Acacia + Jacob
Summer Wisconsin Wedding at Swan Barn Door in Wisconsin Dells
Acacia and Jacob’s wedding at Swan Barn Door
Acacia and Jacob’s wedding day at the Swan Barn Door venue in Wisconsin Dells was perfectly planned to reflect their love. With towering trees surrounding them, they walked down the aisle barefooted to be grounded during their ceremony. We adore how well they love each other, and we’re honored to share this peek at their beautiful wedding day.
How They Met
They met at UW-Whitewater through mutual friends, and both of them played college sports. I love how their stories vary slightly. For Acacia, the moment they met was fun, sure. They shared a plate of ribs and she found out they’d be working the same summer job. For Jacob, though, it was a bit more…
[Note: they call each other by their middle names. So you might find “Joy” substituted for “Acacia” and “Allen” substituted for “Jacob.”]
From Jacob: “My roommates and I were outside having a few beverages when Joy and her friend came strolling up on their bikes. The second I saw her I thought she was beautiful, and of course, as a single man I was interested (and not just because I was drinking ;)). When my outgoing roommate, Gabe, got them to join us in the yard, Joy just so happened to sit next to me. We talked for a while and connected around work, but I knew at that time I had met my future wife – it just took her a little longer to come around to that.”
The Proposal
From Acacia: “A few weeks before, one of my friends asked me if I was available to go hiking at Devil’s Lake with our dogs (both of our dogs had b-days in October so I thought this was for the dogs).
I responded, “Yes!” and told her I was going to ask Allen if he wanted to join… (little did I know that it was his idea for us to go because this was when he was going to propose).
Finally, the day of the hike, we headed to Devil’s Lake. It was a beautiful fall day and I was super excited to get to the top and see the leaves and take some pictures. I was also so oblivious and was just so excited for our dog, Grizzly, to have the best day ever.
Once we reached the top, Jake and I took a picture together like I would normally force him to have to do, but this time he didn’t complain….this made me a little suspicious, but I did not want to get my hopes up.
Right as we were taking the picture a large group of people came to the same area and instantly Allen wanted to move to a different area to take pictures (again this was fishy to me because he never asks to take pictures together). Once we moved to a more private area, my friend who was with us wanted us to take another picture.
At this point, we ended up tying our dog to the trees so it would just be Allen and me in the picture (our dog was not pleased and I felt bad that he couldn’t be in it… again so oblivious).
Finally, once we finished taking the picture I started to walk away and he grabbed me and asked me to marry him right there. I was so excited and blacked out a little because all I really remember next is hugging him.
He will say I didn’t give him an answer, but I did (and I have video proof). Best day ever!”
From Jake: “After I had purchased the ring, I didn’t really have a plan for how I wanted to propose. I knew one thing though: her friend Meg would be involved, as she was a photographer, good friend of Joys and would keep the proposal a secret.
She had texted in early September asking what I was thinking of doing, and I went back to how everything began and what she loved. Well, it all began fairly casual – met her in my yard drinking, first date at the driving range, worked with her in the summer, and never were the ‘fancy’ couple in any group. I also knew she loved nature, hiking, fall & all the colors, and would easily fall for the “taking the dogs for a birthday hike” narrative.
After I laid out the plan to Meg, she was in total support and we set a date on the calendar. I knew she might be getting suspicious of a proposal, so I did my best to hide my actions- having used a “work happy hour” as my excuse for arriving home later than normal after picking out & picking up the ring.
When the day finally came, I obviously wanted to make sure the surprise made it to the end, but I also was just excited to finally be taking the next step in life with the one I love.
It didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped and/or imagined with it being a busy day at Devils Lake during peak fall season, but we managed to get a moment of privacy while balancing on a rock and I got down on a knee (without falling off the rock) and asked the question.
Not sure if I remember her giving me a “yes” but I’m also not even sure what I managed to say when I got down on my knee – so I’ll take her word for it.“
A Few of Our Favorite Things
We loved what their officiant noted during their ceremony: Acacia and Jake didn’t want to include the normal “till death do us part” language in their ceremony because they view their commitment as an everlasting bond. We are obsessed with this concept (as it’s something John and I have discussed often), and we loved very minute with these two.
Vendor Love:
Venue: Swan Barn Door | Florist: Davilee Firari | Desserts: Cupcakes by Amy Jo | DJ: Xtreme Sound | Bridal Boutique: Brandi’s Bridal | Bridesmaid Boutique: Azazie | Men’s Wear: Generation Tux | Photography & Films: The McNiels Photo & Films
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