Morris Inn Wedding : Beth & Jeff

I know, this post is 2 weeks overdue since I was out of town. I had planned to post it last week, but with the Christmas hustle, I wanted to give everyone a fighting chance at how amazing this couple is… But don’t worry, they already have their images so this is just me waiting for their light to shine. AND it should. This couple has been so amazing to work with. They have been on it with their planning, but most importantly, they valued the ceremony of becoming husband and wife and that’s where they placed their importance. That makes me happy, I love marriage. 🙂 By the way, the following was written by the bride and groom. I’m not this awesome of a writer.

The first time Jeff met Beth, she was sitting in sweat pants doing math homework on her dorm room floor, and she did not pay much attention to him. The first time she made any effort was sophomore year when she wanted him to pass her the ball during an indoor soccer game they were both a part of. It wasn’t until senior year that they started to get to know each other better when they each served as Resident Assistants in brother/sister dorms at Notre Dame (Beth in Pasquerilla East, Jeff in Knott). Jeff remembers remarking to a friend in August, “Beth’s pretty cool. Cute too. I’d ask her on date.” It took him until April to follow through. Beth remembers thinking he was fun to play sports with and pretty attractive, but she didn’t have much interest in liking one of the heart throbs of Notre Dame. It wasn’t until 8 months later that Beth FINALLY accepted a date to the Knott Senior Formal, after she played hard to get, naturally. For the next two weeks, until graduation, they spent time together every day, watching movies, spending time with close friends, going on adventures,, taking long walks to soak up the beauty of Notre Dame, and trying to figure out why this odd timing seemed to be working out so well. Beth even agreed to go to Corndance Tavern in Mishawaka for their first official date on May 10.

By the time they received their diplomas, Beth was devising her own plans to figure out the future of this relationship which would span hundreds of miles. She bought two copies of “Heaven is for Real” so they could read together remotely and have something to discuss as they transitioned out of the “fake life” that is the end of senior year at Notre Dame. Beth spent the summer at Notre Dame and in Detroit, studying for her CPA exams, while Jeff interned in Boston. Skype held them together, but Jeff knew that visits were necessary, so one day he sweetly sang “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” to her over Skype and asked her to come the 706 miles to Boston for Fourth of July weekend. She answered with an ecstatic yes. She flew in for a wonderful weekend of exploring a new city and cementing the relationship as “Real”. In August, Jeff made his first visit to Grosse Ile to meet Beth’s family. He was greeted by Beth and a huge “Welcome to Detroit” poster at the airport before having a nice relaxing weekend on what Jeff calls “The Resort Island”. He then returned to Notre Dame for his 5th year. Beth visited Notre Dame for football game weekends and Jeff made it out to Detroit and Fort Wayne for Beth’s family events. After a summer apart, the 3-hour trip between South Bend and Detroit seemed like nothing and they covered the distance frequently and rapidly.

By May of 2014, after a year of dating, Jeff was fairly confident he wanted to marry Beth, so he set two things in motion simultaneously – proposal preparations and a set of journal entries. The proposal preparations included a series of letters, a wooden prayer ring, an engagement ring, artwork, music, and lots of patience. The journal entries were a daily check that he could devote the rest of his life to Beth. Many days, it was a simple question and answer to himself – “Do I want to marry Beth?” “Yes.” That summer, they spent a lot of life together, thanks to a Frontier Airlines service from Detroit to Trenton for $49. They went sailing up the Long Island Sound with Jeff’s Aunt Laura, Uncle Kirk, and family; they spent quality time on the “Resort Island” with the Beth’s family; and they even went to Europe with Jeff’s sister, Monica, where they got to enjoy a family reunion in Hungary. The fall and winter brought real change, as Jeff started his job (finally) and moved to Charleston, two of Beth’s brothers had baby boys (Chase and Carter), and marriage was discussed more and more seriously. His journal filled up with another “yes” each day. In September, Jeff asked Beth’s parents’ permission to propose to her. They both said yes and Beth’s mother even gave Jeff her mother’s ring to use if he wished.

Through October and November, Jeff designed a ring for Beth and laid plans for the proposal. The ring combined diamonds from Beth’s Grandma’s ring, a wedding band from Jeff’s Nagymama (his maternal grandmother), and a newly acquired diamond of their own for the centerpiece. The plans combined meaningful objects (the prayer ring and wooden artwork), location (The Shrine of the Little Flower – Beth’s family’s church growing up), timing (Advent/Christmas), and people (her parents). During this time, Beth began to consider possibly moving to New York (where Jeff would work after Charleston), helped plan two baby showers, enjoyed time with ND and Shrine friends in Detroit, and looked forward to her weekly date night with Jeff over Skype (side note: I died when I saw the picture proof of this happening. Jeff even had a water glass on Beth’s side of the table. Pure gentleman).

During Thanksgiving weekend, after a wonderful family celebration in Charlotte with Jeff’s Aunt Meredith and family, Jeff took Beth on an adventure to Asheville, NC. There, on the Looking Glass Rock Hike, Jeff told Beth he was going to ask her to marry him, not today, but soon, and that he was not going to change his mind about that. Beth thought the hike and beautiful views would have been a perfect time to ask, but, not too uncommon in their relationship, Jeff gave Beth a chance to practice patience. He told her she could take the time before he formally asked to either bring up concerns or simply enjoy the promise before making it public with a proposal, ring, engagement, and marriage preparations. She answered his unofficial proposal with an ecstatic yes.