Blumen Gardens

Wedding Day!

Ceremony

Reception

Our Wedding

Q + A

I (Jessi) had been on and off dating apps for years. I'd met some cool people but hadn't met "the one" until I stumbled upon Anna's profile. She had a picture of her holding up the door of a Jeep Wrangler ...still no idea why... but I remember thinking she looked cute and strong. I swiped right on her profile and then patiently waited several MONTHS for her to like me back. After that we messaged back and forth on the app. It was November so she asked about my Thanksgiving plans, and I basically gushed about how amazing my family's Thanksgiving plans are every year. Apparently she couldn't tell if I was arrogant or enthusiastic. Lol. Now that she has experienced several Thanksgivings with my family, she understands the enthusiasm!!! Flash forward to our first date. I basically put on a one woman talent show. There was juggling, crossfit movements, guitar playing, and I even brought her to the barn to show off my horse. Turns out, Anna isn't attracted to talents, she cares about who a person IS and not what they can DO. But somehow she still liked me. Our second date was interesting. I had just put down my ferret and was sad AND had just received a sick/injured/feral kitten from work so there was a lot going on. I cried in Anna's lap and told her stories about my ferret. And I drank 1.5 white claws and was crawling around too tipsy to walk. And these things were apparently not a deal breaker to her, and so we kept dating. I did end up giving her the kitten (Onyx) and these days all 3 of our cats live together with us. Never a dull moment in our apartment. We started officially dating 1/7/2023. After a while, we decided to move in together! We moved to Palatine which was the halfway point between Crystal Lake and Wheaton. And we continue to make this place our home. We made friends, started rock climbing together, and even trained for and completed the Chicago sprint triathlon last summer. I have grown so much in the years I've spent with Anna, and I look forward to a lifetime of learning, growing, and caring for one another.

Jessi's Perspective

Neither of us expected our first date to be our last first date. I (Anna) have never been a believer in true connections over a dating app. This instilled the utmost confidence in Jessi as to my dedication to this process. Not to mention, I'd never dated a woman before. This also instilled confidence in Jessi. Jessi had been hurt in the past and was looking for someone she could truly trust. It looked on paper like this might be a risk, and not the best match. After several chats where Anna wasn't sure if Jessi was enthusiastic or arrogant, and Jessi wasn't sure if Anna had been clear enough about loving Jesus, Jessi invited Anna to come play guitar, hang out, meet her horse, and unintentionally, also meet her parents and grandparents! An epic, 24-hour first date. As always, Jessi is so very generous with the care, love, enthusiasm, and family she has to give! Anna felt immediately safe with Jessi -- her humor disarmed her nerves; and Anna's amazing first kiss performance (rated: 2/10 by Jessi) is really what won Jessi over. They hung out a couple more times before making it official in January, at a children's Harry Potter event in Chicago. Not everything for us has gone as planned, but we've done pretty well with serendipity - and we're running with it! I (Anna) had always heard that marriage is the hardest thing in the world -- but if the last couple years is any indicator of what doing life with Jessi will be like with the paperwork to back it, I cannot WAIT for the hardest years of our lives.

Anna's Perspective

Story in Words

Visuals

Honoring Our Wedding Party

Both Jessi and Anna have been in many-a-wedding-party. The parts Jessi and Anna both don't like are investing tons of money into a dress we never wore again, and/or having to wear that specific dress at all. We still value our wedding party and believe the tradition has value and meaning, and will reach out with the specifics of what this means. During our ceremony and/or reception, we'd like to honor all of you -- our friends and family -- for your unwavering support of our relationship throughout the past couple of years. We're not quite sure what this will look like yet, but we will keep you posted!

Wedding Party

Sycamore, IL Sycamore is a cute little town, about 1 hour west of O'Hare International Airport. We recommend flying into O'Hare, but you can't go wrong with Midway, either. AirportWe recommend flying into and out of O'Hare, as it's the closest airport. This is where rental car discounts are also available. O'Hare carries all major airlines, and United and American have the most flight options. Midway is the other airport in Chicago, but we don't have rental car discounts there. Midway also has many major airlines, and typically more options for Delta or Southwest. Accommodations and Rental Cars (these are all linked below)We've booked a block of hotel rooms at the Best Western in Sycamore (details below), as well as acquired discount codes from both Avis and Budget rental car companies. The discount codes will give you 5-15% discounts, depending on the time you book, to help make travel more seamless and doable for your party. Other Hotel Options (but no wedding block): -<a href="https://www.choicehotels.com/illinois/sycamore/country-inn-suites-hotels/il705?mc=llgoxxpx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Country Inn &amp; Suites</a> in Sycamore, IL-<a href="https://www.choicehotels.com/illinois/sycamore/quality-inn-hotels/il291?mc=llgoxxpx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Quality Inn</a> in Sycamore, IL

This hotel block is 30 rooms, with options to add more, if it fills up. If it tells you the block is full, please call the hotel and let them know this is the case. If the hotel is fully booked, there are several others in the area:<a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/GCA7pxaxgK4TTAxX8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Country Inn &amp; Suites</a><a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/7CKikSbvv2oh97B46" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Quality Inn - Sycamore-Dekalb</a><a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/c7HyR83nQzhsikzD9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hampton Inn (in Dekalb)</a> - 15 minute drive to the venue You can book either under Anna O'Neal or Jessi Manassa as a blocked room deal. Anna often stays at Best Westerns when traveling for work. They have a great free breakfast! This hotel is 6 minutes, driving (2 mi) from the wedding location (Blumen Gardens).

Best Western Sycamore Inn

The discount code for Avis is: J157617 This code yields a different discount amount, depending on the season. It should be somewhere between 5-15% off. They said: We do encourage travelers to use our Avis site (linked below) for their reservations, in order to shop our online-only special rates. They can also download the Avis app to put on their mobile device. Calling Avis at 1 (800) 633-3469 to make reservations, attendees should provide our reservations agents with the appropriate discount number to ensure they receive their discount. Reminder: All rentals are subject to a driver's license check and all drivers should be 25 or older with a major credit card in their name. Drivers between the ages of 21-24 will incur an underage fee of $27 a day. All rentals are subject to change until confirmed by location and based on availability.

Avis Car Rental

The Budget Rental Car discount code is: S274070 This code also yields a 5-15% discount, depending on when you book. From Budget: We do encourage travelers to use our site (linked below) for their reservations and to shop our online only special rates. They can also download the Budget app to put on their mobile device. If calling Budget at (1) 800-218-7992 to make reservations, attendees should provide our reservations agents with the appropriate discount number to ensure they receive their discount. Reminder: All rentals are subject to a driver's license check and all drivers should be 25 or older with a major credit card in their name. Drivers between the ages of 21-24 will incur an underage fee of $27 a day. All rentals are subject to change until confirmed by location and based on availability.

Budget Car Rental

Travel

Sycamore: Out and About

Sycamore is a cute little town about an hour west of Chicago. It's got a small downtown area with surrounding industrial areas -- as well as a bit of a suburban vibe near the hotel. We tried out a few things in Sycamore to help give you some ideas of stuff to do around town! We created this <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13CXayp2WlaMnNwlghYXJwSkxPbJdOl7lXvkfozAa2u4/edit?usp=sharing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Slides doc</a> to give you some ideas. To be taken directly to each slide, click the links below: <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13CXayp2WlaMnNwlghYXJwSkxPbJdOl7lXvkfozAa2u4/edit#slide=id.g3d333360b82_0_11" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Start your day with Coroco coffee!</a><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13CXayp2WlaMnNwlghYXJwSkxPbJdOl7lXvkfozAa2u4/edit#slide=id.g3d333360b82_0_20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lunch/Dinner: Chicken!</a><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13CXayp2WlaMnNwlghYXJwSkxPbJdOl7lXvkfozAa2u4/edit#slide=id.g3d333360b82_2_1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cookies</a><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13CXayp2WlaMnNwlghYXJwSkxPbJdOl7lXvkfozAa2u4/edit#slide=id.g3d333360b82_2_11" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Other Baked Goods</a><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13CXayp2WlaMnNwlghYXJwSkxPbJdOl7lXvkfozAa2u4/edit#slide=id.g3d333360b82_3_0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">COOL book shop</a><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13CXayp2WlaMnNwlghYXJwSkxPbJdOl7lXvkfozAa2u4/edit#slide=id.g3d333360b82_3_11" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Other stuff to check out!</a>

Anna & Jessi

Anna & Jessi

Things to Do

Sycamore: Out and About