We'll be in town by Thursday night and want to do something with everyone

Blue Sage Barn at Prairiewood

Wedding Ceremony and Reception

Prairiewood

Cocktail Hour

Dinner and Speeches

Dance the night away!

We'll still be in town Sunday evening and want to do something with everyone

Erika and Ben's Wedding

It&nbsp;all&nbsp;started&nbsp;in&nbsp;2010&nbsp;with&nbsp;Starmites&nbsp;at&nbsp;Edwardsville&nbsp;High&nbsp;School.&nbsp;Ben&nbsp;and&nbsp;Erika&nbsp;were&nbsp;both&nbsp;freshman,&nbsp;coming&nbsp;from&nbsp;very&nbsp;different&nbsp;schooling&nbsp;experiences,&nbsp;but&nbsp;both&nbsp;had&nbsp;a&nbsp;love&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;theater.&nbsp;Ben&nbsp;worked&nbsp;backstage,&nbsp;specifically&nbsp;building&nbsp;the&nbsp;sets&nbsp;and&nbsp;blowing&nbsp;stuff&nbsp;up,&nbsp;while&nbsp;Erika&nbsp;danced&nbsp;and&nbsp;sang&nbsp;onstage.&nbsp;The&nbsp;friendship&nbsp;grew&nbsp;thanks&nbsp;to&nbsp;taking&nbsp;the&nbsp;show&nbsp;to&nbsp;Theater&nbsp;Fest&nbsp;in&nbsp;January.&nbsp;In&nbsp;the&nbsp;spring,&nbsp;Erika&nbsp;was&nbsp;once&nbsp;again&nbsp;onstage&nbsp;dancing&nbsp;and&nbsp;singing&nbsp;in&nbsp;Hairspray&nbsp;and&nbsp;Ben&nbsp;continued&nbsp;his&nbsp;backstage&nbsp;shenanigans.

Where We Met

Right before starting sophomore year of high school, Ben and Erika went with a couple of friends on a "double-date" to Raging Rivers water park. One game of Truth or Dare later, they had their first kiss.

Raging Rivers: Our First Kiss

Ben and Erika's first date was at the Wildey Theater in Edwardsville to see Moulin Rouge.

Our First Date

After agreeing to a sweet Homecoming-proposal, Ben and Erika danced the night away, surrounded by friends.

Our First Dance

Senior year was a whirlwind. Ben and Erika both completed their last 2 drama club shows (Shakespeare! and The Phantom of the Opera), fourth Theater Festival, final Homecoming dance and Prom, National Honor Society, graduation, and got accepted into Mizzou (Ben for mechanical engineering) and Illinois State University (Erika for music therapy).

Senior Year

A Brief, Four Year Intermission...

About 3 weeks before their best friend Lauren's birthday, Erika invited Ben, completely out of the blue, to join her and her best friend Melissa in an attempt at surprising Lauren. Upon much contemplation (and beer), Ben agreed to drive from Mizzou to Edwardsville, and ride with Erika and Melissa out to Indianapolis. He painstakingly blew up many balloons in the backseat. After a successful surprise, Ben and Erika decided that was one of the most fun weekends they had had in a long time.

Finding Each Other Again: A Surprise Birthday Party

The second first date started at Global Brew (the old location). After reacquainting, the date turned into a double date at Stagger Inn Again with Lauren and Logan. Then the double date turned into a triple date at Recess Brewery (which is now Sneaky's Bar and Burger Joint: our favorite restaurant in Edwardsville and who will be catering the wedding) with Ben's sister Katie and brother-in-law Brett joining in on the fun.

Our Second First Date

After lots of catching up and a few dates, it was clear both Ben and Erika had feelings for each other and they decided that since neither of them wanted to be with anyone else, they would make it official.

New Year and New Beginnings

A Photoshoot to Commemorate our 2nd Two-Year Anniversary

After deciding to take the leap and live together, Ben and Erika decided to buy a fixer-upper house in Maryville. It ended up being a bigger project than they originally anticipated. After many months of "fixing" by Ben, the house was ready to be lived in.

We Bought a House!

Erika was accepted into the master's music therapy program at the University of Kansas, and so she moved to Lawrence to start a new adventure in a new state! 9 months later, Ben joined her and they have been living there ever since.

Erika Goes Back to School in Another State

Ben sent Erika on a scavenger hunt that lasted 2 days, starting on their 5th anniversary, and ended on New Year's Eve. They had planned to go to Nicole and Isaiah's for a little party to celebrate the new year. Much to Nicole and Isaiah's surprise, 30 minutes before he popped the question, Ben asked one of them to record the proposal. The living room was torn apart (cleaning for the party) and everyone was in comfy clothes, but it was perfect. Erika said yes and they got to ring in the new year as an engaged couple!

A New Year's Engagement

Our Story

Photos

Lauren and I became best friends our freshman year of high school when we were in the musical Starmites together! Despite my early dislike of her for stealing my middle school boyfriend, I got to know her through our shared love of music and theater. She quickly changed my mind about her and I knew she'd always be my right-hand woman, no matter where life takes us.  

Lauren Hickey

Thomas Gibbons IV

Melissa and I became friends in 4th grade when we were in girl scouts together. We became besties sometime in late middle school/high school. There are so many memories it's hard to pin down that moment I knew we'd be friends forever. 

Melissa Suermann

Lucas is another one of Ben's best friends.

Lucas Cooper

Nicole has known me since my birth. As my elder cousin of a year and a few months, she has always been a role model badass for me to learn from. Most of our lives we have not lived less than 5 hours from each other; however, that changed when I moved a mere 45 min away from Nicole so that I could earn my Master's degree from the University of Kansas. Our shared love of family and quality time, as well as our therapist mindsets, has helped us make up for all the lost time and allowed us to become frousins (friend-cousins). 

Nicole Harnisch

Matt McMahill

Kayla and I have known each other since Mrs. Mickle's 3rd grade class. We were also in girl scouts together and have survived all the ups and downs of childhood and growing up. No matter where we've lived and the friends we have made in common or not, Kayla has remained one of those friends upon whom I can rely no matter the circumstance. 

Kayla Motl

Miles also happens to be one of Ben's best friends.

Miles Wright

Wedding Party

Q + A

Doubletree by Hilton

The rate is also applicable for those only staying Friday and Saturday night. 
The cost goes up to $178 per night for those staying Friday-Monday. 
General information for wedding block:
30 day release date-rooms not book go back to the hotel. 
Do our best to group family together, but not guaranteed. 
Check in time is 3 pm. (We will do our best for early check in’s, but cannot guarantee that). 
Check out is noon. 

To utilize the direct link, copy and paste in your preferred browser. Scroll down and enter your dates of stay, click VIEW PRICES. This will populate the discounted rate and available rooms.

Holiday Inn Express

Go to the bottom of the page to Discover and select group bookings and enter the block code. If guests are not members there is an option to pick up rooms as guest only.

Check in: 3:00pm
Check out: 11:00am

Best Western Manhattan Inn

Where to Stay

Manhattan Brewing Company

Liquid Art Winery And Estate

Museum of Art + Light

K-State Gardens

Things to Do

Registry

Blue Sage Barn at Prairiewood 

1484 Wildcat Creek Rd, Manhattan, KS 66503

Erika & Ben

Erika & Ben

Registry

Thank you to everyone in helping us build up our "Honey Fund". This money will be used to celebrate our marriage in the Fall of 2025 somewhere adventurous and beautiful. Anything leftover will be saved for a downpayment for a house in the Kansas City metro area.