For old times sake, they left a picture Jim's mom, Rosella, had found. This is an old picture of Jim and Terry goofing around while wearing Rosella's wigs.
Lodge
We stayed with Mike's parents in the Jessens'
Riverview Lodge, which is primarily used by hunters. The lodge is near their home in Lisco, and our room had a
duck theme.
For old times sake, they left a picture Jim's mom, Rosella, had found. This is an old picture of Jim and
Terry goofing around while wearing Rosella's wigs.
Wedding Ceremony
This is the church where Stormy (Gwen & Jim's son) was married to Juanita. It is very close to Rosella's house.
"The Berea Evangelical Lutheran Church"
See below for the ceremony program. It was a very nice looking church, completely filled with guests. They even had chairs in some of the
aisles to try to accommodate everyone. One notable out-take was when Stormy was asked to say "I Stormy, take Juanita" and it
instead came out "I Stormy-Juanita", which made everyone laugh, even him. The other was the minister's story of when he first
met Stormy. He said he was sitting in their house, talking to Juanita about the ceremony plans, when Stormy came in grim-faced
and holding his gun after a day of hunting. The minister's first words to him were "I come in peace!"
Reception
Mike, Juanita, and Stormy at the entrance of the Oshkosh Auditorium:
This ice sculpture was also near the entrance:
Wedding cake:
My dad has vivid memories of being too nervous to eat before he married my mom, and how ravenous he was
afterward. Watching Stormy dig into his wedding dinner before the wedding party could even return from the
buffet line reminded me of that story:
The wedding party eats dinner on the main stage. In the center, you can see Stormy and Juanita. To the
right of Juanita is Stormy's sister, Mariah, who is next to his other sister, Summer. Summer has her son, Chance,
on her leg. Chance's father, Anthony, was also part of the wedding party, but is obscured by the candles to the left of
Stormy.
Here's a close-up of Juanita, Mariah, Chance, and Summer:
Here's Mike at our table:
and his parents:
His mom was recruited for cutting the wedding cake:
Following the cake cutting, they had a live band. You can see Anthony (gray vest) and Stormy standing on the stage
in the background.
Gwenn and Terry dancing...and some guy apparently leering at them?
We had breakfast at Gwen & Jim's house the following morning. Gwen thought one of the cutest parts of the reception
was her son trying out the new "wife" word at the end when trying to track her down so they could leave.
We also learned that Jim Jessen is working to get into the ethanol business:
