Wedding Day

Esch Road Beach

Wedding Ceremony 

Glen Arbor Township Hall

Reception

Fall

Our Wedding

Our story begins in a library after school our freshman and sophomore year. Josh was an awkward sophomore who was known to sneak out of his house to go to the library and use the computers. Freshman Danielle would go to the library after school with her cousins and best friend, Melissa, to spend time doing homework until they could be picked up, since they were not driving yet. There were quite a few students from our high school, Bishop Luers, who would do the same. The library was one of the places we were able to socialize with people in different years. As young teenagers, Danielle and Melissa were very much social butterflies and made friends with many of the other Luers students. One of the friends they made was Josh. He was sweet and shy and Danielle was absolutely taken with his dimpled smile. Josh invited Danielle to a Christmas party in Monroeville. At this party, Josh gave Danielle a necklace that was a small heart with her birthstone, the birthstone that they share since they are both born in October. Well, Danielle was pretty shy and awkward herself. Melissa and Danielle had to leave the party early, it's been so long ago we don't even remember why. Josh took this to mean that Danielle wasn't interested. They grew apart and life went on, however, with this age of social media and people being friends on Facebook with everyone you've ever met and had even the smallest connection with, they were able to stay somewhat connected. They saw each other a couple times through the years at IPFW with Josh working in the bookstore and Danielle attending classes. A few years ago, right before the Covid Pandemic shut everything down, Josh reached out to Danielle on Facebook, just to ask about life. They ended up writing enormous paragraphs to each other, catching up on the last almost 12 years. They decided to get together for casual drinks at a Bar Arcade. During this night, talking was still a little awkward, as both of us are, but it went really well. Somehow, during the course of the night they ended up talking about "if I got married I'd do..." Danielle threw out getting married in Hawaii at the top of a volcano. Josh said he would go to Mexico where all the monarch butterflies migrate to and get married surrounded by the butterflies. Josh didn't realize that sent butterflies swarming in Danielle's stomach. She knew at that point that she could see herself with him, which scared her a little. Also during the night, the topic of the oncoming pandemic came up, as many things were closing down at this point in time. Danielle mentioned how sad she was that she wouldn't be able to go to her favorite area, Empire Michigan, that year since the pandemic was happening. Well, they continued to talk and about a week later was the 4th of July and Josh asked Danielle to take a trip with him up to Empire. Danielle was shocked that Josh would drive that far, planning to make the 6 hr each way trip in one day to just spend a few hours at the beach, but she agreed to go. It was during this short trip that Danielle really fell for Josh. It meant so much that he would go on this adventure for her and that she would be able to say a socially distanced hello to her grandparents, who had to be quite isolated due to the pandemic. Even though they had such a short time on this trip, they made memories that will last a lifetime, such as the "Great Queso-tastrophy of 2020". A couple of days after this trip is when Josh asked Danielle to be his girlfriend. In the first week of dating, Josh bought Danielle a necklace exactly like the one he had given her in high school. Both Danielle and Josh fell pretty easily for each other and have had many more great adventures together, traveling to Niagara Falls, North Carolina, Washington D.C., Vegas for Melissa's birthday, and Florida twice! On the second trip to Florida with Danielle's family, Josh and Danielle decided to take a day for themselves and go to Universal Studios to visit Harry Potter World , which was another major thing crossed off Danielle's bucket list. It was a magical day, and was made even more magical by Josh asking Danielle to marry him on the Hogwarts Express.

All in perfect time

Our Story

Photos

Melissa Widenhoefer

Eli Hunter

Jessica Lucero-Palma

Jose Lucero-Palma

Taylor Roenneburg

John Roenneburg

Kassie Costantini

Eric Costantini

Emma Ray

Queinton Ray

Josie Vanette

Jackson Vanette

Katie Clendenen

Aiden Newberg

Eva Hunter

Athena Hunter

Wedding Party

Q + A

This hotel is unable to make blocks. There is a 2 night minimum stay.

Empire Lakeshore Inn

This is a Resort that has 4 small hotels and condos/villas to rent. They do not do blocks for weddings and they book up fast.

Danielle & Joshua

Danielle & Joshua

Travel

Empire Lakeshore Inn

The Homestead

Empire Township Campground

Platte River Campground

D. H. Day Campground

Indigo Bluffs RV Park & Resort

Vrbo