Our Story
- 2015, July 4th: First date at a Grateful Dead concert
- 2015, October: Road trip to Austin, TX
- 2015, Winter: Spent six weeks together in Costa Rica and attended the Costa Rica Fruit Fest
- 2016, Winter: Traveled Guatemala and celebrated the New Year at Cosmic Convergence Festival
- 2017, Summer: Bobby asks Melissa’s parents for their blessing to marry her
- 2017, August 21st: Bobby proposes on a peddle-boat under the eclipse at Rock Cut State Park. The same place they had their first camping date – in Loves Park, IL.
- 2018, August 18th: The love story continues…
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Event Details
Date: 18 August 2018
Ceremony: 4:00 pm
Cocktails: 5:00 pm
Dinner: 6:00 pm
Celebration: 7:00 pm
Predicted Weather
Temperature: 80° High/61° Low
Rain: 20%
Partly Cloudy
Sunset: 7:51pm
Wedding
Gallery
We took a trip to Pennsylvania to visit our friends Marshall and Paula Stitt (bridesmaid). They kindly offered to take these beautiful engagement photos for us!
Accomodations
We have arrangements with several hotels listed below. Also, for the more adventurous, bring a tent and camp with us onsite in our designated wooded camping area! If you plan on camping, please just let us know here.
Radisson
Book by July 17th
Hilton Garden Inn
Book by July 17th
Fairfield Inn & Suites Rockford
Book by July 10th
Days Inn Rockford
Book by August 9th
Please note: Fairfield Inn has released our room block and no longer guarantees price or availability! The price of the Hilton Garden Inn will raise to around $200 after July 17th. After the release date for the Radisson and Days Inn, guests may still book at the discounted rate based on availability – though availability is no longer guaranteed.
Entertainment
We are so excited to celebrate with live music from two of our favorite bands.
Big Wig Mechanic
Big Wig Mechanic got their start on the southside of Chicago in 2007. Quickly after getting together, the upbeat trio gained momentum playing local bars and venues all all over the Chicago area. They built a grassroots following by rocking out packed bars and venues, and battling out to the top of multiple “Battle of the Bands” contests. (Their most recent feat was out of 30 bands)
Their style is a pleasant mix of pop/rock thats is infused with a funky reggae vibe. In a typical show you can expect the staple reggae covers (Marley, Tosh, etc) but also a fresh take on unexpected past covers (think Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy” into Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”).
DJ noDJ
DJ noDJ is a six piece band that formed in 2012 around a structured hour-long Daft Punk set. Through hard work and elaborate instrumentation, they now perform genres spanning House, Dub Step, and Hip-Hop, as well as an assortment of other electronic/non electronic dance music. Their style is similar to a DJ- each song flowing seamlessly into the next. To ensure every performance is as unique as it is intimate, DJ noDJ determines their setlist in real time picking deliberately and spontaneously from their curated repertoire of music.
DJ noDJ brings reimagined renditions of club anthems from artists such as Justice, deadmau5, SBTRKT, and Calvin Harris. Full leading synth lines are topped with modified vocals, samples, a tight rhythm section, and pounding bass creating a multidimensional “DJ set” that will get you on your feet.
Schedule of Events
This may slightly shift, but here’s the best we can estimate for now.
Ceremony: 4:00pm-4:40pm
Cocktails: 4:40pm-5:25pm
Introducing Bridal Party: 5:25pm-5:35pm
Speeches: 5:35pm-6:00pm
Open Dinner: 6:00pm-8:00pm
First Dances: 7:00pm-7:15pm
Big Wig Mechanic: 7:15pm-8:30pm
Sacred Fire Ceremony: 8:30pm-9:00pm
DJ noDJ (Set 1): 9:00pm-10:30pm
Bouquet/Garter Toss: 10:30pm-11:00pm
DJ noDJ (Set 2): 11:00pm-12:30am
Other Tips & Info
Dress Attire: Semi-formal and colorful. Weather and garden appropriate
Please keep the August weather in mind. The wedding’s ceremony and dinner will be held inside a big tent on the lawn, so we recommend flat shoes or small wedges for women. (The bands’ stage, dance floor, and bar area are inside a barnf loor with a smooth concrete floor – so wear shoes that are good for both scenarios). A suit coat and tie are not necessary for men. We want everyone to be comfortable. It’s a party – look good and dress fun! We love color and are planning to have a very festive wedding!! Keep in mind the weather! The current forecast is shown above or by clicking here.
Parking
There will be limited street and lawn parking, but this could fill up quickly due to attendance. If you plan on driving directly here to the wedding site, we do have some parking spots in the backyard. We’ll have someone at the end of the driveway between 3pm and 4pm to guide you into the lot. If you come later than 4pm, than you’ll have to park on the street, so that you don’t disturb the ceremony.
Directions & Transportation
We encourage locals to use ride-sharing services such as Uber/Lyft whenever possible. We are also working on shuttle bus arrangements for those of you staying at the hotels listed above.
Shuttle Bus Schedule
Shuttle buses will pick up guests at our reserved hotels at 2:45PM. The bus is a Chicago Bears-themed bus so keep an eye out for it in the front driveway of your hotel. We do expect a packed bus and maybe a couple trips so make sure your’e there at 2:45PM sharp to ensure we can account for everyone.
The shuttle bus will return guests back to the hotels at 11:00PM and 12:30AM.
+1s
We have worked really hard to create our wedding with our close friends and family. Unless you were told you have a +1, then please respect our wishes and don’t bring any guests or children. We’ll make sure that you’re in good company for the night. Thank you!