Afton Alps Ski Resort & Golf Course

Wedding Day

Wedding

Reception

Complicated timeline:

July 16, 2016 - The day we met in Washington D.C.&nbsp; at TOGETHER 2016, next to the Washington Monument,&nbsp;via mutual friend, Brandon. Mandy was&nbsp;in D.C. visiting family&nbsp;and Jason was living in D.C. for summer internship.&nbsp;(see picture) 

October 10, 2016 - Saw each other before the Twin Cities marathon, where Jason was running and Mandy was cheering on Brandon. Attended Vespers that night with a group of friends together.&nbsp;

January 29, 2017 - Mandy messages Jason on Facebook asking how he's doing. Becomes a 1+ month long exchange back and forth.

March 3, 2017 - Jason and Mandy talk about their intentions and decide timing and geographical location (Mandy in MN and Jason in NY and moving to NC soon) isn't ideal for starting a relationship.

Sporadic&nbsp;communication through the next year.

February 1, 2018 - Mandy reaches out AGAIN to Jason, asking about his future plans. They haven't stopped talking since.&nbsp;

May 24, 2018 - The unofficial, official first date/first time seeing each other again since the marathon. (Jason knew it was a date but forgot to mention it to Mandy.)

How we met

September 3, 2018 - Officially dating

November 2018 - Met each others'&nbsp;parents when Jason moved to Minneapolis and at a family meal at the Huang household



January 9, 2019 - First trip together going to visit Mandy's brother Ronny, Calinda and Ivy in DC



January 31, 2019 - Jason travels with Mandy and her parents to China over Chinese New Year and meets the family in Guangzhou&nbsp;

April 25, 2019 - Family vacation with the Huang's to Lake Tahoe

June 7, 2019 - Couples camping trip to Duluth for the weekendJune 18, 2019 - Jason says&nbsp;"I love you" first!

August 2, 2019 - Family Camp with the Scheffert family (Jason's maternal side)

September 25, 2019 - Couples trip to San Francisco as part of Jason's work trip

October 29, 2019 - Jason asks Luke and Lucy for permission to marry Mandy

Dating

November 9, 2019

Both being somewhat sentimental, Jason wanted to find a place that would be meaningful to propose. The Foshay Tower in Minneapolis was built in 1929, the tallest building at the time, and&nbsp;was inspired by the Washington Monument in DC. Given that&nbsp;the first time Jason set eyes on his beautiful bride-to-be was in the shadow of the Washington Monument, the observation deck in the tower would work nicely. After convincing the staff to open the museum and observation deck an hour early, Jason employed Rachel and Jacob, his sister and brother in law, to help get Mandy there without her suspecting. Mandy is so good at figuring out surprises so Jason intentionally let a few small things slip so she would think that he would be proposing the day after.&nbsp;Rachel, while helpful to convince Mandy to go to the observation deck, was actually working that day so Jacob and Jason got it all ready. Jason put together key dates in their relationship along with photos and sunflowers,&nbsp;Mandy's favorite flower to&nbsp;line&nbsp;the path from the top of the elevator to where he was waiting on the observation deck.&nbsp;Mandy arrived unsuspecting and while she remembers almost nothing of what Jason said - she did say YES!

Proposal

Our Story

Our Story 1

Our Wedding

Details

Photos

Mark - one of the "Bethel guys" - and Jason met freshman year living on the same floor in the dorm and started a friendship&nbsp;through&nbsp;going to the lake, nerf wars, and many meals in the dining center. Mark was a great roommate sophomore year and&nbsp;is competitive, enjoys an adventure and is a&nbsp;very loyal friend. He is a man of God with common sense and has a lot of wisdom.&nbsp;Jason most appreciates Mark&nbsp;always making&nbsp;himself available to listen and spend time together.&nbsp;

One of Jason's favorite memories with Mark was galavanting in the mountains in&nbsp;Bavaria and Mark&nbsp;sticking his head in a glacial fed stream!

Mark Madsen

Sophie and Mandy met through Cru bible study in&nbsp;their dorm during&nbsp;their freshman year of college. They began their friendship going on walks after luxurious&nbsp;dinners together in the dining hall and watching the bachelor/bachelorette in Sophie's dorm room because she had a TV. Since then they've lived together for 4 years, 2&nbsp;of them in bunk beds. They have rollerbladed to Izzy's numerous times, met a handful of celebrities,&nbsp;attended countless concerts, and&nbsp;explored&nbsp;several states together, often doing these things&nbsp;in matching outfits.&nbsp;Now, Sophie is living in Southern Minnesota&nbsp;doing a rotation for med school. One of Mandy's favorite memories with Sophie is their late night wine and dance parties in high heels, just the two of them in their apartment.&nbsp;

Sophie Campbell

Sam - a&nbsp;"Bethel guy" - and Jason's friendship really started growing while&nbsp;living together sophomore year between bible study, time up at the cabin, and shooting hoops.&nbsp;Sam is patient and incredibly hard working while still being&nbsp;easy going and spending plenty of&nbsp;time in the boat at the lake.&nbsp;Jason most appreciates how Sam always is bringing people together to experience life and adventures.



One of Jason's favorite memories with Sam is all the hours spent tearing apart and renovating Sam and Shelby's new house!

Sam Schwalbe

Makella and Mandy have been friends (sort of) since the 8th grade. Mandy wasn't very fond of Makella for the first year of knowing each other because of some silly middle school drama, but soon after they became great friends and have continued their friendship through many life stages together. Makella currently works&nbsp;as a reliability&nbsp;engineer.&nbsp;The girls&nbsp;now enjoy spending time together by going&nbsp;out and trying new restaurants. One of Mandy's favorite memories with Makella is when they'd spend a good amount of time together in high school but then would go home and skype for most of the evening as well, playing computer games against each other.&nbsp;

Makella Daley

Joy and Mandy have known each other&nbsp;since 8th or 9th grade when&nbsp;they met at their church&nbsp;youth group. But it was around 10th grade that their friendship grew as they&nbsp;spent more and more time together. Joy's dad also owns an ice cream shop and made several of Mandy's birthday cakes throughout the years.&nbsp;Joy has often been a source of truth and wisdom for Mandy to turn to, and her gentle spirit makes talking to her easy. Joy is currently in grad school pursuing her PharmD. One of Mandy's favorite memories with Joy is bleaching pieces of their hair together and then dying it a bright and&nbsp;fun color.

Joy Wong

Cory - also a "Bethel&nbsp;guy" -&nbsp;is just one heck of a genuine guy. From honors classes freshmen year to late night theological conversations, he has been a constant&nbsp;source of encouragement since the start of the friendship.&nbsp;Disc golf games, burly man retreat, broom ball matches, and pull ups&nbsp;&nbsp;on bridges in Germany epitomizes Cory's strength&nbsp;and the joy he always intentionally creates in life. Jason most appreciates Cory's willingness to ask the tough questions,&nbsp;constant support and heart for Christ.

One of Jason's favorite memories with Cory is traveling different places together including Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Indianapolis, and Europe!











Cory Larson

Christine and Mandy have been friends since Mandy's 8th grade year (Christine's 7th grade year). They met through youth group as well. Christine has always been the kind and generous one, always having a bag of candy to share in her bag, so you can imagine she was quite popular. Since then, Christine, Joy, and Mandy have become a solid trio. The three of them are often found eating pho and eggrolls together at their go-to restaurant spot. Christine now works as a Pediatric Nurse.&nbsp;One of Mandy's favorite memories with&nbsp;Christine is when she also bleached and dyed her hair with Joy and Mandy, but it was hair that had been cut off by the hairdresser earlier that day, thinking it would be made&nbsp;into a clip in.

Christine Kao

John&nbsp;- the tallest&nbsp;"Bethel&nbsp;guy" - has given Jason an excuse to travel to maintain their friendship&nbsp;over the years with a few trips to Bolivar,&nbsp;MO and&nbsp;Norman,&nbsp;OK, as well as Stuttgart,&nbsp;Germany. "Sundays" seem to be a connection for them because it is a&nbsp;day for church and John's wide scriptural knowledge has provided&nbsp;solid counsel and being an avid Packer fan,&nbsp;they have&nbsp;watched a few games together!&nbsp;Jason most appreciates John's ability to create community and includes others&nbsp;where ever he goes and the a&nbsp;advice he offers from his&nbsp;experience&nbsp;and knowledge.

One of Jason's favorite memories with John is "booting" a security car at Bethel and attending&nbsp;John&nbsp;and Simone's wedding in Germany!&nbsp;

John De Cleene

Philo and Mandy met their sophomore year of college through Laura (Mandy's freshman year roommate and Philo's roommate at the time). They were both in nursing school and really bonded over the struggle and intensity of it. After long, long hours of studying together in Northrop, they eventually graduated and continued to spend a lot of time studying for the NCLEX at Panera Bread and Chick-Fil-A (food is a good incentive). Now that both are working as RNs,&nbsp;they get to actually enjoy time together and are frequently challenging each other in their walks with God. Philo currently works as a Postpartum Nurse.&nbsp;One of Mandy's favorite memories with Philo is when they tried to work&nbsp;out early in the morning together on Bagel Tuesdays&nbsp;at Planet Fitness.&nbsp;

Philomena Obeng-Amoako

Ken&nbsp;- one of the&nbsp;"FFA&nbsp;guys" -&nbsp;acutally drove Jason a little crazy when they first met. As an extroverted, rule breaker he seemed the opposite of Jason, but in the end their friendship grew after spending more time together and realizing how they could compliment one another. Ken loves to try new things and gain experiences and is always inviting other to join in his experiences.&nbsp;Jason most appreciates Ken's perspective and how he always pushes those around him to grow and take risks.

One of Jason's favorite memories with Ken is visiting his home in New York and&nbsp;helping to milk cows!

Ken Quick

Rachel and Mandy both think they met for the first time in&nbsp;October 2016 when Jason and Rachel (Jason's sister) ran the Twin Cities Marathon where&nbsp;Mandy was there supporting Brandon, their mutual friend.&nbsp;Rachel and Mandy bonded over nursing, as Rachel was working as an RN and Mandy in her last year of nursing school.&nbsp;&nbsp;Months later, Mandy asked Jason for Rachel's contact to talk nursing, but it may or may not have been an excuse to contact Jason.&nbsp;After&nbsp;Jason and Mandy reconnected a year and a half later, Rachel and Mandy began spending&nbsp;more time together with Jacob, Rachel's husband, and Jason. Rachel is currently finishing up her Nurse Midwifery degree while working&nbsp;as a labor and delivery nurse. One of&nbsp;Mandy's favorite memory with Rachel is when they walked around downtown, waiting to get rush tickets at the Orpheum to see Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that night.&nbsp;

Rachel Cochran

Seth&nbsp;- another one of the&nbsp;"FFA&nbsp;guys" -&nbsp;and Jason's first memorable interaction was Seth opening the door of a slowly moving van and throwing up about 9 years ago. While Jason does not get motion sick like Seth, they do share a love for fly fishing, quiet&nbsp;time in the mountains, quality family time, and even had the pleasure of working together at the same company.&nbsp;Seth loves to travel and spend time on his family ranch.&nbsp;Jason most appreciates Seth's ability to help people approach challenges from a different perspective.

One of Jason's favorite memories with Seth is fly fishing on various trips!

Seth Pratt

Amanda and Mandy have known each other since the summer before 8th grade, when they both were trying out for the Mounds View tennis team. They became close very quickly and became partners for several extracurricular activities, such as orchestra stand partners, speech, and ping pong. They actually ended up getting 3rd place at the State Girls Ping Pong Tournament as doubles partners! Amanda now lives&nbsp;in New York, working&nbsp;as a&nbsp;merchandise finance associate.&nbsp;Fun fact: Amanda got to be a balloon handler at a Macys's Thanksgiving Parade.&nbsp;One of Mandy's favorite memories with Amanda is the cringey&nbsp;speech meets that they attended and did very poorly at, but simply enjoyed the time together being silly.

Amanda Chen

Pat - rounding out the&nbsp;"Bethel&nbsp;guys" - breathes life into our group.&nbsp; While he may have been primarily&nbsp;fueled on candy and sugary soda during one phase of life, Pat is always upbeat and encouraging. Pat goes with the flow including with&nbsp;his hair, but possess strong&nbsp;perseverance and sticks things out.&nbsp;&nbsp;Jason most appreciates Pat's sense of humor and storytelling plus sharing&nbsp;workout tips.

One of Jason's favorite memories with Pat is playing Settlers of Catan late into the night and travelling to Germany!&nbsp;

Pat Spehn

Ryan - another one of the&nbsp;"FFA&nbsp;guys" -&nbsp;and Jason's relationship goes back the furthest on the FFA team, all the way to when they were preparing for FFA office. They quickly connected on their faith and excitement about facilitating.&nbsp;Ryan has heart for students and has&nbsp;a ton of patience.&nbsp;Jason most appreciates Ryan's willingness to serve others.

One of Jason's favorite memories with Ryan is connecting every year at National FFA&nbsp;Convention for the last nine years in a row!

Ryan Best

Mari and Mandy also became friends the summer before 8th grade, right after Mandy moved to the Twin Cities. Mari was Mandy's first friend in the cities after Mandy's dad called the High School&nbsp;tennis coach (who happens to be Mari's dad) and set them up for a tennis play date. As the school year started, Mari welcomed Mandy to the rest of her friend group and&nbsp;they have been in each others' lives ever since! Now, Mandy and Jason regularly go on double dates with&nbsp;Mari and her husband, Trevor, in addition to seeing them at church. Mari is currently in grad school to pursue her Master's in Teaching while also teaching science at a Charter School. One of Mandy's favorite memories with Mari is when they got to compete as a doubles team at High School Girls Tennis Sectionals.&nbsp;

Mari McDonald

Cain - the final "FFA guy" - is definitely a southern boy and not a fan of snow like Jason!&nbsp; While they come from different geographic locations they align in their faith and excitement for agricultural economics.&nbsp; Despite&nbsp;never living&nbsp;very close to one another in the last few year, it seems their lives overlapped with Jason stopping at their place four times a year while driving out to school and living on the east coast and traveling together.&nbsp;&nbsp;Jason most appreciates Cain's willingness to share about his life,&nbsp;offer grounded thoughts and advice and be available to connect.One of Jason's favorite&nbsp;memories with Cain is officiating Cain and Whitney's wedding!

Cain Thurmond

Ivy is Mandy's favorite (and only) niece. Mandy and her parents frequently fly to D.C., where Mandy's brother, Ronny, lives with his wife Calinda and their little girl Ivy. Ivy speaks 3 languages (English, Mandarin, and Cantonese),&nbsp;is very curious and observant, and loves tigers. However, one of the things Ivy enjoys doing the most is dancing.&nbsp;One of Mandy's favorite memories with Ivy is on their most recent&nbsp;family cruise around the dinner table when Ivy made sure that everyone at the table was clapping and singing row, row, row your boat while waiting for the&nbsp;meals to arrive.&nbsp;

Ivy Huang

Emma - Jason's only niece, lives with her parents, Adam and Kathi,&nbsp;in Rochester, MN. She loves everything princess and Disney especially her favorite - Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Emma is pretty shy around people, particularly&nbsp;at first, but we are told she is a nonstop talker at home. Since Jason has been back in Minnesota, Emma now actually knows how he is, but her favorite is soon to be aunt "Mamby" who even helped her get her nails done! One of Jason's favorite memories with Emma is all the cute pictures mom sends and her crazy facial expressions!

Emma Troendle

Wedding Party

Q + A

Registry

Comfort Suites Hudson I-94

Uber and Lyft are not&nbsp;available from Afton Alps. Please plan accordingly. There are plenty of parking spots available onsite.

Mandy & Jason

Mandy & Jason

Things to Do

Afton State Park

Mall of America®

Keg and Case Market

Taylors Falls, MN, USA

Woodbury Lakes

Belle Vinez

Como Park Zoo & Conservatory