Wedding Day

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Ceremony

Memorial Hall at St. Joseph Catholic Church

Reception

Summer

Our Wedding

Our story started back in 2021. I had just left the Franciscans and I was traipsing across the United States on the way to a friend's wedding. On the way back I had stopped to spend a week or two at Bethlehem Farm, and the Catholic Order Foresters had sent a mission trip group there and that's when I first met Helena. All I really remember about that week is that she was cute.All I remember was glasses, long hair, big beard, a smiley face t-shirt, and the fact that he corralled a large group of volunteers to go investigate at raccoon attack in the middle of the night armed with shovels and whatever else they could get their hands on. We parted ways and the story picks back up in the summer of 2023, when the Catholic Order of Foresters sent another mission trip group back to the farm. This time, I remembered Helena. I recognized her, and even remembered her name. Apparently this was a big deal to her.It was a big deal and it meant a lot to me, and I loved how he was still wearing that smiley face t-shirt. He had an amazing sense of humor, and his goofiness allowed everyone to let their guards down and become goofballs. It is still one of my favorite things about him. We had a nice week together but, hey, it's just a week and I was pretty sick with diabetes at the time so I didn't think a whole lot about it, but I did really enjoy spending time with her that week.Over that week as a volunteer I developed quite a big crush on Jack, along with the growing desire to come back for a longer stay. One was definitely influenced by the other, and I came back for a whole month.Fortunately she came back as a long term volunteer a few months later which I was really excited about and I just fell in love with her pretty shortly after she had arrived. I decided that I didn't want any part of the long distance so I decided enough to do anything about it.My crush developed and I was determined to keep in contact with him (which began with texting him a picture of a dog we had seen that summer).And thank goodness for that! We went on our first unofficial date to the Lost World Caverns in Lewisburg (shout out LWC and batboy) and then to an Oktoberfest afterwards where I impressed her with my keg lifting abilities. Even though I came in last place, I was first place in her heart. Her words not mine, I promise.Uh huh.I couldn't stop laughing that entire day! We had great fun trying to figure out puzzles in the gift shop, losing at bingo, finding another cryptid (bigfoot), and dancing. I went up to visit her over Thanksgiving that year.I had "accidentally" forgotten a pair of coveralls at the farm which Jack heroically returned to me for Thanksgiving. I was ecstatic that he was visiting me and I took him to the top five first date locations in Cincinnati. He met my extended family that night, and I think I was red as a cherry tomato the while time. After being made fun of by her family at Thanksgiving, I told her how I felt, before driving back to West Virginia, and a month later at Bethlehem farm's winter benefit, I officially asked her out. We had our first official date (shout out Christkindlmarkt, an outdoor German Christmas market) in Carmel, Indiana.It was a lovely date! It was the perfect chilly evening to walk through the market and look at all of the Christmas decorations. We talked for hours!What followed was a year of long-distance relationship, wherein I drove 5 hours one way to Kentucky from West Virginia 18 times, totaling approximately 10,800 miles, until in March of 2025 Helena moved out to the farm. Shortly thereafter, I proposed to her.It was a beautiful, and surprising, evening at a pond surrounded by lanterns and music, which we danced to under a starry sky. It was a perfect evening (the donkeys thought so too :) ). We spent another 6 months at the farm, and then we moved up to Cincinnati, where we hope to spend the rest of our lives.We are incredibly excited to see what God has in store for us and to have you join us at our wedding!

Our Story

Clare Birkeland

Patrick Wyton

Carolyn Millbourn

Guillermo Nieves

Katherine Kaelin

Samuel Kaelin

Jacqueline Williams

John Despain

Michelle Gessner

Stephen Delaney

Rachael Williams

Mitchell Anderson

Wedding Party

Dress Code

We are incredibly grateful for all of our family and friends who are traveling in to celebrate our wedding with us! There are plenty of Airbnbs, Vrbos, and hotels around the area. We have a block of 25 rooms at the Hampton Inn &amp; Suites, but there are plenty of options in town!Please feel free to reach out with any questions!

The Hampton Inn &amp; Suites in Wilder KY is a 17 minute drive from the church and a 9 minute drive from the reception. There are 25 rooms (each with 2 Queens) in the block, and more can be added! You can contact the hotel to make/pay for your reservation under Lampton Wedding. The hotel has a free breakfast, fitness center, and hot tub and pool so bring your swimsuit!


The "cut off date" to reserve rooms is March 25th, after this day the unreserved rooms in the block will be released back to the hotel.


Feel free to reach out if you have any questions - helenakaelin33@gmail.com

Hampton Inn & Suites Wilder

Travel

Welcome to Jack Lampton's Official Unofficial Cincinnati Safari Guide

It's a dangerous and/or scary world out there, and Cincinnati has a lot of places to see. Follow me, and I'll help you to find things that are worth your time in Cincinnati if you plan on spending a little extra time in the area around the wedding.

Cincinnati has a fantastic zoo which is well worth the visit. Though they try to cover it up, Harambe was killed here, and you can still find his picture in the gorilla exhibit's timeline. Also, the kangaroo exhibit lets you walk around inside of the kangaroo enclosure. It felt like I was really at an Outback Steakhouse.

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

There's a legendary aquarium at a walkable outdoor space called Newport On the Levee (also worth a visit). Word on the street is that if you bring a big enough backpack they let you take a penguin home with you from the penguin exhibit.

Newport Aquarium

Delightful artisan market with several local restaurants and craft stores, including several 'fancy plant' stores that the dames just love. There's also a free trolley which goes around the area and might by itself make the trip worth it, if trains are your thing. Something for the girls, something for the boys.

Findlay Market

Cincinnati has an incredible (and free!) art museum which also happens to be one of Helena and my first date spots. I think that, because entry is free, if you pay, they just let you take art off the walls. Either that or if you bring googly eyes you can put them on the artwork. There are some stunning Duvenecks that are just asking to be googly eyed. Highly recommend.

Cincinnati Art Museum

Cast your vote in the great Cincinnati Chili dispute. Skyline puts cocoa powder in their chili, and they serve it on top of spaghetti and hot dogs, which technically makes it a salad and/or a mixed drink rather than an entree, so drink up!

Skyline Chili 

Neuschwanstein is castle is nowhere near Cincinnati, but it is a premier European winter travel destination. Nestled in the rugged Alpine hills in the very south of Germany, near the border with Austria, they say that to see the ice and snow sparkling off the fair battlements is to see the very twinkle in the eye of God. Check it out sometime if you want to.

Neuschwanstein Castle

To be honest, I am to this day unsure of what a conservatory is. According to my uncle, "it's a room with glass windows where you stay warm during the winter months and grow plants." If his word is to be trusted, this would be great news for the dames. Last time I went there was a really cool model train exhibit which, if my word is to be trusted, would be great news for the fellas.

Krohn Conservatory

While not the church Helena and are getting married at, this beautiful Catholic Church is our home parish and a strong contender for most beautiful church I've been inside. It's also the sister parish to Sacred Heart, the church we'll actually be getting married at.

Old St. Mary's Catholic Church

One of Northern Kentucky's finest churches, Covington Cathedral is definitely worth a visit. They're actively in the process of restoring the cathedral's many gargoyles, so, if you know any gargoyles, this could be a great place to point them toward during their stay. I make it a point not to associate with gargoyles, but people have different sensitivities to such things and this is probably a situation where two people of good will could rationally disagree, so I leave that up to your discretion.

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

Things to Do

Registry

Sacred Heart Church <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sacred+Heart+Church/@39.131884,-84.5340969,137m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x8841b46d3de51fbb:0xf7058b378dad9c6b!8m2!3d39.1318014!4d-84.5334545!16s%2Fg%2F1tfg8bw5?entry=ttu&amp;g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTAwNy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Address: 2733 Massachusetts Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45225</a> Helena and Jack will be married according to the Traditional Latin Rite. The Marriage Rite begins at 2pm, followed by the newlyweds' first mass together. For the Mass, please follow the below traditional Catholic modesty guidelines. We know this might be out of the ordinary for some, but reverence for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is very important to us, and we deeply appreciate you helping us celebrate our wedding day in this way. "To dress becomingly for God and neighbor, and in keeping with the reverence due to the Blessed Sacrament, kindly refrain from wearing shorts, blue jeans, tee-shirts, tank-tops, revealing and/or low cut blouses, sleeveless or backless dresses (editor's note: a shawl would suffice, or perhaps a large and expensive fur coat able to hide one or several penguins within), spaghetti straps, or form-fitting clothing of any sort. Please wear dresses and skirts that fall below the knee when sitting even with leggings." If you've never been to a traditional Latin Mass (TLM), it can be easy to get lost and overwhelmed by it. We've added this page as a way of helping people to prepare and understand it a little better if they so choose. If you've got thirty seconds:The best advice we've heard for someone attending their first TLM is to treat it as you would a holy hour of Eucharistic Exposition and Adoration. Just try to get lost in the beauty and mystery of it all. If you've never been to a holy hour, just know that Jesus Christ is present here in an ancient and dignified way, and that it's very important to us. There will be small red booklets (known as missals) available to help guide you through the whole thing but, speaking from experience, they can tend to get in the way unless you already know your way around a Latin Mass. If you've got ten minutes:Here's a helpful website you can peruse. <a href="https://catholicgentleman.com/2016/06/lift-hearts-10-tips-newcomers-latin-mass/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://catholicgentleman.com/2016/06/lift-hearts-10-tips-newcomers-latin-mass/</a> If you like podcasts:Here's a Pints With Aquinas Episode about the Latin Mass. Warning, it is four hours long, but it's really good.<a href="https://spotify.link/KP4xmGq4HXb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://spotify.link/KP4xmGq4HXb</a> If you have a few hours and enjoy feature length documentaries:This is a breathtaking documentary on the Latin Mass which we highly recommend. <a href="https://www.latinmass.com/watch-the-trilogy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.latinmass.com/watch-the-trilogy</a> If you've got months in advance...The best way to understand the TLM is just to start showing up to one. All of these resources can help, but it's something that needs to be experienced to be really known. And finally, if you have more questions...We are always happy to share our own experience and why we've fallen in love with this form of the Roman Rite, so feel free to reach out and ask any questions! Above all, we want you to, as much as possible, join in ours and the Church's celebration of our sacramental union, and we hope some of this can assist in that regard.

Helena & Jack

Helena & Jack

H&J

Wedding Day

2:00 PM

Ceremony

4:00 PM–9:00 PM

Reception