Wedding Day

Ceremony

Milk & Honey Ciders

Reception

Our Wedding

How it Started

Ben and I met for the first time in the fall of 2015 while working at the Reef -- St. John's main dining hall. Ben worked in the dish room while I catered events, and we worked alongside each other throughout that year. However, we didn't start talking regularly until the following fall of 2016. At this point, I was a sophomore at St. Ben's and Ben was a senior at St. John's Prep. We hung out at Sexton Dining Hall just about every day that we weren't working together or we would do the Chapel Walk around Lake Sag. (For those who aren't familiar with the Chapel Walk, it is a St. John's/St. Ben's tradition that states you will marry the person who you do this with -- definitely not why we did this when we were younger but the end result is exactly what I wanted!) Ben asked me to be his girlfriend on February 7th, 2017. Some of our favorite activities as a couple are visiting breweries/cideries, going to Minnesota Wild games, and playing cribbage, bags, and darts.

Post-Graduation

After I graduated St. Ben's in 2019 and Ben graduated from St. John's in 2021, our next goals were to move in together and buy a dog. We built our home in Dayton on Pi Day (March 14th, 2021) and officially moved in on June 10th, 2021. We bought Kai, our Sheepadoodle, on August 22nd, 2021. If you haven't met Kai yet, he is the biggest teddy bear who loves to snuggle and give kisses, and he is incredibly goofy. You will get the chance to meet him at our reception and I promise you will love him!

The Proposal

Preface: For those who don't know me super well, I have a strong Type A personality, I'm observant, and I'm competitive. I pride myself on these skills, and I made it a goal of mine to correctly anticipate when Ben proposed to me so that I wouldn't be emotional. The day before Ben proposed, my mom and sisters took me out to get our nails done, the reason being "they would look nice for the Fourth of July." When we got to our nail salon, I asked all of them if this was because Ben was planning on proposing to me (since we were dating for over 5 years at this point), and all of them successfully lied to the point where I believed them. Thankfully, though, when I suggested I get my nails painted red, white, and blue, they said I should just stick with white. So that is exactly what I did. On June 26th, 2022, Ben and I were planning on going to a cute breakfast place before meeting my family at the horse races at Canterbury Park. Ben also wanted to remake his senior photos with his convertible (previously owned by his uncle) at Lake Minnetonka Bay. On our drive to Lake Minnetonka Bay, Ben had a mini panic attack so I ended up driving us the remaining distance. (Should've been a sign!) We ended up driving right behind my mom's Jeep, which is unmistakable given her "Lisers" license plate. When I should've taken that as another hint for the proposal, I ended up telling myself that mom was picking my sister Madi up from work before the horse races (which is way out of the way). I tried speeding up to catch up to them and, at the same time, Ben was simultaneously texting my family to drive faster. Thankfully for him, a red light separated us. We parked his convertible and Ben suggested that we walked around to see the lake, so we did. We stopped walking on a bridge and Ben started getting sentimental with me. Again, another hint that I overlooked! Ben glanced over his shoulder and I also looked, seeing my family walk up to us with phones recording and champagne. When I looked back at Ben, he was down on one knee. He said my full name and, to be honest, I blacked out and didn't hear a single thing he said besides, "Will you marry me?" at the end. For someone like me being so observant, he proved me wrong, and I couldn't be happier that I will be spending the rest of my life with this amazing man!

Our Story

Photo credits to MSD Photography 📸

Engagement Photos

Madison Sharp

Cole Pfannenstein

Cassidy Sharp

Adam Lepinski

Lindsey Sharp

Mitch Wolf

Paige Bremer

Dan Baumert

Jessica Heinen

Seanan Lee

Wedding Party

Q + A

* Click the website link below to sign up for a room, or you can also call the hotel directly. You can get a discounted room if you sign up before 9/11/2024. * Make sure the dates are correct before your book your room!

Hilton Garden Inn St. Cloud

Hotel Info

Bad Habit Brewing has a beautiful patio to enjoy while having a delicious beer.

Bad Habit Brewing Company

The Local Blend has amazing coffee and is right off of Main Street.

The Local Blend

Obbink Distilling just opened this June (2023) and has delicious spirits.

Obbink Distilling

If you are wanting a delicious Italian meal, check out Bello Cucina.

Bello Cucina

If you are wanting a delicious, New Orleans heritage-inspired meal, check out Krewe.

Krewe Restaurant

If you are craving delicious American breakfast food, visit Kay's Kitchen.

Rachel & Ben