Historic Draper House

Rehearsal Dinner

The Historic Draper House

Open House at The Historic Draper House

Deadwood Mountain Grand Hotel

Wild West Songwriters Festival

The Barn at Aspen Acres

Wedding Day

Those that aren't able to join us in person, we have another option for you!

Tolman-Stickney Wedding Ceremony

Our Wedding

Listed below are two versions of the same story. Jess and Tom were tasked to write the story of how they met, from their singular perspective. The main plot line hopefully looks the same but similarly to their love, it's all about the details.

It was my last day of work, and I was stoked out of my mind to leave an office gig! I had already barricaded myself in my office, masked up, door closed, playing angsty-stick-it-to-the-man music, louder than I should. There were two new humans joining the office that day to replace those of us who bailed like we were sinking in a row boat. One of them happened to be Jessica Stickney. The whole office had lunch on the quad, half to see me off and half to welcome in the new crew. As we broke the ice I learned more about this Jess girl. She had been to some nifty places, knew about some obscure places, and wanted to explore some neat places. Lunch wrapped up and she was headed out for a campus tour, for the life of me I can't remember what I had to tell the tour guide, it was something relatively meaningless... but I turned to Jess to tell her so she could pass it on to the guide. Jess was masked up, all I could see were her eager eyes. I told her the meaningless thing, and her eyes stared back at mine in the most intense way, almost as if they were yelling, "I'M LISTENING! I HEAR YOU!" I was blown away. I walked back to my office, slumped down in my chair, and exhaled the words, "Wow, imagine if I actually had something important to tell her." I left work for the last time head over heels, and immediately left the state the next day. I came back and had all sorts of folks who helped drop subtle hints, and not so subtle hints. We had plenty of folks rooting for our love. Some made moon water love potions, others called me as I summited a peak in Utah, and told me I had to be back to town for lunch the next day, I ended up driving all through the night to make it to that lunch. It took Jess awhile to catch on that I liked her, but she eventually figured it out. We had our first official date on the 9th of October (I say official, because she had no clue the ones before were dates), pizza in the park. From there it was a wonderful 4 days before I left for a month long climbing trip. The trip was great, and Jess supported me the whole time. I escaped a Utah snow storm mid November and started hitchhiking through Wyoming. She snagged my van and had my last known location as Rawlins, Wyoming. She didn't have cell reception and we somehow found each other on the streets of Rawlins. We had a long weekend adventuring in the van before pulling in late to Rapid City. Jess asked what I planned to do. I told her, "probably live in the woods and just hike and climb. You can come hangout and we can always crash in the van." She responded, "or you can just park the van in my driveway." From there it was brilliant. Lots of new adventures, lots of learning, lots of laughing. I love how goofy Jess is, and how new things excite her. Jess jumped right into climbing and fishing, and she taught me how to be a terrific dog dad and shared her love of food with me, turns out there's more to the food world than rice and beans. We're excited to grow together, and continue supporting each other as we dive into our new endeavors. We don't know everything that lies ahead, but I'm stoked to share all of my tomorrow's with Jessica Stickney, because everyday with her is the best day ever!

Our Story: Tom's Version

My first encounter with Tom came with an email that that started " I hope you're having the best day ever" and my first thought was...this guy might be a bit too enthusiastic for the job he's in, how does he not scare off students? Come to find out that there wasn't an ounce of sarcasm to that well wish. From then until August 14, I never thought of the overly excited man. That was, until I heard down the hallway of my new office a vaguely reminiscent "are you crushing it today?" The email came flooding back and I had to stifle a bit of laughter.	Later on in my first day the exuberant guy and I went to track down a few more chairs for our office lunch on the quad, we got to talking about the Frank Church Wilderness and I thought he was pretty cool, yet knew I was his replacement and that he was off to lead adventures in the back country. It was from that point I had accepted I would not be seeing this neat human again, until I did.	My new coworkers had kindly invited me to a few get togethers, I was so excited to get to know the people I would be spending time with - which made it that much more confusing when this Tom guy kept showing up too. The only answer I could come up with was this adventurous spirit would be my new guide to the Hills. It took him meeting my parents to finally realize....maybe he likes me.	Once I finally got my head out of the dirt and realized what was transpiring, we were able to go on three dates before Tom left for a month long climbing trip in Arizona, California, and Utah. It was the middle of November when I picked this dirtbag up on the side of the road in Rawlins, Wyoming. It was from then on we were partnered up for life.	Tom has made me a much better version of myself when it comes to awareness, risk mitigation, outdoor adventure, and wanderlust. We make the most of every adventure and even on the mundane days waking up with my best friend truly makes it the best day ever.

Our Story : Jess's version

Our Story

Photos

Lizzie and I went from strangers, to coworkers, to inseparable pretty quickly! Her compassion and attention to detail are things that are incredibly appreciated about her. As well as her willingness to jump in on spontaneous adventures with me. Originally from Kansas, she now calls the Black Hills home.

Lizzie Penton

Halter is my one true super bro. We've done a lot of stupid stuff together, and have had way too much fun doing it. From Iceland to iced over lakes he's always game to get after it, and lend a hand when we've needed it most.

Kelly Halter

Emily is my older sister and my favorite travel partner. As you can see, we make any adventure fun. She has been such an incredible role model, teammate,  & shoulder to lean on while going through new experiences. Originally from Idaho, she calls Pittsburgh, PA home currently.

Emily Stickney

Evan was my first tennis partner. He showed me the meaning of competition. He was my roommate back in college and was the instigator of many late nights and early mornings. Evan is a character and a great friend. 

Evan Sims

My oldest friend, Kelsey and I have shared 21 years together. We have been schoolmates, neighbors, and fast friends since the first day we met. From neighborhood bike rides to college aged sleepovers we still love to keep our time together exciting. Kelsey calls Boise, Idaho home.

Kelsey Hall

Mader and I have stood side by side through some intense adventures (find Jacob or I for some tall tales). We've traveled the world together, climbed spires, and laughed our way through the best of times. His adventures have been an inspiration to me and his wisdom has served me well throughout the years.

Jake Mader

One of the original “Fab Five” from freshman year of college, Lizzy also competed in track with me at Idaho State University.  We bonded after being mistaken for one another early on in the season & decided our mission was to then confuse every teammate on who was who. Originally from WA, Lizzy recently graduated with her DVM at Iowa State University Vet school and is currently practicing medicine in Billings, Montana.

Lizzy Reichlinger

There's a special kind of bond shared between two dudes who live out of a Prius. Jeremy took me to Yosemite back in 2018 and taught me a billion cool things on the way. He showed me that kindness is possible in any situation and that things aren't always as scary as they seem... they're just spicy. 

Jeremy Weiner

Intramural basketball brought Kelsey and I together; but terrible puns, love for cheesy tv shows, and neighboring hometowns kept us together.  Getting to spend time with Kelsey quickly became a favorite past time just before moving to South Dakota, luckily we have been able to keep in touch regularly. Kelsey has been able to move home to Meridian, Idaho now having graduated with her BSN.

Kelsey Plum

Dexter used to kick my butt in tennis back in the day. We were roommates in college, and have shared some brilliant and hilarious times together. I've always admired how he has unapologetically followed his passions. 

Dexter Lappe

Mama Mais was a teammate then a roommate at Idaho State. Her enthusiasm for life, personal growth, and dogs made this a fast friendship that has been long lasting. Maisie, her husband Kyle, and son Sawyer have been the most incredible people to “grow up” with and I’ve been so lucky to visit them frequently. The Searle’s call Jerome, Idaho home.

Maisie Searle

Ian helped turn me into the person I am today. From showing me how to be a leader to valuable lessons like acceptance... via Muay Thai. From concerts to slot canyons, Ian gets after it on every single outing. He showed me that everyday can be an adventure if you want it to be. 

Ian Roberts

Amber has quickly become one of Jess's friends after Tom rekindled a friendship with a college buddy. Jess and Amber find themselves planning dinners, outings, and hopefully double date travels soon. Hailing from Minnesota, Amber moved to Rapid City with her partner Mike in 2021 for Nursing school and to be closer to his family. She is due to graduate from her Accelerated Nursing program from South Dakota State University in December 2022.

Amber Johnson

There's parts of the world where Graham James' name is whispered in hushed tones. Together, we've witnessed wolf packs in Canada, spent full days on towers, and we spend most of our road trips quoting the entirety of the Lord of the Rings trilogy to each other and jamming air guitar to Jack White.

Graham James

Aayush and I met my junior year of college and later became Student Ambassadors together. Our love for Idaho State made this a very spirited friendship, always trying to figure out the next big event. His charisma and personality are infectious - he’s certain to liven up any party. Originally from Nepal, Aayush calls Salt Lake City, Utah home.

Aayush Jha

Natalie Shyu and I have witnessed every form of precipitation together at 15,000 ft in Peru. We’ve had kids curse Rocky Mountain National Park at 5:00 in the morning. We almost roasted to death in Utah after finding out all the streams had dried up. But through it all there were smiles on our faces! Natalie is the embodiment of kindness and has been incredibly patient with me. I’m so grateful to have her as a friend to share the best day ever with!

Natalie Shyu

Wedding Party

We would love to share the day with all of you near and far!

Q + A

The Elkhorn Ridge Resort currently has 6 small cabins (fits 4). Details for cabins at https://elkhornridgeresort.com/cabins

Elkhorn Ridge Resort

Check out this link for available options on Airbnb in Spearfish.

Airbnb Options

Travel

The Black Hills have endless adventures...we hope this link will help you get started on your midwest vacation!

Top 25 Things To Do in the Black Hills

This is the city of Spearfish's website. We would recommend staying in Spearfish as the wedding is just about 10 minutes outside of city limits. There are wonderful restaurants, coffee shops, and breweries here!

All About Spearfish

If you are spending time where we call home, check out our awesome Visit Rapid City page - they know all the best spots! This was Jess's lifesaver when she first moved to the area for things to do!

All About Rapid City

This event is open and available October 6-8 to all that are interested, check out the historic town of Deadwood and listen to some very talented local artists. The wedding party will be at the Songwriter Showcase the evening of October 8 @8:30 pm. To purchase tickets you can call the Spotlight Box Office at 605-559-1188. The Wild West Songwriters Festival is most up to date on their Facebook page by the same name.

Jessica & Thomas

Jessica & Thomas

Things to Do

What do we do in the Hills?

Top 25 Things To Do in the Black Hills

All About Spearfish

All About Rapid City

Wild West Songwriters Fest 2022