Wedding Day

Wedding

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Reception

Our Wedding

Connor and Ellen are high school sweethearts, first meeting in their freshman year English class at Turpin High School. Their crushes began that year, but being a couple of shy awkward freshmen&nbsp;they didn't actually&nbsp;begin talking until the fall of sophomore year after they exchanged cell&nbsp;phone numbers&nbsp;through a mutual friend.&nbsp; 

Over the next few weeks,&nbsp;Connor and Ellen went on a few fall-themed group dates (to which their parents had&nbsp;to drive them - thanks Moms &&nbsp;Dads!):&nbsp;a haunted corn maze, a scary move night and a night at&nbsp;King's Island's&nbsp;Halloween Haunt. These are just a few reasons why Fall will always be their&nbsp;favorite season!&nbsp; Finally, Connor asked Ellen to be his date to the Homecoming Dance with a message on a soccer ball that he snuck into her locker (at the time Ellen was the rising star of Turpin's JV&nbsp;soccer team...). Ellen said yes and the date was set - the homecoming dance was on October 17th, 2009.&nbsp;After a perfect evening with&nbsp;dinner at El Coyote and everything you would expect from a&nbsp;high school dance, Connor walked Ellen up to her front door (after being dropped off by his parents)&nbsp;and finally mustered up the courage to say... "Goodnight!".&nbsp; After getting home and realizing that he completely chickened out in person, Connor texted and Ellen and officially asked her to be his girlfriend and she said yes :)&nbsp; It was after midnight though so they would go on to always treat October 18th as their anniversary.&nbsp; Connor and Ellen enjoyed the next 3 years of high school together, spared from (most of)&nbsp;the the typical drama that accompanies teenage relationships. Looking back, the memories that stand out to them above the rest include Friday Night football games, exchanging notes in study hall, eating carry-out&nbsp;Outback and staying up late&nbsp;watching Ghost Adventures.















After high school, Ellen went&nbsp;north to attend&nbsp;Ohio State University and Connor headed South to Atlanta for&nbsp;Georgia Tech - placing them over 560 miles apart. Due to this distance, soon&nbsp;before leaving for&nbsp;college&nbsp;Connor and Ellen made the difficult decision to separate as they left for school (this was primarily&nbsp;Connor's idea - a point he is often reminded of).&nbsp;&nbsp;They spent a few months separated, but by Thanksgiving Break of their freshman year they both realized that they couldn't stand to let distance&nbsp;keep them apart. The team was back together. :)&nbsp; They spent &nbsp;four years in college loving life and&nbsp;making the most of their long-distance situation, creating their&nbsp;own college&nbsp;memories while they were apart. Then every couple months for a holiday break&nbsp;or a special weekend, Connor and Ellen would put on the miles to visit each other's campuses and finally get to&nbsp;share their college experiences together. By the time college graduation approached, they were over the moon to finally be moving to&nbsp;the same city again.&nbsp;They rented their first apartment on the Banks&nbsp;in downtown Cincinnati and stayed there for a few years, attending more happy hours than they ever thought possible.















After making&nbsp;some lifelong friends and memories in their apartment complex&nbsp;(and getting their first pet cat, Belle!), they decided&nbsp;to hop across the river and buy a purple-door'd&nbsp;house in the Mainstrasse neighborhood of Covington, Kentucky.

All About Us

In the summer of 2019, Connor's family planned a special trip over to Ireland and France that was always on&nbsp;Connor's dad's bucket list. They graciously invited Ellen to tag along, and off they went across the pond.

On July 4th, the family went on a hike to the top of Diamond Hill in&nbsp; Connemara National Park. Little did Ellen know, the name of the mountain was foreshadowing the events to follow.&nbsp;



Midway up, Ellen told Connor that they might not make it all the way to the top because it was very&nbsp;steep and tiring. Connor was very insistent that they would&nbsp;(to Ellen's annoyance), and she rather sassily reminded him that it was "not their trip." Little did Ellen know that the whole family knew the reason for the beautiful scenic hike..



The family stopped for a gorgeous photo op about three quarters of the way up the mountain. After photographing everyone but herself, Connor asked if she wanted a photo together, to which she replied:&nbsp;"Onward and upward!"&nbsp;Ellen later found out that he had considered proposing there.



As everyone reached the top of the mountain, Ellen ran around to see all of the views. A&nbsp;moment later, Connor invited her to one spot and asked for a picture. He turned to face the breathtaking view with his arm around her, and when they turned back around to see the family, everyone had a device... that's the moment when Ellen realized what was going on!



So with Connor's family watching and recording,&nbsp;Connor shared&nbsp;many sweet words, got down on a knee and&nbsp;asked Ellen to marry him. As you can see, she said yes.

The Proposal

Backyard Wedding Videos and Photo Update

Backyard Wedding Videos

Hello, wonderful family and friends!

First off, we want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support on our special day. We had a wonderful, sweet wedding day in our little backyard&nbsp;and we&nbsp; can't wait to spread the love next year when we can all celebrate together.

With that said, we wanted to share a few videos with you from the big day!&nbsp;As many of you may have&nbsp;noticed, our recording device's battery died towards the end of our&nbsp;ceremony. However, our wonderful videographer&nbsp;(shoutout to ANDREW!) saved the day and&nbsp;captured the remaining moments on his phone and we wanted to share them with you!You can check out the&nbsp;ceremony video(s) and first dance(s) on our YouTube Channel through this link:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-WP212-f6-mHPnZ7RL-aNoVBnBS0LFjq" target="_blank">Backyard Wedding Videos 10.17.2020</a>

You can also find a preview of the photos from our wedding day on the Photos section of our website. We will update it with more beautiful pictures soon from our very talented photographer. :)

We wish all of our loves ones a happy, healthy&nbsp;holiday season&nbsp;and look forward to seeing you all next year!

Love always,

Ellen &&nbsp;Connor Donovan

Wedding Livestream

Livestream Link

Hello family and friends!&nbsp; We know this is a moment that a lot of you have been waiting for... below you can find&nbsp;the livestream link for our wedding ceremony! We are using YouTube for&nbsp;the stream so if you want to watch it live you should be able to view it through any web-compatible device. If you can't watch it live, don't worry! After the wedding this link should still work and&nbsp;take you to a recorded version that you can watch at your leisure. <a href="https://youtu.be/SnMN1FJxkMs" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/SnMN1FJxkMs</a> Love, Ellen +&nbsp;Connor

Our Story

Things to Do 1

Sarah Watters

Logan Donovan

Megan (Alex) Watters

Brody Donovan

Chad Oswalt

Alli Oswalt

Zoe Anderson

Bill Mizell

Brien Polivka

Lauren Ratterman

Olivia Justin

Wedding Party

Photos

Q + A

Registry

We highly recommend booking your stay here! It is a wonderful hotel and is located on the same block as our venue. Think: 2 minute walk! :) You may book a double queen room or king room for your stay, any dates within Friday, October 15 - Sunday, October 17th. Either call the hotel at 513-744-9900 and say you are in the Donovan Watters Wedding Block or use the link "Book A Room" below to book!

AC Hotel by Marriott Cincinnati at The Banks

Travel

One of many fabulous coffee shops in downtown Cincinnati, this spot has a bunch of rotating flavors and &nbsp;many delicious baked goods to choose from.&nbsp;Hop on a Red Bike or Bird and explore downtown when you visit!

Coffee Emporium

This location of ToB is just down the street from our old stomping grounds on The Banks!&nbsp;They have incredible Belgian waffles that we highly recommend (pro tip:&nbsp;you can also get a pack to-go!).

Taste of Belgium - The Banks

In the mood for some fluffy pancakes or a fancy omelette?!&nbsp;Park near Fountain Square and walk on over to Sleepy Bee Cafe for a tasty classic brunch!

Sleepy Bee Cafe - Downtown

If you've never gotten to visit the Rhinegeist Taproom in Over-the-Rhine, now is the time! They have beers and ciders of all sorts, as well as cocktails for our non-beer pals. They also have a cool rooftop deck!

Rhinegeist Brewery

Findlay Market really has it all: an enormous variety of food stands/restaurants,&nbsp;booths to shop for merchandise, and fabulous&nbsp;outdoor seating. Some of our favorites are&nbsp;Eli's BBQ, Churchill's Teas, Em's Bread&nbsp;and Saigon Market.

Findlay Market

If you haven't been to Cincinnati in a while, then this park may be brand new to you - it's a must see and just down the stairs from our venue!&nbsp;Take a walk along the riverfront paths, sit on the swings overlooking the water, or enjoy some of the fountains located all around the park. There are also play areas if you have little ones to entertain!

Smale Riverfront Park

Time for another Cincinnati staple:&nbsp;Graeter's Ice Cream!&nbsp;We love this Fountain Square location where you can sit and enjoy the downtown energy. Our favorite flavors are Black Raspberry Chip and Salted Caramel, but you can't go wrong with any of them!

Graeter's Ice Cream

This is one of our favorite parts in Cincinnati, and definitely the one we visited most when we lived on The Banks. Just a streetcar ride away in OTR, Washington Park has gorgeous green areas, views of Music Hall, fountains/play areas, and even a dog park to enjoy.

Washington Park

Via Vite is one of our go-to date night restaurants in Cincinnati!&nbsp;Located in Fountain Square (yes, Graeter's is RIGHT&nbsp;THERE), they have incredible Italian food. Our favorite is the pasta bolognese.

Via Vite

We recommend getting a reservation to The Eagle if you come to town - or preparing to put your name in and grab a drink anywhere on Vine Street while you wait. This place is THAT&nbsp;good - we love their fried chicken sandwich and spoonbread best! (Ellen also swears they make the best lemon drop martini in town, if you're feeling fancy.)

The Eagle

A delicious local coffee shop in Covington, KY. Their iced lattes are our favorite!&nbsp;Bonus:&nbsp;find the world's cutest book shop inside and prettiest riverfront homes nearby!

Roebling Point Books & Coffee

Another delicious coffee shop in Covington, KY!&nbsp;This place brews local Carabello coffee and has rotating treats depending on the day you visit.&nbsp;Check out their website and learn about how your yummy cup of coffee supports the missions of&nbsp;an awesome local nonprofit.

Point Perk Coffee

Cedar doesn't only have the best brunch on our block, but it is also where we had&nbsp;dinner after our backyard wedding ceremony!&nbsp;They have a variety of tasty&nbsp; mimosas (and other fun drinks), as well&nbsp;as&nbsp;wonderful options for breakfast and lunch.

Cedar

Who doesn't love a local brewery?!&nbsp;Check out some of Covington's finest beers and hard seltzers here near downtown Covington. They also have an incredible rooftop deck!

Braxton Brewing Company

Ready for a sweet treat to top off a fabulous day of exploring the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky neighborhoods?&nbsp;Stop by Piper's and try some of our very favorite local soft-serve ice cream. If you're feeling it, you can also make your dessert boozy!

Piper's Cafe and Ice Cream Bar

This wonderful place is just a couple of doors down from our home in Mainstrasse. We are regulars here - they have lots of wines and beers on tap, and the BEST charcuterie around (their maple-sriracha bacon is a must-have).

Crafts & Vines

We love coming to Libby's!&nbsp;They have fantastic outdoor spaces to enjoy all of the delicious Southern treats that they serve. They have some awesome frozen drinks!

Libby’s Southern Comfort

Who doesn't love a vibrant restaurant inspired by Frida Kahlo herself?!&nbsp;They have pitchers of margaritas (all sorts of flavors) and all sorts of tacos, salsas, and other tasty items. Their queso is one of our favorite apps in Mainstrasse!

Ellen & Connor

Ellen & Connor

Wedding Party