We received 19 entries for our Wedding Day Giveaway – and now we’re super excited to announce the couples that are our finalists. We originally said that 3 couple would make the finalists, but we had so many good stories we decided to include 4 couples!
Help your favorite couple win by voting for them! All you need to do it click on the link below and place your vote. Please, one entry per person. The couple with the most votes will be our winner! Voting is open immediately and will close on Thursday, February 11th at midnight. The winning couple will be announced on Friday, February 12, 2010.
Click here to vote!
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Couple # 1 – Michelle and Micah
I’d like to nominate myself and Micah for this generous giveaway you are hosting. We are getting married on June 5, 2010 with both the ceremony and reception at Meadowbrook Hall in Rochester, MI. My name is Michelle Peterson and my fiance’s name is Micah Vore.
We had both just moved to Pittsburgh, PA from Denver, CO – knowing nobody in the Steel City, we got a bit lonely so we decided to adopt a dog. His name is Leo and he came from the frigid state of Minnesota. With our expertise in American Sign Language, we decided to completely train Leo without the use of our voices. He now knows the sign for sit, stay, high five, good-bye, play dead, come, circle, go potty, no, go home, and the infamous eye-gouge block from the Three Stooges. Leo never ceases to amaze people everyday, the bond he has with humans is amazing – he will go for the people first at the dog park for lots of hugs and licks then onto the dogs. He just might be the most popular dog in town due to his charismatic personality, always melting the hardest of hearts. We can’t imagine life without Leo, our precious dog.
While planning an impromptu camping trip in Gettysburg, PA with a good friend of ours, Dave, we decided to bring Leo along for what we thought would be a fun weekend. Turns out this was not the case, at least for about thirty minutes at two in the morning! Micah awoke from his slumber to see that the entrance to the tent was open by a foot, just big enough for Leo to wiggle out and roam the woods by himself. Of course, this sent Micah into a panic, waking me up saying, “Leo’s gone!” A million possible scenarios ran through my mind, Leo could freeze to death out there, someone could dognap Leo, or a wolf might try to befriend Leo, I patted around the tent in a panic trying to find Leo. Unfortunately at the time, the tent search did not go well, so we expanded out search to the immediate area surrounding the tent in hopes of Leo only sneaking out for a potty. After not having any luck, we expanded our search to the entire campground and I decided to return to the tent in hopes of Leo making a safe return on his own. I sat down in the tent hoping that Leo would be with us the next day. As I turned around, I caught a glimpse of Leo’s paw sticking out from between the sleeping bags. I let out a small shriek and grabbed Leo, it turns out he was probably too cold to come out of his warm spot to our calls. Now I had to go find Micah, and found him frantically searching for Leo on the opposite end of the playground. Once he saw Leo, the search ended and we walked back to our tent together, tired, happy, and relieved.
Michelle, Micah & Leo (insert paw prints here)
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Couple #2 – Jennifer and Andy
My name is Sue Westlake and I would like to nominate my wonderful daughter Jennifer Ellero and her fiancee Andy Daly for your planner extravanganza. Their wedding date is 7-31-10. They will be married at our parish, St Kieran’s in Shelby Twp and their reception will be at the Troy Marriot.
Jennifer has always been a giving daughter and has always put everyone else ahead of herself. She loves being with people and they love her back. She is a teacher and I have had the privelege of witnessing how her students enjoy and respect her. Being a teacher does not leave her a lot of leisure time, so winning a contest to help with their wedding would be her dream come true.
She has encompassed everyone in the family to be in her wedding, down to her five sisters and two brothers.
Jennifer was always that student in college that never really asked Mom and Dad for extra money, she worked on the side to provide herself for her needs. She is an accomplished author in her field, having an article published in an education book for students. Jen is a really hard worker and her fiancee Andy is a gem. He is a true gentleman and is so good to my daughter. He took her to Europe and proposed over the Danube River. How romantic!!!
They make a wonderful couple and I would like to nominate them for the drawing for their wedding. Thank You for letting me go on and on on my wonderful daughter and her fiancee. I wish them both Good Luck!!!
(Editors Note – not only did Jennifer’s mom nominate her, Jennifer also entered herself!)
Hello, Hello! My name is Jennifer Ellero and I am writing for the chance to have the amazing Lindsey Nartker coordinate my special day! My fiance and I are getting married on July 31, 2010 in my home church at St. Kieran’s in Shelby Township. The reception will be held in the Grand Ballroom at the Troy Marriott. This year has been pretty busy for my parents. My older brother was married in September and my younger sister was married just this past weekend. Knowing they have been pretty busy, I have resorted to coordinating things myself. Now, I’ve always considered myself a creative person (I created my sister’s engagement invitations, funny bridesmaids poems, finishing touches, etc.), but I freeze up when it comes to mine. It’s extremely frustrating feeling like I have so many great ideas for others, but when it comes to myself I’m terrified.
My mother has been very supportive, but with my step-father starting chemotherapy in a few weeks, I know she will be pre-occupied (understandably). I’m not very good at asking people for help, and I certainly do not want to add to her stress. My fiance also travels Monday through Friday so I am left alone the majority of the time to coordinate & plan. Andy tries to help where he can, but wedding planning is not his strong point. I was hoping to get some good tips from the newlyweds in my family, but my brother’s wife will be bringing a beautiful new baby into the family…3 weeks before the wedding! Understandably, she will be preoccupied as well.
For any bride, I know the wedding day is very important, but for me I never pictured how this day would be…actually, it was often too scary to think about. You see, about 4 years ago I topped the scales at 242 lbs. (yes, I have pictures). Through hard work and changing my eating habits, I’ve lost over 80 lbs. Although I am extremely happy with the progress I’ve made, I still have work to do, mostly because I still see myself as the “fat girl”. I want to feel beautiful and know that my day will go perfectly. I have an amazing family, but we are going through some major changes and knowing that I could trust my special day with a professional would calm this brides’ nerves. Thank you so much for your time!!
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Couple #3 – Mandi and Doug
My name is Mandi and I will be marrying the love-of-my-life, Doug, on Saturday, October 23rd, 2010. We are getting married at the Newburg Church located in Livonia’s Greenmead Historical Village, with our reception to follow at the Radisson Livonia.
I’ve waited a long time to find “the one” and I count my blessings every day for Doug…we fell in love very quickly and deeply and I wouldn’t change a thing about our relationship. We have been together for a little over a year-and-a-half and he was apparently going to propose on my birthday (December 5th), but the ring hadn’t come in yet. So he surprised me on December 19th by proposing in a very sweet, simple way at my house while we were getting ready to cook our “Christmas dinner” together (I was going to be in Canada for Christmas with my family and he was going to be in the U.P. with his).
On December 22nd, I had a double-bundle ACL replacement surgery (this is my fourth knee surgery, second ACL replacement) because I blew out my knee playing hockey in November (I am Canadian after all!). My first stage recovery time was supposed to be over a while ago, however here I am, a month later, still on crutches and not being able to drive. As you can imagine, it’s been nothing but a nightmare to be on crutches in the snow, trying to visit venues and to get everything nailed down while working a full-time job, getting my house ready for market and spending four+ hours a week in physical therapy. Thank goodness I have my mom and Doug to help out and drive me around! My bridal party has been fantastic in researching things for me, however, four bridesmaids, three groomsmen and two ushers are from out-of-town, so our hands-on resources are slim right now.
We are planning a small, intimate wedding for less than 100 people (and with a budget of under $10,000!). The reason we chose Newburg Church is that it’s cute and quaint and that the Village itself offers endless photo opportunities. We liked the Radisson because it just underwent a complete renovation and the ballroom we are using is on the smaller, cozier size, which makes us feel like we are having a party for our family and best friends versus a typical wedding.
I love paper crafts and have been planning to do things such as the invites, escort cards, programs, etc. myself, but because of my recovery, I am finding that I am way behind on obtaining materials and creating timelines and deadlines. The most frustrating part of my situation is that I can’t stand long enough to try on more than two bridal gowns at one time, let alone walk around in them!
Anyways, thank you in advance for your consideration. A wedding day coordinator would be EXTREMELY helpful especially since I am a type-A personality who is kind of feeling a bit lost (and helpless!) right now…knowing that I would have someone to help me out on the big day would be a HUGE stress-reliever. Not to mention, having someone do our bouquet, ceremony programs/escort cards/etc. and lifestyle photos …what a prize!
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Couple #4 – Allison and Nick
Nick and I have been together for nearly 6 years and we truly have a great story. We are childhood friends and my earliest memory of him is ice skating with friends in elementary school and him pushing me down on the ice! Don’t worry, he is a perfect gentleman now
We were casual friends in high school and dated each others close friends. It wasn’t until college that we realized we were perfect for each other. I went to Michigan State and Nick was in Chicago at MacCormick College. For freshman year spring break, my girlfriend and I were too poor for a tropical vacation, so we went to Chicago for a long weekend and stayed with Nick and his roommates. That first night over drinks, everything changed for us. There was this intense attraction and it was like meeting each other for the first time. We began dating from then on and spent the remainder of freshman and sophomore year traveling back and forth to see each other. It was the most amazing time of our lives and we knew at that point we would be together forever.
Nick transferred to MSU junior year and it was wonderful to be in each others daily lives. We worked together, traveled together and were basically inseparable until graduation in 2007. That summer, I started my first “real” job but Nick wasn’t quite ready for that. Instead, he and his best friend biked (yes, on a bicycle!) across the country to raise money for cancer research. He and I both lost close friends in college to the disease and it was an amazing tribute to their lives. They returned in September 2007 with $5000 for the American Cancer Society and many crazy stories of their journey.
Nick and I moved in together that fall and were starting our lives-happy and full of love. On December 27, 2007, Nick’s older brother, Eric, died in a snowboarding accident in Oregon. We were together when we received the phone call from Nick’s dad, and I’ll never forget the pain in his eyes. The next week was a blur of family and friends, until finally everything was over. The strange silence that filled our lives after that was awful and Nick ended up moving to Ann Arbor to live with friends. I accepted a job in Orlando soon after and not only did we now have a huge emotional void in our relationship, we had a physical one as well.
We continued dating and I gave him the time and space he needed to heal with his family in Michigan. We saw each other once a month, and slowly mended our relationship. By summer 2009, we were back to where we used to be-happy and full of hope. Nick proposed on Christmas Day 2009 and told me he wanted to celebrate that time of year again by adding a joyous memory to the season. He is moving here Valentine’s Day weekend, and we are so excited to finally start our lives together. We are planning our wedding for fall of 2010. We are looking st several venues, but are leaning towards the Colony Club.
We would love your help in planning this celebration of our love. It will truly be an amazing day for us, as well as our families and friends that have stood by us through the darkest days of our life. It will also be a challenge to plan the wedding from across the country, but it gives us an excuse to come home to the ones we love. Thank you for your consideration!
Don’t forget to vote for your favorite couple in our 