Back Forty Sporting Clays and Banquet Center

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Summer

Our Wedding

<p>Conner and I have been friends since we were in elementary school. He and his friends used to come to my house all the time to play basketball in our driveway. Going into the fifth grade, I discovered that I had a little crush on Conner but I kept it a secret because I didn't want to get cooties. This crush stayed with me into our high school years. When I found out that he wasn't going to ask me out in high school, I just decided to suppress my undying secret love for him. When he would accomplish something, I would text him "congratulations" from across the classroom, secretly hoping that he would at least look at me to show receipt of my text. To no avail. After graduation, we went our separate ways, him going up north to Angola and me going down south to Indianapolis for college. We ended up losing contact until sophomore year when the blizzard hit the state in February of 2021. I was scrolling through Facebook and I had seen a post from Conner's mom, Michelle. It read "Happy 20th birthday Conner, we love you." At that moment, I started panicking. I had to tell Conner happy birthday or I would never forgive myself. I knew I still had his contact information, so I looked through my phone and found nothing. Went on snapchat, nothing. At this point, I'm freaking out. I call our high school football coach thinking, "there is no way he doesn't have his phone number." Well, he didn't. My last option was Instagram, so I just sent him a basic "Happy Birthday" message. Never in my mind did I think that he would respond. HE DID! He said "Thank you." I was too busy screaming and jumping around in excitement to respond so Conner made the initial move in sending another message that said "We should talk more." I thought I was going to pass out. Nevertheless, we started catching up on lost time. Texts turned into snapchats, snapchats turned into FaceTimes, FaceTimes turned into meet ups at his school. We flirted and talked for about 3 months before he finally asked me to be his girlfriend. We started traveling together and getting to know each others families better. After our first anniversary, we decided to move in together in Angola so that he could finish off his last year of college and I could work while I figured out what I really wanted to get my degree in. We ended up staying because I managed to get an amazing job at Trine University where I will now be getting my degree in healthcare administration on a masters in business analytics track. After being together for 3 years, we knew it was just a matter of time until we would get married. The week after our 3 year anniversary, Conner told me to dress up because we were going on a date in South Bend but first he wanted to swing by Notre Dame so he could get something from the bookstore. After leaving the bookstore, he said that he wanted to go for a walk around campus (I was in heels...) we ended up walking past the golden dome, basilica, grotto and a beautiful fountain that overlooked the lake. We went down a quiet path that stretched around the lake to a secluded area that had a gorgeous view of the basilica and the dome. We stopped and there, Conner got on one knee and proposed! </p><p>We are so excited for you all to be a part of this exciting day in our lives! We love each and every one of you!</p>

Our Story

Photos

Mary is my built in best friend and little sister by only 10 months. We have been together our entire lives and I can't think of anyone else to be by my side on this day.

Mary Atkins

Miranda is my soon-to-be sister-in-law and the big sister that I never had.  She is one of my best friends and I can not wait to be able to call her one of my sisters for the rest of my life. 

Miranda Ousley

Hayley is a professional colleague turned best friend. We met while I was training her at Trine and we instantly bonded over our terrible senses of humor and love of German Shepherds. You can usually catch us laughing about absolutely nothing together or showing each other Tiktoks for hours on end. 

Hayley Burkholder

Daphne is one of the little girls that I babysat since she was a newborn. Her parents have practically taken me in under their wings and I have since taken over a big sister role in her life.

Daphne Brown

Piper is also one of the little girls that I babysat since she was a newborn. She is Daphne's little sister and she is another little girl that I view as a baby sister.

Piper Brown

Tye is Conner's best friend. They have been inseparable since they were about 4 years old doing everything together. If Conner was not home when he was a kid, he could always be found somewhere with Tye.

Tye Orsund

Cody is Conner's big brother. They enjoy laughing together, using one-liners against his wife; Miranda and I, and watching the Cat in the Hat giggling like school girls the whole time.

Cody Ousley

Josh is Conner's cousin from Iowa. They have been close since they could walk. Josh, Cody and Conner are a very dangerous trio when together as they enjoy cracking jokes and they might just be about you.

Josh Wallington

Billy has been a close friend of Conner for over 15 years! They enjoy playing video games, talking about sports, and joking together. 

Billy Smith

Dylan and Conner have been friends since the ninth grade. They enjoy fishing, gaming, and laughing about the one time that Cynthia flipped a kayak together. 

Dylan Hensley

Chase and Conner have been friends since grade school. They were roommates during their freshman year at Trine University and they enjoy gaming and talking about sports together.

Chase Butler

Everlee is our niece. Her parents are my brother, Clay and sister-in-law, Marissa. This little angel is a smiley, outgoing, curious girl and we can't wait to spend the rest of our lives watching her grow into a little lady.

Everlee Yeo

Emma is another one of our nieces. Her parents are Cody and Miranda. She is a very upbeat and adventurous little one and ever since she came into the world, we have been wrapped around her little finger.

Emma Ousley

Hunter is our nephew. Son to Conner's sister, Kaisee and her husband Spencer. This little firecracker boy is the most social, active boy and we love him like crazy.

Hunter Crusie

Rylee is our second-youngest niece. Her parents are Conner's sister Kaisee and her husband, Spencer Crusie. This little princess is a happy little light in our lives and we are so excited to watch her grow.

Rylee Crusie

Wrenlee is the littlest love of our aunt and uncle lives. She is a bright-eyed beauty that is truly one of the sweetest little girls one will ever meet. We love her to pieces and we are so excited for her to be a part of our special day!

Wrenlee Yeo

Bryce is the oldest brother of Daphne and Piper. He was the first baby that I ever took care of and boy was he a sassy one to start with! He has since adopted me as his older sister and we wouldn't want anyone else playing this vital role in our day.

Bryce Brown

Riley is the older brother of Daphne and Piper and he is the younger brother of Bryce. Riley is the child that taught me about how accident insurance works. He also taught me that not all children are fragile. This sweet boy is the kindest, wildest child and we are so excited to have him as a part of this day. 

Cynthia & Conner

Cynthia & Conner

C&C

Wedding Day

Reception