2012 Wedding Guide

January 16, 2012 Special Section

OLMSTED COUNTY

January 18, 2012 Special Section

The Creamery Pizza & Ice CreamRushford, MN ~ 507-864-7214

www.thecreamery.comGreat for Rehearsal Dinners

Seats up to 100

Harmony FoodsPreston Foods

Rushford FoodsHarmony, MN 507-886-2225Preston, MN 507-765-2465

Rushford, MN 507-864-2878We make it to your order

Lanesboro Community

Memorial CenterLanesboro, MN ~ 507-467-3722

“The best dance floor in SE MN!”

Catering & Receptions

Studio-A-PhotographyPreston, MN ~ 507-251-6372 www.studio-A-photography

Exquisite photos without the extravagant price

PhotographyPeterson Creative

Photography & DesignLanesboro, MN ~ 507-421-9906www.petersoncreativephoto.com

Capturing the beautiful moments of your life

Crown Trout JewelersLanesboro, MN ~ 888-750-9294

www.crowntrout.comMaster Craftsman of Wedding

Engagement Jewlery

Jewelers

Buster’s Country Meats & Catering

Spring Valley, MN ~ 800-660-MEATwww.odyscountrymeats.com

Exceptional Food and Service

The Old Barn ResortPreston, MN ~ 1-800-552-2512

www.barnresort.comCateringto your needs

Weddings & Special Events

Cathy’s CateringPine Island, MN

507-356-8735Your Outdoor Wedding

Recption Specialists

First Southeast BankCanton, MN ~ 507-743-5977

Harmony, MN ~ 507-886-6922www.firstsoutheastbank.com

Quality Service with a Personal Touch

Financial

Black Tie Casino, Inc.Austin, MN ~ 507-437-9168

www.blacktiecasinoparties.com Photo Booth & Party Entertainment

Entertainment

Outback EntertainmentSound and Light Production

Houston, MN ~ 507-896-5550www.outbackentertainment.net

Mabel Community CenterMabel, MN ~ 507-493-5299

“Seats up to 350 people”

2012 Cresco Wedding & Event Expo

Sunday, February 19 • 12:30 to 4:30pmHoward County Expo Center

Cresco, IA ~ 563-547-2025

Expo

MestadsRochester, MN ~ Mestads.com

Bridal, Tux, Formal Wear, Prom

Formal Wear

Services & GiftsTorgerson’s Paint &

Floor Coverings, Inc.Harmony, MN ~ 507-886-4257

Caledonia, MN ~ 507-725-3443Complete flooring service for your new home

Ravissant Salon & SpaRochester, MN ~ 507-282-2530

www.ravissantrochester.com Let us take care of your beauty needs

Chatfield FloralChatfield, MN ~ 507-867-3803

Free Consultation, Free Throw Bouquet

Florist

Cap N CorkWine & Spirits

Rochester, MN ~ 507-206-3691www.capncorkspirits.com

Wines, Champagnes, Spirts & Beer

Bob’s Smoke Stack Ribs

Rochester, MN ~ 507-280-5887Award winning

BBQ & Catering

Week of January 16, 2012 FILLMORE COUNTY JOURNAL & OLMSTED COUNTY JOURNAL

See FOUR WEDDINGS Page 4

Capturing the Beautiful Moments of your Life

Peterson CreativePhotography & Design

507-421-9906 www.petersoncreativephoto.comfacebook.com/petersoncreative Lanesboro, MN

Sunday, February 19th

12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at theHoward County Expo Center

Howard County Fairgrounds - Cresco, Iowa

GOWN EXCHANGEPurCHAsE & sEll GENtly WOrN GOWNs

PURCHASE the gown of your dreams!

•AreA Vendors oFFerInG speCIAl prICes,CAsH & CArrY prodUCTs & door prIzes And

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HUGE GRAND PRIZE FINALEWedding, prom and other event packages to be

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For more information or to reserve a booth call:563-547-2025 Fax: 563-547-3831 or email: [email protected]

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SHOW & SELL your gown to people looking to purchase.Gowns must be dry-cleaned & in excellent condition.

Only a $5 sellers fee per consigned gown will go to Cresco American Legion & VFWPost 4561. (The Cresco Shopper is not responsible for damage or theft.)

Watch future issues of The Cresco Shopper for pre-event consignment dates & times. To consign your gown contact Hillary Klimesh at 563-547-2025

Every girl has a beautiful gown they’ve worn only once...

Wedding, Bridesmaids, Flower Girls, Mothers, Prom, First Communion, Evening& All Formal Gowns. Gowns will be dry-cleaned & in excellent condition.

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reunion, corporate event or other special occasion...make plans to attend the area’s best Wedding & Event Expo!

To participate as a vendor the deadline is February 8th

By Rachel [email protected] Yeng Her and Padao Yang of Rochester were married in March of 2011 at the Her home in Madison, WI. They were also married in June of 2011 at the Her home in Madison, WI. And again in August of 2011 at the Knights of Columbus Banquet Hall in Madison, WI. And, one last time in October at the Yang home in La Crosse, WI. The complicated circumstanc-es that generated not one, but four separate wedding ceremo-nies is nothing in comparison to the complicated circumstances that brought the happy newly-weds together in 2011. Both Yeng and Padao come from Hmong families. After the end of the Vietnam War in the late 1970s, Yeng’s parents fled to Thailand to escape genocide that continues to this day against the Hmong hiding in the jungles of Laos and Vietnam. They were married in the refugee camp, and Yeng was born in 1984. Yeng and Padao were both born in this refugee camp on the border of Laos and Thailand, Ban Vinai. The camp held near-

ly 40,000 refugees in the 1980s and early ‘90s. Yeng lived in the camp for ten years, Padao for three, but while they shared the same surroundings, they never once met. The refugee camp was over-crowded with inadequate sanita-tion and a poor school system. Refugees relied on food dona-tions from the United Nations and were dependent upon the Thai government for everything else. It is no less a miracle that children born into these condi-tions would strive to hold profes-sions among the academic elite later in life: Yeng as a MD/PhD candidate at Mayo Clinic Col-lege of Medicine, and Padao as an RN serving St. Marys Hospi-tal. “My parents have always been big into education. In the camp, when I was four, my parents made me learn my multiplica-tion tables, and they paid for some tutoring for me in English and Chinese, so I got a head start,” Yeng said. “His family was smart, because they only had four kids. My fam-ily had ten!” said Padao. Because of the poverty and sordid living

conditions, having more chil-dren meant having to feed more people on what was already a sparse supply. Yeng’s family was able to move to the United States with finan-cial support sent by relatives living abroad. They moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. Padao’s family moved to the States in 1988. They arrived in Duluth, Minnesota, and eventu-ally relocated to La Crosse, WI. Yeng and Padao’s first fated encounter was in 2003 at the University of Wisconsin-Madi-son. Yeng was a sophomore, and Padao was a freshman. They met at the beginning of the year through mutual friends, and again at the student organization fair where Yeng recruited students for the Hmong American Stu-dent Association (HASA). Yeng volunteered to escort Padao and her group of friends to a house party for Hmong students. A month later, they were dat-ing. The majority of their dates, they admitted, were study dates. Both had high aspirations for themselves and they encouraged

Four weddings for one marriage- a Hmong couple in Rochester vow their love

The Creamery Pizza & Ice CreamRushford, MN ~ 507-864-7214

www.thecreamery.comGreat for Rehearsal Dinners

Seats up to 100

Harmony FoodsPreston Foods

Rushford FoodsHarmony, MN 507-886-2225Preston, MN 507-765-2465

Rushford, MN 507-864-2878We make it to your order

Lanesboro Community

Memorial CenterLanesboro, MN ~ 507-467-3722

“The best dance floor in SE MN!”

Catering & Receptions

Studio-A-PhotographyPreston, MN ~ 507-251-6372 www.studio-A-photography

Exquisite photos without the extravagant price

PhotographyPeterson Creative

Photography & DesignLanesboro, MN ~ 507-421-9906www.petersoncreativephoto.com

Capturing the beautiful moments of your life

Crown Trout JewelersLanesboro, MN ~ 888-750-9294

www.crowntrout.comMaster Craftsman of Wedding

Engagement Jewlery

Jewelers

Buster’s Country Meats & Catering

Spring Valley, MN ~ 800-660-MEATwww.odyscountrymeats.com

Exceptional Food and Service

The Old Barn ResortPreston, MN ~ 1-800-552-2512

www.barnresort.comCateringto your needs

Weddings & Special Events

Cathy’s CateringPine Island, MN

507-356-8735Your Outdoor Wedding

Recption Specialists

First Southeast BankCanton, MN ~ 507-743-5977

Harmony, MN ~ 507-886-6922www.firstsoutheastbank.com


Financial

Black Tie Casino, Inc.Austin, MN ~ 507-437-9168

www.blacktiecasinoparties.com Photo Booth & Party Entertainment

Entertainment

Outback EntertainmentSound and Light Production

Houston, MN ~ 507-896-5550www.outbackentertainment.net

Mabel Community CenterMabel, MN ~ 507-493-5299

“Seats up to 350 people”


Sunday, February 19 • 12:30 to 4:30pmHoward County Expo Center

Cresco, IA ~ 563-547-2025

Expo

MestadsRochester, MN ~ Mestads.com

Bridal, Tux, Formal Wear, Prom

Formal Wear

Services & GiftsTorgerson’s Paint &

Floor Coverings, Inc.Harmony, MN ~ 507-886-4257

Caledonia, MN ~ 507-725-3443Complete flooring service for your new home

Ravissant Salon & SpaRochester, MN ~ 507-282-2530

www.ravissantrochester.com Let us take care of your beauty needs

Chatfield FloralChatfield, MN ~ 507-867-3803

Free Consultation, Free Throw Bouquet

Florist

Cap N CorkWine & Spirits

Rochester, MN ~ 507-206-3691www.capncorkspirits.com

Wines, Champagnes, Spirts & Beer


Rochester, MN ~ 507-280-5887Award winning

BBQ & Catering

Yeng Her and Padao Yang had both traditional Hmong ceremo-nies and Catholic ceremonies to celebrate their marriage.

FILLMORE COUNTY JOURNAL & OLMSTED COUNTY JOURNAL Week of January 16, 2012


FOUR WEDDINGSContinued from Page 3

one another in scholarship. The Memorial Library was the lair of their romance over the next four years. After his graduation in 2007, Yeng moved to Rochester, MN to pursue research training at Mayo Clinic. Padao stayed behind in Madison to begin nursing school. Yeng visited her almost every weekend for a year and a half, and then he pro-posed to Padao on her birthday, December 18, 2008. “He said, ‘I wanted you to remember when I proposed to you, so that’s why I proposed to you on your birthday,’” Padao remembered. They laughed shar-ing the story of the night Padao found the ring while snooping for her birthday present in Yeng’s Walmart bag. “You should have left it in the trunk of your car, you know I’m bad about surprises!” Padao teased. In retrospect, the proposal was the easy part. What remained to be negotiated was how to inte-grate Padao’s vision for a Catho-lic wedding with Yeng’s and both of their families’ expectations for

a traditional Hmong wedding. And it would be two years before they had raised enough money themselves to afford the cost of the wedding ceremonies. Padao was raised Catholic, and although she was not a mem-ber of any particular parish, she wanted to have their wedding officiated by a Catholic priest. She approached several churches with this intent and met much resistance. Yeng and Padao were told that they had to join a par-ish if they wanted to have their wedding in a Catholic church, and so they began the process of membership and marriage coun-seling with the priest of a Catho-lic church in Rochester. Four months before their pro-posed wedding date, they were told that the church required a process that would take more than a year to complete because Yeng was not Catholic. At the same time, Padao’s father was converting back to his tradition-al Hmong religion, and because of this the priest expressed fur-ther reluctance to support their wedding. “It would take more time than we could afford, so we decided to do a civil union instead. We

Padao and Yeng dressed in traditional Hmong clothing for two of their ceremonies. Photo submitted



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had a Hmong Catholic commu-nity leader hold a prayer service on our August wedding day,” Padao explained. Regarding the Hmong tradi-tional wedding, the process to arrange those ceremonies began in March of 2011 with a rite of “separation.” “We officially got married in March. For a Hmong traditional wedding, I have to take her home and announce to my parents that I want to marry her. And then they ask her ‘Do you really want to marry him?’ And if she says, ‘Yes,’ then my dad, on that day, must send two messengers to her house in La Crosse to talk to her parents to see if they will allow her to marry me,” Yeng explained. “So the messengers went to her parents’ place, talked to her dad. And then her dad called and talked to my dad and then me to make sure we weren’t fooling around. After that he said, ‘Yeah, I’ll give you my daughter.’”


That was the official start to the Hmong marriage. Follow-ing that, there would have to be two more celebrations. The first wedding feast was planned for June of 2011, after Yeng had passed the first step of his medical school boards, and after Padao had recovered from a hip surgery in April. In addition to the full plate most brides strug-gle to manage, Padao also had to relearn how to walk. Padao was on crutches at the first wedding feast which tradi-tionally takes place at the groom’s parents’ house in Madison. “During that time, we had to find two people to negotiate, the mei koob. I had to designate a best man to bow with me and we had to find a cousin to escort Padao, a position regarded simi-lar to the maid of honor, at the next ceremony, which would be in October. At the June celebra-tion we had to formally ask these relatives to perform their roles,” Yeng said. While making plans for the second and final Hmong wed-ding feast that would take place

in October of 2011, despite the setbacks in Padao’s vision for a Catholic wedding, in August Yeng and Padao held a tradi-tional American ceremony at the Knights of Columbus Banquet Hall in Madison. Three hun-dred twenty-five guests were in attendance. This wedding had all the features of typical Ameri-can weddings: five bridesmaids and groomsmen, a tiered cake, a wedding ceremony and recep-tion with dancing, Padao wore an ivory dress with a pink and green sash, and Yeng wore a chocolate brown tuxedo (pic-tured). But again, things were not as straightforward as they had hoped. They were not aware of the bureaucratic procedures required for submitting docu-mentation, and as such, were not able to actually sign the marriage license as they had hoped at the August ceremony. They eventu-ally signed the marriage license in October of 2011, commemo-rating the occasion with a nice dinner out with the friends who agreed to be their witnesses. Shortly thereafter, Yeng and Padao held the last ceremony to finalize their marriage. The final Hmong celebration began in Madison at the Her household, from which the bridal party departed for La Crosse where at the Yang household the families would negotiate Padao’s “bride price.” The bride price is similar to a dowry. Historically, the bride price was calculated as a percent-age of the bride’s family’s assets. However, in recent years, the bride price has become a fixed amount— $5,000. The money is paid to the bride’s family on the eve of the final gathering, to help defray costs of the ceremony. Padao joked, “Yeah, I am worth way more than $5,000. I have a pretty good job, and a col-lege education. If we were doing this back then, I would be worth a lot more.” Both said that the bride price tradition in the current era is under much debate, and Padao wonders if the tradition will one day extinguish. Yeng felt it was important to uphold the prac-tice.

“So we got there and paid everything Friday night, had to get up super early on Saturday morning to help prepare the food [roast pig, salad, shrimp, Laab, tripe, and absolutely no peppers, considered to be bad luck at weddings] and then we were just eating and drinking all day until three o’clock. And then, before we left,” Yeng laughed, “I had to bow to all her relatives. And that took a long time.” Yeng and his best man had to bow twice to every member of

Padao’s family to pay respects. “I was hurting. My knuckles and knees were bruised. I bowed over fifty times,” he looked with loving accusation at Padao. “You have a big family, like ten kids, and even they have kids!” While doing so, traditionally, Padao’s family members were supposed to offer him drinks (beer). “At weddings of more tradi-tional families, I would have



to drink until I could no lon-ger walk. But Padao’s family was more liberal. So they didn’t make me drink too much.” In La Crosse, Yeng and Padao were wearing the traditional Hmong clothes of Yeng’s father’s Hmong family, and when they left to travel back to Madison that night, they changed into the Hmong clothes that rep-resented Padao’s father’s fam-ily (pictured). This symbolically marked the joining of the two families, and the clothes them-selves were customary gifts for the wedding couple.

They arrived back in Madison around 7:00 p.m. where they were received by Yeng’s fam-ily with a traditional welcoming reception. They then proceeded to eat and drink and celebrate into the night, retiring finally at three in the morning. “That was final celebra-tion,” Yeng smiled. “And that was when a lot of my friends and cousins were trying to get me drunk. They were like, ‘uh, you’re still standing? And it’s your wedding!? You’re going down tonight!’” Yeng and Padao waited three months before scheduling their honeymoon, now set for mid-January in Maui, Hawaii. They

have not yet decided which month they will choose to cel-ebrate their anniversary. Marriage was not so much an occasion for Yeng and Padao as it was a season. Eight months, four celebrations, and seven cos-tumes later, Yeng Her, son of Mr. Chong Lor Her and Mrs. Yia Vang, and Padao Yang, daughter of Mr. Boua Neng Yang and Mrs. Yer Cha Yang, were finally married. “It was so hard to get mar-ried,” Padao reflected. “You have to really want to get married to go through all of this. It was well worth it, but I’m happy it’s done with!” As important as it was to both of them to preserve the Hmong traditions of their ancestors, they were doubtful that their own children one day would go through the same process for their weddings. They envisioned a “more streamlined process” for future Hmong generations. Padao posited, “Honestly I don’t know if our generation will know enough of Hmong culture wedding rites to even conduct a proper wedding. I think that most people would feel what we did was too long and they will try to make it shorter.”

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By Jade Wangen [email protected] Amy Grem met Michael Chamberlain almost ten years ago, and they have been together, off and on, ever since. In Novem-ber of 2010, Michael popped the question in a very public way. “He arranged it so that after the comedy show we were at, I would be called on stage, and he proposed to me there,” said Amy. Amy was very surprised, and very happy. Amy grew up in Spring Valley, and this is where they decided to get married. They tied the knot at Faith United Methodist Church on October 8, 2011. “It was an unseasonable 80-degree day,” shared Amy. “We weren’t expecting that in October, but it was beautiful, sunshiny, with a bit of a breeze.” Michael grew up in the Twin Cities area, but was born in Kentucky. The couple is now living in Inver Grove Heights. Amy works for the State of Min-nesota in the Department of Corrections, and Mike works for a construction business. The couple had a beautiful wedding day, and everything

A warm October wedding for the Chamberlains

went as planned, but it wasn’t easy planning for it.

“It was fairly chaotic,” Amy said. Amy worked full time, and she was participating in a lead-ership program at work while she was trying to plan a wed-ding. It was a very busy year for the couple, and Amy didn’t have to do it all alone. She said Michael was very helpful with the preparations. According to Amy, about 140 people attended the wedding. Amy picked four bridesmaids; three cousins and a friend. The day of the wedding they all got their hair done before going to lunch at her mom’s house. After that they headed to the church to prepare for the ceremony. Amy was lucky to have her cousin Sarah Peterson of Peter-son Creative Photography in Lanesboro to take the pictures of the memorable day. For her other wedding needs, Amy said she tried to use local vendors as much as possible. The recep-tion and dance were held at the Spring Valley Community Cen-ter, and the wedding party deco-rated it themselves the day before the wedding. She was extremely pleased with the flowers, which came from Spring Valley Floral. Amy said she wasn’t nervous at all for her wedding, as many brides are. “It was a lot of fun,” she said. After the ceremony, Mike and Amy posed for pictures by her dad’s convertible. It was original-ly planned to just use it as a prop for photos, but since the weather was so perfect, they decided to drive away in it. Amy knew Mike was the right one for her and the man she

wanted to marry. “He has the ability to allow me to relax and to laugh and to just be myself,” she shared. “That’s very important. I take life way too seriously sometimes and he helps balance that.” For a honeymoon destination, the couple wanted to go some-place neither one of them had been before. They traveled to New Orleans, and the gulf along

the Mississippi. “It was really cool to see it, and to experience something new together,” said Amy. As for future plans, Mike and Amy would someday like to buy a larger home and maybe move a bit closer to southern Minne-sota. Right now they are enjoy-ing their life as newlyweds and enjoying the memories of their beautiful day in October.

Amy Chamberlain chose a close friend and three cousins to stand up for her in her wedding ceremony in Spring Valley. Photos submitted by Peterson Creative Photography

Mike and Amy Chamberlain celebrated their wedding with friends and family at Faith United Methodist Church in Spring Valley on October 8, 2011.


See JAMAICA Page 9

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By Bill [email protected] For anyone who has ever been there, you know the Caribbean with its crystal clear, colorful water and white sand beaches is a romantic desti-nation that offers sun, sand, and inviting warm waters. For Robyn Cowden and Randall Tullis, it was all that and more. Robyn and Randall were mar-ried at the “Couples Swept Away Resort” in Negril, Jamai-ca in November. The date was as special as the location and event. They were married on 11/11/11. “We looked at 9/10/11, but getting married in Jamaica was meant for later in the year with September still being good weather here in Minnesota,” said Robyn. That is why they chose November; it seemed like the right time to go to Jamaica, just before the Holidays. The couple met seven years ago through people Randall worked with and people Robyn knew. “We all hung out as a group,” Robyn said. After a year of hanging out the couple got a little more serious and started dating for real. “We thought there might be more than a friendship,” Robyn said. “It turned out there was.” Neither of them thought they would get married. It just wasn’t necessary for either one of them. If it happened, it hap-pened. They were committed to each other, but marriage was a bigger commitment than what they were ready for at the time. Randall is 35 years old and Robyn is 30 years old, and they were comfortable in

Jamaica becomes perfect setting for a “destination wedding”

their relationship and didn’t want to push it. They wanted to be financially stable before they moved forward with the relationship. After a year of hanging out, they started dat-ing. They dated six years, lived together four years, and bought a house two years ago. The trip was booked a year and one-half ago before they were engaged. They had gone ring shopping, but no ring was ever purchased. Randall sur-prised Robyn one night when she came home from school. There was a bouquet of flowers on the table, gorgeous Star fire Lilies with a single pink rose in

the middle. Robyn asked what they were for, but he just blew the question off. She wondered if he was ever going to buy the ring they had picked out. Later he told her to come back into the room and look at the flow-ers. There was the ring on the pink rose where it had been the whole time. Robyn felt embar-rassed about what she thought. She never expected Randall to pull off the surprise because she is very intuitive. In choosing the location, the couple researched the Internet for all-inclusive resorts. They had gone on cruises before, but cruise ships had too many stipulations. They decided to go to an island, and wanted something cheap. But, accord-ing to Robyn, it didn’t end up that way, cheap. Perhaps they were swayed by the resort web-site description that described it as, “7 miles of pure white sand beach with exotic flow-ers blooming amidst acres of

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Robyn and Randall Tullis soaked up the sun in Jamaica with their wedding party as they celebrated the beginning of their lives together.

Photo submitted by Robyn Tullis


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green.” The resort offered inti-macy, tranquility, and when desired, total seclusion. “We picked the resort because it was adults only and couples only,” Robyn said. “It was kind of heartbreaking not being able to invite nieces and nephews.” The resort also had a message board of people who had got-ten married there. “The web-site was awesome. You could talk with other brides,” Robyn said. Robyn worked with the wedding coordinator for all of the Couples Resorts. There was one wedding coordinator for all four Couples Resorts on the island of Jamaica, and she took care of setting everything up and getting the information to the coordinator at the specific resort in Negril. The couple chose to get mar-ried in the garden gazebo versus on the beach itself for the pri-vacy, quiet, and the intimacy. It was a ceremony that took approximately 20 minutes. Robyn did admit to having one Bridezilla moment in the planning stages of the wedding. She worried about how the dress she bought in Rochester was going to get to Jamaica. “It is funny in hindsight, but not then,” Robyn said. Parents saved the day. Mom made sure the dress got on and off the plane. She kept Robyn up to date where her dress was as it traveled to Jamaica. The family didn’t all travel together. Half of the 20 people in the party traveled on Mon-day before the wedding and the other half traveled on Wednes-day. Robyn and Randall got married on Friday, and stayed 4 more full days after the wed-ding to take advantage of the tranquility and relax. Robyn and Randall are both from Rochester. He is on the Geek Squad for Best Buy and she works for Northern Bever-age. Robyn’s parents are Bob (Chopper) & Patty Cowden and Randall’s parents are Gary & Cindy Majewski. The couple held off on the reception and decided to have it locally. The reception will be in March at Treasure Island to keep with the tropical motif. They can’t image doing their wedding any other way; perfect weather in a perfect location. Robyn’s advice to other brides: “If during the plan-ning you are crying or stressing yourself out, forget it. As long as you are marrying the right person, that’s what matters. All the little things will work out.”

RavissantSalon & Spa

Ravissant Salon & Spa116 Elton Hills Lane NW, Rochester • 507.282.2530

www.ravissantrochester.comT-Th 9am - 8pm • F 9am-3pm M & Sa by appt only

Relax and get Radiant

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Let us take care of your wedding day beauty needs

• Manicures• Pedicures• French Manicure• Nail Art• Hair Cuts• Foils• Perms

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Don’t forget the Groom!We offer Men’s Facials also.

St. Charles Golf Club1920 Gladiola Drive, St. Charles, MN 55972

www.stcharlesgolfclub.com

Intimate Receptions Intimate Weddings

Grooms DinnersShowers

Contact Michele at 507.269.0985

Robyn and Randall exchanged vows on November 11, 2011 in Jamaica.

Photo submitted by Robyn Tullis

FAX it in!507-765-2468

Escape to... SE Minnestoa

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Visitor’s GuideA Guide to Historic Bluff country

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Great foodJust ask our customers

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By Jade [email protected] This fall, a young couple from Harmony will be start-ing their new life together in a unique and special way. Jessica

Lawler and David Gregerson are planning a wedding for October 13, 2012, but it won’t be like most traditional wed-dings. This ceremony will be taking place at the Jem Theatre

Harmony couple tying the knot in a movie theaterin Harmony. Lawler said she was online looking for different wedding ideas when she came upon the suggestion of having the cer-emony at a movie theater. It seemed the perfect place for her, since her family is very close with the owners of the Jem Theatre, Paul and Michelle Haugerud. The couple knew each other through friends for a long time before they started dating. They were friends on Facebook when Lawler was in South Carolina visiting her brother for Easter. After watching a sad movie, Lawler posted a status saying she wanted to talk to someone, and Gregerson began texting her. Shortly after she returned to Harmony, they got together with some friends and began dating. They have been togeth-er since May of 2010. Lawler graduated from high school in 2011. She works at Harmony Healthcare and is studying to be a nurse. Greger-son works for Gemini Inc. in Decorah, Iowa. Gregerson surprised Lawler when he proposed, but it wasn’t a complete surprise. “I picked out the ring,” admitted Lawler. “I knew he was going to propose, I just didn’t know when.” She was on her computer doing homework when he sur-prised her by getting down on one knee and asking her to marry him. Lawler has already bought a dress. Their reception and dance will be at Wheeler’s in Harmony, with S&S Explosion taking care of the music. “I’m very excited!” Lawler said of her wedding day. Lawler has chosen her friend Chantelle Moe for a Maid of Honor. Her bridesmaids will be Mary Haugerud, Sierra Haugerud, Pam Whitehill, Denise Zwart, and Saman-tha Hermanson. Standing up for Gregerson will be Jeremy Haugerud as the best man, along with Luke Haugerud, Matt Gregerson, Adam Wilt-gen, Dan Gossman, and Logan Whitehill. Lawler said people have told

322 Elton Hills Drive NW, Rochester, MN507-289-0099 • [email protected]

Thurs & Fri 11am-8pm • Sat 10am-5pm • Sun 12 Noon-5pm

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Jessica Lawler and David Gregerson will be married in Harmony on October 13, 2012.

Photo submitted by Jessica Lawler


MOVIE THEATERContinued from Page 10

call Bill at 765-2205 to Book

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her she is too young to get married, including her mom, but she doesn’t agree. She is ready to spend her life with Gregerson, and is excited for the future. A honeymoon cruise to the Bahamas is in the planning for the newlyweds. After they settle into married life, Lawler would like to finish school and begin her career as a nurse. They plan to stay in the Harmony area near their families. The couple and their wed-ding party plan to decorate the theater, and have the pastor from Gregerson’s church per-form the ceremony. According to Lawler, the theater can hold 200 people, and they plan to fill it in October with family and friends for what will be the most memorable day of their lives.

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We Cater Weddings | Groom Suppers | Wedding Showers | Anniversaries

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Many brides-to-be look for-ward to the day when they visit a bridal salon and are able to try on gowns for the first time. There are certain tips that can make the day go much more smoothly and potentially reduce the amount of time it may take to find the perfect gown.• Wear a supportive, well con-structed strapless bra or corset in your correct size. If you will be wearing a petticoat, also have the right size available.• Go without face makeup when trying on gowns so they remain clean.• Try to wear your hair similar to the style you have in mind for your wedding.• Note that the size of the wed-ding gown you will wear is typi-cally one to two sizes larger than your day-to-day clothes. Proper measurements can be matched to designers’ size charts.• It’s best to limit the number of people with whom you shop to 1 or 2 trusted friends or family members. An entourage can be confusing.• It’s always better to order a slightly larger gown and leave room for alterations if you are between sizes.

Tips for trying on wedding gowns

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We can customize a menu just for you.

We offer everything from food preparation

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We will be changing our name to Ody’s Country Meats & Catering in July.

2012 Wedding Guide

Documents

Transcript of 2012 Wedding Guide