The Wedding Story of... Kelly & Daniel Mathenia

When Kelly Hunt and Daniel Mathenia first met in 2008, they immediately realized how much they had in common. The two, who were living in Chicago, not only had mutual friends, but were also from the same hometown, St. Joseph, Michigan, and went to the same high school.

 

“It was an easy conversation from the start,” Kelly says. “We just clicked as if we had known each other for years, making us both very comfortable from the beginning!”

 

 

 

 

 

As the relationship between the two continued to grow, talks of moving their relationship to the next level came up on several different occasions.  “We had talked about getting engaged and getting married, but decided it would be best to wait until Daniel was done with his Air Force training before we moved forward,” Kelly recalls. 

 

During the summer of 2010, Kelly flew out to visit Daniel, who was training for the Air Force in Texas, for a long weekend getaway. The couple spent one of the evenings together by attending a comedy show, followed by a romantic dinner. “After dinner, we decided to take a late night walk through the city,” Kelly says. “We were just talking with each other when all a sudden Daniel dropped down to one knee and asked me to marry him. While I was completely surprised,  I immediately said yes!”

 

 

 

 

 

Kelly and Daniel knew they wanted to marry in their hometown, St. Joseph, in the summer. The couple prepared for the unpredictable midwest weather by having a tent set up for their outdoor ceremony. The tent came in handy when, what started out as a beautiful sunny day in the mid 70’s quickly turned into a dark and windy downpour forty five minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin.

 

While taking photographs outside before the ceremony, Kelly and her bridesmaids watched the dark clouds rolling in, followed by thunder, lightning and heavy rain. “The tent became a living, breathing being as 40 mph winds whipped through the site only minutes before I walked down the aisle,” Kelly says.  

 

While their guests sat in their cars waiting for the storm to blow through, Kelly and her bridesmaids moved inside to her aunt’s house, which was conveniently located across from the ceremony, to take some additional photos.

 

When the storm passed, Kelly and Daniel’s dream of an outdoor wedding on the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan came true. With her grandma’s operatic recordings from the early 1960’s playing, Kelly walked down the aisle to meet her future husband. The two, who wrote their own vows, exchanged their promises to each other, as well as some tears and were happily pronounced husband and wife.

 

 

 

 

 

After the ceremony the newlyweds and their guests made their way to the Priscilla U. Byrns Center to celebrate. The elegant space was perfect for the intimate gathering where the guests enjoyed heavy hors d’oeuvre and finger foods and toasted the couples love with a traditional Irish Meade. Décor included tables covered in white linens topped with candles and white hydrangeas and lavender, which helped give the tables a fresh summer feel.

 

As a former model for Wedding Day Magazine in 2007, Kelly’s “real” wedding day turned out to be everything she dreamed of.