because of snow covered ramps, and Jennifer’s mom who was still with the broken down mini-van headed toward the church for rehearsal. Jennifer’s father and two daughters had made it and her father was still working on a plan to get the van towed.
The rehearsal started and Matt realized that he was standing at the altar in his snow covered work boots and jeans that were wet up to the knees. He was miserable but could see that no matter what, they were going to get married. That’s all that was really important to them. It was finally time to go to the Dean’s house and sit back and relax for a little while and laugh about their day. Everyone left the church and Matt and Jen just sat in the parking lot to let out a well deserved cry. The emotions had finally had a chance to drain from them. They discussed how they might not have the food, atmosphere, or party they were looking for, but they will have their families and close friends to celebrate their big day with.
The couple headed over to their friend’s house for dinner but ran into a traffic jam when heading down the street in front of their house. Their road had not been plowed and Matt’s father’s truck had lost its 4-wheel drive and gotten stuck. After several phone calls, they were all told to drive to the local strip mall and Duane would shuttle everyone to the house.
The house was full of friends and family and decorated in an Illinois motif which is what Matt’s mom had planned to decorate the restaurant in as Matt is a graduate of the University of Illinois. Shortly after arriving at the house, Wanda and Michael, Matt’s family friends her were doing the catering for the reception, showed up with enough lasagna, garlic bread, salad and cheese cake to fill an entire army, which was good because several of the people at the party had not had anything to eat the entire day. After dinner, everyone was sitting around and the front door opened. It was Jennifer’s mom who had been stranded for ours in her broken down van. Jen ran to her and gave her a huge hug and they both shed tears. Matt was next in line as her mom hugged everyone in the room, even those she didn’t know. They were all elated to see her safe. While sitting around chatting with friends and reflecting on the difficult day, Matt’s cell phone rang. It was his best friend all throughout grade school and high school calling from overseas to wish him and Jennifer the best of luck in their future lives together. It was quite a gesture for someone in his position to call from a place in which he may be in harms way to wish the couple best of luck. It really put things in perspective for Matt. At that moment, he realized that everything he, his family, and friends had gone through was only possible because individuals like his good friend Brett were willing to give them those freedoms. The party continued until Matt’s mom gathered everyone for a toast to the couple and a thank you to everyone for all of their hard work to making their special day come true. Jennifer and Matt then thanked everyone with a small gift of appreciation before Duane started shuttling everyone back to their vehicle. It was off to the hotel for some.
Matt and Jennifer led a fleet of three vehicles to the Springhill Suites in Peoria for a much deserved rest. They were still dodging abandoned vehicles and stuck semi trucks on their drive into the city. Upon arriving at the hotel, Jen went in to check into her room which would become “their” room the following evening. She was then told that the cleaning crew had not shown up due to the weather and that the King Suite she had requested many months ago was not available. She was given a room with two double beds instead. After unloading the vehicle, Matt, Nate (Best Man), Jen’s dad and Kory Lindsey’s {Jen’s sister} boyfriend) went to park the cars. The lot had not been plowed so the men had to shovel out their own parking spots. The time was 11:30 PM by the time all the vehicles had been parked.
Matt then went up to Jen’s room and asked her sisters if he could just have five minutes alone with her. They just sat and reflected on the days events, shed a few more tears, and laughed a little. It was then time for Matt to say good night to his bride and the next time he would see her was at the altar.
Matt went back to Nate’s room and kicked off his boots for the first time since 9:00 that morning. He was exhausted and happy to be sitting in a comfortable chair talking with his good buddy from college. The two talked into the morning hours and finally decided to lay down for a well deserved rest.
Matt was able to get in about five hours of sleep that night and was wide awake by 6:30 AM the day of his wedding. He had the bed next to the window and rolled over to draw open the curtain. The sun had reached the horizon and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. He thought to himself, “This is going to be a beautiful day.” Nate woke up 30 minutes later and Matt just looked at him and smiled. Nate asked what that was for and he replied, “It’s going to be a beautiful day!”
Unfortunately, there was still a lot to be done by Matt and Jen’s families and friends. And of coarse the phone had to start ringing by 7:00 AM. The first call Matt received was from his bride Jennifer. A good friend of the couple and the son of Wanda, who was doing the catering for the couple, is the night time manager at Wal-Mart and was determined to find someone to slice the couple’s meat and cheese and that he did. Wal-Mart called Jennifer bright and early to say the lunch meat and cheese was all cut and ready to be picked up. The only problem is, it had to be picked up immediately because the store was not opening as the weight of the snow on the roof was causing roof beams to buckle. Friends of the family came through once again. Crisis averted!
The phone rang again and it was Jennifer. She called to tell him that the photographer has the flu and would not be able to make it to the wedding. Fortunately, the photographer’s husband and good friends are also photographers and had been enlisted to cover for her. To Jen’s surprise, there was a photographer at her hotel room at 8:00 AM that morning to take photos of her and her sisters having their hair done. Another hurdle had been taken in stride. The hair dresser, a good friend of Matt’s family, had also made it to the hotel right on time.
Things were looking up until the next phone call came in. Jennifer had gotten word that the reception hall parking lot had not been cleared and would not be cleared in time for the reception due to the snow plow driver’s vehicle breaking down. Their friends whom were there to decorate used 4-wheel drive vehicles to get into the parking lot to begin decorating. All of the decorations and food had to be shuttle from the street to the door via 4-wheel drive vehicles. Matt called his father and offered $100 to anyone who could just clear out part of the parking lot. Matt’s father made several phone calls and by 12:00 the entire lot had been cleared better than any other lot in the entire city. The reception hall had gotten word from Matt’s father that the lot had better be cleared or they would have some very unhappy individuals on their hands. Crisis averted!!!
A couple of minor issues also came up during the preparation for the reception. There were a number of items at Matt’s mom and dad’s house which needed to get to the reception hall but they were now impossible to get to as their driveway is extremely steep and completely snow packed with a layer of ice underneath. Solution…Duane hiked up the hill and got the Rubbermaid totes from the house and slid them down the driveway to Matt’s father who was waiting to put them in the truck below. One other minor detail which was kept secret for some time was the presence of a bug in one of the bags of lunchmeat. No need to go into detail.
One more phone call from Matt’s dad brought some humor to the situation. Andrea Dean was trying to get a hold of the company that was supposed to provide the all ready paid for linens for the reception. The linens were supposed to have been picked up on Friday but were not because they did not open. The individual Andrea spoke to said the linens could not be picked up until noon because it was impossible to get into the parking lot. Andrea called Matt’s mom who in turn told Andrea to put Michelle Carrothers (another family friend) on the situation. After a very “persuasive” phone call from Michelle, the linens were made available immediately. The last crisis averted! NO!
Shortly before the wedding photos were scheduled to begin, the groom was notified that the map sent out in all of the invitations showing individuals how to get from the church to the reception showed a road which was drifted over by snow. Matt kicked it into high gear and put those drafting skills to work at the back of the church. He drew a revised map and had the church make 80 copies to be handed out with the programs.
One last phone call came in from the Morrill. They are another set of good friends that had volunteered to decorate the reception hall. The snowflake lights the couple wanted at the head table did not work. “Throw them away!” Matt chuckled. That was his easiest decision all day.
As the guests began to arrive and Matt quietly waited in the hall next to the sanctuary, a calm came over him. “This is it.” He thought to himself. From that point on, the day was absolutely perfect.
The couple was excited to see that so many family and friends had come from so far away given the weather conditions.
When they stepped into the reception hall, tears of joy slipped down there cheeks as every single minute detail (minus the ice cycle lights) was in place. It was time to party and they were going to let it all hang out. That they did!!!
The couple would like to thank both their families for all they did to make their special day a reality and all their friends for whom without them, it would not have happened.
Matthew and Jennifer Sunderland
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