Woodlands Receptions & Rentals

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Fall

Our Wedding

Brandyn and I met on Hinge (dating app) and went on our first date in February 2024 where we laughed and bonded about our strange waiter at the restaurant. We were both hoping to find something serious and found that we had a lot in common including our taste in books and movies. We began spending most of our spare time together. On our second date, Brandyn took me to a play. He picked me up and gave me a single rose. On our third date, Brandyn suggested we cook together. He bought a cookbook and we picked out what we wanted to make and went grocery shopping. The food turned out okay, even though we accidentally used apple cider vinegar instead of apple cider! The meatballs were a bit sour, but it was a lesson learned :) Our second cooking date turned out much better. We adopted our dogs in August 2024. It was an unexpected surprise since we were looking at puppies for my mom, not for us. But we instantly fell in love with Sass and Hazel. My mom hinted that since the dogs were now going to be ours, we should look for a place to rent and move in together. Brandyn was planning his proposal early on and had a few changes to the plan along the way. He was good at keeping the secret and involved a lot of people in plan. Surprisingly, they could also keep a secret. We had an amazing opportunity to join Brandyn's mom and family in London in June 2025. He popped the question during the Behind the Scenes tour of Harry Potter in front of the Hogwarts castle. He and I are both fans of the books and movies so it was the perfect place for our proposal story. We are looking forward to celebrating our wedding with all of our friends and family in September 2026!

Our Story

Photos

Olivia Edoff

Paige Jorgensen

Arielle Heinrich

Brock Staehlin

Orin Staehlin

Wedding Party

Q + A

MainStay Suites room block 9/25-9/27 3321 Outfitter Rd, Rapid City, SD 57703 Booking Link: <a href="https://www.choicehotels.com/reservations/groups/JE59L5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.choicehotels.com/reservations/groups/JE59L5</a> $169/night - 1 Queen bed suite or 2 Queen bed suite both with pull out couch and kitchenette Free airport Shuttle It is approximately 25 minutes to the venue from this hotel. Close and easy interstate access

Travel

There are so many things to do in the Black Hills if have time on your hands! Wind Cave National ParkSeventh longest cave in the world and one of several amazing caves in the Black Hills Mount Rushmore National MonumentApprox. 30 minutes from Rapid CityFree admission - only need to pay for parking Crazy Horse MemorialA mountain carving that has been in progress for 78 years. One of the longest projects in history. Once completed, it will be the largest mountain carving in the world. An interesting attraction with great insight to our Native American culture and history.Admission is approx. $30/person, unsure about children Historic DeadwoodCheck out one of our historic towns and maybe do some gambling :)Main street in Deadwood still has the original buildings from when the town was founded, each with an incredible history.Located about an hour from Rapid City. Reptile GardensFun for the whole family and one of my favorite places to visit! The largest collection of reptiles in the world according to the Guinness book of world records :) Take pictures with giant tortoises and even pet an alligator if you dare! Bear CountryIf you continue on from Reptile Gardens, you will see Bear Country, a drive through wild life park. Get up close and personal to dozens of bears! Just keep your windows rolled up haha Old MacDonald's FarmAlso along the road from Reptile Gardens and Bear Country is Old MacDonald's Farm. Just like it sounds, it is a petting zoo of farm animals. Kids can feed the goats and ride ponies! There are so many more amazing things to do in our beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. I encourage you to take the time to explore while you are visiting for the wedding!

Things to Do

Dress Code

Registry

Catherine & Brandyn

Catherine & Brandyn

Dress Code

CASUAL