062224_RV_Z01_c_Brides V2

A PUBLICATION FROM THE N’WEST IOWA REVIEW 

‘Thankful and blessed’ by 

support on wedding day 

They take ‘little different’ 

approach to ceremony 

He surprises her with 

proposal during trail ride 

SUMMER 2024

It’s All in the Details 

photos courtesy of Brase Images 

908 8th Street, Orange City, IA • (712) 707-5900 • www.prairiewindseventcenter.com 

2 BRIDES & BOUQUETS | SUMMER 2024

BRIDES 

& B O U Q U E T S 

ON THE COVER 13 

5 

17 

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 

SUMMER 2024 

5 

‘God has a plan’ 

Preparations might have been a little 

nerve-racking, but it all went perfectly. 

“ But God has a plan 

for everything, and 

from the venue to the 

catering and decor, 

everything worked out 

just perfectly.” 

— MADELINE MADSEN 

8 Sweet 

surprise 

He was 

waiting with 

a proposal 

when she 

went on a 

typical Sunday 

trail ride. 

13 

‘Thankful and blessed’ 

Gathering of family and friends makes 

ceremony truly special for this couple. 

Brides & Bouquets is published 

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©2024 Brides & 

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17 

‘A little bit different’ 

Bride was walked down the aisle to 

the Deftones’ ‘Entombed’ on her day. 

2 2 ‘Have a 

pen?’ A 

movie line results 

in eventual first 

date for couple. 

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STORY BY SANDRA JENSON | 

PHOTOS BY CODIE ELIZABETH PHOTOGRAPHY OF LUVERNE, MN 

NIC & MADELINE 

‘God has a plan’ 


Nic Madsen and Madeline Sayler share a kiss on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in a ceremony held 

at First Reformed Church in Madeline’s hometown of Sibley. They had met nearly 10 years ago. 

A 

longtime friendship transformed 

into even more for Nic Madsen 

and Madeline Sayler. 

Madeline, the daughter of Brian 

and Heidi Sayler, attended Sibley-Ocheyedan 

High School in Sibley while Nic, 

son of Jim and Jennifer Madsen, graduated from 

Le Mars High School. 

“Nic and I met at a friend’s bonfire in the 

summer of 2015 in Sibley when I was in eighth 

grade, and he was in high school,” Madeline 

said. “We stayed friends through the years and 

talked here and there through high school. We 

rekindled things over a year ago. We always 

knew each other but figured why not go on a 

date? It was the best date ever, and the rest is 

history.” 

Once the two officially became a couple, they 

efficiently completed the tasks listed 

in the children’s rhyme, “First comes 

love, then comes marriage, then 

comes the baby in the baby carriage.” 

A 2023 summer surprise may have helped 

accelerate the timeline when they found out 

Madeline was pregnant with their daughter. 

“We started looking at rings in September and 

October,” Madeline said. “Nic proposed at my 

favorite place on earth, Okoboji, at the green 

space in Arnolds Park. We love being on the 

water with family, and it’s super important to 

both of us. After he proposed, we went to the 

golf club to celebrate with friends and family.” 

As planning began, the couple liked the idea 

of a small wedding, including just family and 

close friends. 

“With getting engaged in November and 

getting married in February, it was a little 

nerve-racking getting everything set into place 

before the big day,” Madeline said. “But God has 

a plan for everything, and from the venue to the 

catering and decor, everything worked out just 

perfectly.” 

The decorations coordinated with their wedding 

colors of navy and natural light pink. 

“With it being a winter wedding in February, 

I wanted the colors to still be bright and almost 

still warm feeling,” Madeline said. 

The ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, was 

held in Madeline’s hometown of Sibley at First 

Reformed Church. 

The celebration moved to the Crossroads Pavilion 

in Sheldon for the reception. 

“The venue is super modern and so beautiful,” 

Madeline said. “We did not have to go full 

out with decor, which was exactly how I wanted 

it — simple!” 

Nic is a property manager and real estate 

agent at Nic Madsen — Mad Real Estate of Dakota 

Dunes, SD. 

Madeline worked as a cosmetologist for several 

years and has transitioned to being a full-time 

mom to “our little miracle,” daughter Aspen, 

who was born on April 23, and helping Nic with 

house flipping projects. 

Traveling for their honeymoon remains on 

their to-do list, with a plan to include Aspen on 

the trip. 

“Our favorite part of our special day was being 

united together as one before God with our 

families, and all of our loved ones being able to 

celebrate our special day,” Madeline said. • 

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STORY BY RENEE WIELENGA | PHOTOS BY SARA GEERS PHOTOGRAPHY IN GRAND RAPIDS, MI 

TYRELL & OLIVIA 

‘The sweetest surprise’ 


Olivia Fedders reacts to the surprise of seeing her boyfriend, Tyrell Hulshof, while on a 

horseback ride on a sunny Sunday afternoon, April 14, at Newton Hills State Park, just 

over the state border into South Dakota. Tyrell was there to ask Olivia to marry him. 

Amid a narrow strip of rolling hills and trees sits a small 

valley Olivia Fedders of Ireton loves to view from the 

back of her horse. 

Newton Hills State Park, just over the state border into 

South Dakota, is one of the places the 19-year-old does 

just that with her parents and siblings on Sunday afternoons throughout 

the spring and summer, so nothing seemed out of the ordinary 

when that was the afternoon plan for Sunday, April 14. 

The only difference was that her high school sweetheart, Tyrell Hulshof, 

would not be there because he was not feeling well. 

Or so she thought. 

Rounding the bend near her favorite 

valley to find him standing 

there brought tears of joy. 

“It clicked in my mind what was 

happening, and I just couldn’t 

believe it,” Olivia said. “I was overwhelmed. 

I’m more of an emotional 

person to begin with, but when 

he walked me down this path to a 

blanket with pictures of us and then 

he got down on one knee, there’s 

nothing quite like that feeling when 

you know this means forever. It was 

just a very special moment. 

“Learning afterward all the communication 

that had to happen to 

make that moment and the gathering 

afterward happen, made me 

appreciate Ty all the more.” 

Setting up the proposal took 

about two weeks of planning, starting 

with getting Olivia’s parents, 

Brad and Pam Fedders, on board 

with taking the family horseback 

riding to the park. 

“Newton Hills is where I knew 

she wanted to get married so I 

thought that would be a good place 

to propose as well,” said 21-year-old 

Ty. 

Pam and Ty’s mom, Martha Hulshof, also helped him carry and set up 

a pathway to his chosen proposal site that included candles and flowers 

in vases on each side leading up to a white blanket and more flowers in 

vases next to a string of pictures Ty picked showing the couple throughout 

their four years together. 

A blind date of sorts brought them together in 2019 when Ty was a 

junior and Olivia was a sophomore at Unity Christian High School in 

Orange City. 

“We had mutual friends who wanted us all to hang together, so we all 

got together and made pizzas, played games and hung out,” Olivia said. 

“I was 15. I couldn’t even drive yet, but it was a lot of fun.” 

“One of her sisters was in my class, so I knew her as Paige’s little sis- 

“ I loved her joy, her spirit. She’s probably the most kind, loving, gentle 

person I know. She cares for everybody and anyone. I feel blessed to 

be one of those people she cares for, too.” — TYRELL HULSHOF 


Olivia Fedders shows 

her surprise at seeing 

her boyfriend, Tyrell 

Hulshof, while on a 

horseback ride. Tyrell 

was there to ask her 

to marry him. She 

accepted, and they are 

planning to be married 

on June 7, 2025. 

ter,” Ty said. “We both knew of each other but 

didn’t really know each other until that night.” 

That became the first date of many. 

“What I love most about Ty is he works really 

hard,” Olivia said. “He’s dedicated and driven in 

whatever he does. He’s definitely a family man 

in that he has passion to provide for the people 

around him. He wants to have a good life 

and find the good in everything he does. He’s 

devoted and dedicated 

to whatever he sets his 

mind to, whether that’s 

his relationship with 

God or me, he’s committed. 

I value that.” 

“I loved her joy, her 

spirit,” Ty said. “She’s 

probably the most 

kind, loving, gentle 

person I know. She 

cares for everybody and 

anyone. I feel blessed 

to be one of those people 

she cares for, too.” 

By the end of Ty’s 

senior year in high 

school, the couple had 

been dating for two 

years. 

“At that point I knew 

I wanted to marry her, 

but she was still in 

high school, and we both wanted to go to college 

first, so I gave her a promise ring because I 

wanted to assure her of what I was thinking, that 

I wanted to marry her and keep that promise 

when she was ready,” Ty said. 

Ty chose to major in agriculture business at 

Dordt University in Sioux Center so he could 

experience campus life for a couple years while 

also playing football. 

“It’s been a good fit because I have a couple 

rental houses, a hay baling business and a dog 

breeding business, and I wanted to continue 

those things while at college,” he said. “Waiting 

to get married, too, has allowed be to be a little 

more financially responsible and stable.” 

“When I was trying to decide what college 

to go to, I loved my family and Sioux County 

so much, I knew I wanted to stay local,” Olivia 

said. 

She chose to major in social work at Dordt 

and is on track to complete the program in three 

and a half years. 

“We’re both social people. We have loved 

college for that interaction,” Olivia said. “Being 

able to live in the dorms and soon the apartments 

has been so special to have that time with 

our friends. We knew we wouldn’t have that 

same kind of time after we’re married so waiting 

to get married has been the right step for us.” 

Knowing they wanted to get married after Ty 

graduated next year meant Olivia knew a proposal 

was coming at some point. 

“I was convinced it was happening this summer, 

so when I saw Ty standing there that Sunday, 

I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “It was the 

sweetest surprise. I was overwhelmed with joy.” 

Besides the family horse riding trip and the 

moms’ help setting up the proposal site, Ty also 

organized a photographer to capture the moment 

and family and friends to join them for a 

hot dog roast and potluck picnic complete with 

lawn games at the trailhead. 

“That was the trickiest part,” Ty said. “Since 

the horse ride started where everyone was going 

to come for the 

party, no one could 

come until after the 

family had started 

the horse ride, so I 

had to plan out the 

times for everything. Fortunately, I had wiggle 

room between the family arriving and people 

showing up because the family came late to start 

the ride.” 

Without cellphone reception at Newton Hills, 

Ty had to just wait for the family to show up at 

the planned stop. 

“When you’ve been waiting two, three hours, 

you start to wonder what’s going on,” he said. 

“But the waiting — since high school and that 

day for them to get to the proposal spot — has 

all been worth it.” 

At one point on the trail to “the spot,” the 

horse of one of Olivia’s sisters got spooked, and 

Olivia said they did not need to continue on the 

path to her favorite spot if the family did not 

want to, but her dad encouraged the family to 

keep going. 

“When I saw Ty, it clicked why,” she said. “So 

much thought by everyone went into making 

that day so special.” 

The couple set June 7, 2025, as their wedding 

at Newton Hills with a reception at Terrace View 

Event Center in Sioux Center. They plan to call 

Sioux County home afterward. 

“Going through college has helped us mature 

more, especially this past year after doing Bible 

studies together learning more about God and 

who He is to us as individuals and as a couple,” 

Olivia said. “We have a little more to do, but 

it’s been good for us. We’re excited for this next 

chapter.” • 


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STORY BY SARAH LABRUNE JONGELING | 

PHOTOS BY CHELSI HECTOR OF C STARR PHOTOGRAPHY OF LE MARS 

MITCHELL & JAYDE 

‘Thankful and blessed’ 


Newly married Jayde Countryman and her mother, Nichole Fettig, share a moment during the 

reception following Jayde’s marriage to Mitchell Countryman on Aug. 12, 2023. Vows were exchanged 

at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Kingsley. The reception was at the Moville Community Center. 

Mitchell Countryman and Jayde Barto met by chance at a 

physical therapy office when they were in high school. 

After dating for four and a half years, the couple got 

engaged at Southeast Wildwood Park near Kingsley. 

“Mitchell surprised me by having a date at a park that I 

showed him when we first started dating,” Jayde said. “He had recently got 

into photography and asked if we could go take some scenery pictures. It 

was a beautiful day.” 

Jayde, a graduate of Kingsley-Pierson High School in Kingsley, and 

Mitchell, a graduate of Woodbury Central 

High School in Moville, knew they wanted 

to have a wedding close to home that included 

lots of family touches. 

“We both grew up in the Kingsley/Moville 

area,” Mitchell said. “We decided to get 

married in Kingsley, because the church is 

beautiful and most of our friends and family 

live in the area.” 

“Getting married in our hometown was 

us going back to our roots,” Jayde said. “We 

both graduated college and got jobs in Des 

Moines, which is a big change from where 

we grew up. It was fun and special going 

back to celebrate our wedding with our 

friends and family where we were raised.” 

The color scheme for the wedding came 

from locally grown flowers. 

“Our main colors were forest green and 

navy blue with arrangements of wildflowers 

to add pops of color,” Jayde said. 

“We loved how the wildflowers turned 

out,” Mitchell said. “They were special because 

Jayde’s grandma, Crystal Barto, spent 

all summer growing the majority of the 

flowers.” 

The couple exchanged vows at St. Michael’s 

Catholic Church in Kingsley on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023. The reception 

was at the Moville Community Center. 

“Family friends Rochelle Hiles and Erin Milner made the community 


“It was fun and 

special going 

back to celebrate 

our wedding 

with our friends 

and family where 

we were raised.” 

— JAYDE COUNTRYMAN 

center feel like you walked into 

another realm,” Jayde said. 

“All arrangements had Jayde’s 

grandma’s wildflowers,” Mitchell 

said. “There were soft lights with 

overhanging orbs that made the 

venue feel like you were in the 

middle of a peaceful forest.” 

The wedding party had six 

bridesmaids, six groomsmen, one 

flower girl and one ring bearer. 

“The wedding party was a mix 

of family and friends,” Jayde said. 

The maid of honor was Claire 

Fettig, Jayde’s older sister, and 

the bridesmaids were Grace Fettig, 

Jayde’s younger sister; Abby 

Steele, Mitchell’s older sister; 

Lynsey Countryman, Mitchell’s 

younger sister; and Melinda 

Puumala and Jazmyn Hietbrink, 

Jayde’s best friends. 

The best man was Kurt Countryman, 

Mitchell’s brother; and 

the groomsmen all were Mitch’s 

college basketball teammates/ 

roommates, Gunner Reed, Zane 

Neubaum, Ryan Mendoza, Michael 

Santich and Jake Gaudreau. 

Flower girl was Eliza Steele, and 

the ring bearer was Jack Steele 

“Having everyone come together 

for our wedding party helped 

make the day truly special,” Jayde 

said. “Seeing everyone together 

and having their support made 

us feel so thankful and blessed to 

have them in our lives.” • 


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STORY BY ALEISA SCHAT | 

PHOTOS BY ALEXIS ROLFES OF LE MARS 

GREG & CARISSA 

‘A little bit different’ 


Greg Frohwein and 

Carissa Frangenberg 

didn’t get to 

know each other 

until high school 

when they bonded over Dungeons 

& Dragons and spent 

hours driving around in Greg’s 

car, the music cranked way up. 

“We’re both really into rock 

music,” the 22-year-old Carissa 

said. “After going out to eat or 

seeing a movie, it was listening 

to maxed-out volume rock music 

in his car.” 

Carissa grew up in Ashton, 

and Greg grew up in Sheldon, 

and they are graduates of Sheldon 

High School. 

“It started out that we kind 

of liked the same stuff and the 

same music,” the 23-year-old 

Greg said. “Obviously, that’s 

grown and changed, but that’s 

where it started for me.” 

Sometimes they listened 

to Hollywood Undead, a Los 

Angeles-based rap rock band 

with an apocalyptic edge. 

Also on heavy rotation was 

Disturbed, a heavy metal rock 

band from Chicago known for 

its aggressive riffs and emotionally-charged 

lyrics. 

“And then I accidentally totaled 

my car,” Greg said. “We 

didn’t have money to really go 

out much, and so we started 

hanging out at each other’s 

houses.” 

They lost the comfortable 

rhythm of driving, the scenery 

flying by and the bass thumping, 

but they started talking 

more — about “anything and 

everything,” Greg said. 

“It really was just a lot of 

good conversation,” Carissa 

said. 

Greg and Carissa have known 

each other since childhood, but 

their social worlds did not overlap 

until they were teenagers. 

“We never interacted in 

middle school and elementary 

school,” Greg said. “But in 

high school, we had a couple 

of classes together, and I started 

hanging around her quite a bit 

more. I was very curious why 

she was always so quiet.” 

“I actually wasn’t even that 

interested in him at first, but 

I stayed with it,” Carissa said. 

“I’m very glad I did.” 

After graduating from high 

school, the two attended Western 

Iowa Tech Community College 

in Sioux City, where Greg 

double majored in graphic 

design and video game design 

and Carissa studied graphic 

design. Greg started his coursework 

online in 2019, the year 

he graduated from high school. 

Carissa graduated the next 

year, in 2020, and the couple 

decided to move to Sioux City 


Greg Frohwein and Carissa 

Frangenberg enjoy their wedding 

ceremony and reception 

on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, at 

Crossroads Pavilion Event 

Center in Sheldon. They 

were high school sweethearts 

who bonded over Dungeons 

& Dragons and spent hours 

driving around in Greg’s car. 

we’d be seeing — I thought this 

might be the best,” Greg said. 

“He had me climb up on some 

rocks,” Carissa said. “I kind of 

felt like something was going to 

happen, but I didn’t really know 

for sure. So, at that point, it was a 

surprise.” 

Carissa, planted firmly on some 

rocks, said ‘yes.’ 

“I remember being really shaky 

and nervous, because, like, ‘It’s 

happening,’” she said. 

They were engaged, but they 

waited three years to officially tie 

the knot. 

“We weren’t really in such a rush 

to actually get married, because 

if we’re going to be together, it 

doesn’t matter when we get married,” 

Carissa said. 

“We were like, ‘OK, we’ll get 

married after college. We got out 

of college and realized we didn’t 

really have any plans yet,” Greg 

said. 

And then we just kind of decided, 

‘Well, we’re not really waiting 

for anything,” Carissa said. 

They started planning a wedding. 

The ceremony and reception 

took place Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, 

at Crossroads Pavilion Event Center 

in Sheldon, and the day was 

filled with unconventional touches. 

“My dream was to have a black 

wedding dress — I’m not super 

traditional,” Carissa said. “But unfortunately, 

black wedding dresses 

at the time were super expensive. 

So, I settled on a white dress with 

a black ribbon and a black veil.” 

The groomsmen wore black 

suits with red dress shirts, and the 

bridesmaids wore long red dresses 

they found in thrift shops and 

secondhand stores. 

“We ended up going to Sioux 

City, to Goodwill and stuff like 

that, trying to find stuff, and it was 

kind of a fun day,” Carissa said. 

The ceremony was officiated by 

Barry Staples of Sheldon, a mutual 

friend of the couple and their families. 

“He’s basically like a second dad 

to me,” Carissa said. “I’ve known 

him forever.” 

The bridal party of 10 was preceded 

down the aisle by Carissa’s 

two brothers, Dylan and Ethan, 

who are in college and were recruited 

for an unlikely role in the 

ceremony. 

together to finish their degree programs in person. 

That’s when things got serious, and Greg decided 

to propose. By the summer of 2020, Greg and Carissa 

had been dating for three years. 

“I wanted to do it when we moved to college 

because we were going to be moving out,” Greg 

said. “She was with me and my family on vacation 

in the Black Hills, and I figured, ‘This is probably 

going to be a great way to do it.’” 

He gave some consideration to what would 

make a nice backdrop for a proposal. 

“I didn’t want to do it at, like, Mount Rushmore,” 

Greg said. 

Instead of waiting for the perfect moment, however, 

he proposed early in the trip, in the Badlands, 

under a big sky and surrounded by rocky ravines 

and minimal vegetation. 

“I didn’t want to propose on literally the first day 

of the vacation, but I didn’t know all the scenery 


“My brothers were my flower boys — they were 

specifically ‘flower princesses,’” Carissa said. 

Carissa watched her brothers proceed down the 

aisle through a crack in the door she was waiting 

behind with her father. 

“It was really fun because I told them to have 

fun with it,” Carissa said. “From what I could see 

by peeking, they were full on dancing and throwing 

petals everywhere.” 

Eventually, Carissa walked down the aisle on 

her father’s arm to the song “Entombed” by Deftones. 

“It isn’t really a traditional wedding song,” she 

said. 

The title is dark, but a recurring refrain in the 

song is “safe and sound,” a phrase that describes 

how Carissa feels when she is with Greg. 

“It was really personal to me,” Carissa said. 

The couple, who wrote their own vows, met 

with Staples before the wedding to discuss how to 

incorporate religious language in the ceremony. 

“We are a little bit different in our beliefs, I 

guess you could say. So, we had a little we had 

a mix of stuff,” Carissa said. “We had some 

references to God, because Greg is a Christian, 

and then we had a hand-tying ceremony for me 

because I’m a little bit more of a pagan.” 

A hand-tying ceremony, also known as handfasting, 

is a symbolic ritual that involves tying a 

couple’s hands together to represent their commitment 

to each other. Handfasting is Celtic in 

origin, and it was a popular wedding ritual during 

the Middle Ages. 

“It’s kind of like tying the knot — it’s showing 

that you’re together, and you’re one now,” Carissa 

said. 

Having differences when it comes to life’s ultimate 

questions hasn’t caused conflict in their 

relationship, according to Carissa. 

“It’s not really a problem. It actually leads some 

to some pretty interesting conversations,” she 

said. 

During the wedding recessional, Jonathon 

Young’s cover of the song “Never Gonna Give You 

Up” boomed from the speakers, Greg’s choice. 

“As much as the song is joked about, I thought 

it was really fitting,” Greg said. 

Following the ceremony, a reception was held 

in the same space, with a dinner catered by 

Langer’s Bar & Grill in Sheldon. 

“We kind of DIYed a lot of 

our own decorations and flowers, 

which was really fun,” Carissa 

said. 

After the meal, the newlyweds 

served cupcakes, which were made 

to order by Bickering Bakers, the 

mother-and-daughter owned bakery 

in Hospers. 

“The cupcakes were to die 

for,” Carissa said. “The strawberry-lemonade 

were my favorite.” 

The night ended with dancing, 

and for the couple’s first 

dance, they went with another 

unconventional song choice, “Follow 

You,” by the British metalcore 

band Bring Me the Horizon. 

“The one thing that I still think back on is our 

first dance,” Carissa said. “That was just very magical.” 

Greg wore shoes, but Carissa danced in socks. 

She had already discarded her black flats before 

the ceremony. 

“I put them on and was like, ‘These don’t feel 

comfortable.’ So, I went the entire time in just 

socks,” she said. 

As they approach their first wedding anniversary, 

Greg and Carissa said the vows they wrote for 

each other still describe their commitment to one 

another. 

“I made my own, mostly focusing on the 

length of time different periods of our relationship 

were,” Greg said. “So, ‘We’ve been dating 

for this many years, this many days. We’ve been 

engaged for this many years, this many days. And 

we’ve been out of college together for this many 

years, this many days — and that I was excited for 

more.’” 

“I said that, when I was younger, I never expected 

that I would eventually marry him, but that I 

regret none of it,” Carissa said. “Come December, 

we’ll have been together for seven years.” • 


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STORY BY MIKAELA MACKEY | 

PHOTOS BY HARVEST MEDIA 

CHRIS & CARSYN 

‘Do you have a pen?’ 


Following a memorable “fancy” first date in which Chris Jelken entertained Carsyn 

Hamstra in his decorated Colenbrander Hall dorm room on the campus of Northwestern 

College in Orange City, the two were married Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Orange City. 

The “date doctor,” 

portrayed by Will 

Smith, sparked a 

new forever even 

beyond the script of 

“Hitch.” 

Carsyn Hamstra watched the 

2005 romantic comedy after a 

game night with some friends 

when she was a freshman at 

Northwestern College in Orange 

City. 

On a January night in her first 

year away from home in Colorado 

Springs, she still had some 

unfamiliar territory to discover. 

Particularly, unfamiliar faces. 

Hamstra giggled with her 

friends while Smith’s character, 

Alex “Hitch” Hitchens, hid behind 

a door to support Albert 

(Kevin James) talking to his 

secret crush — Allegra (Amber 

Valletta). What Hamstra 

remembers most, however, is 

when Albert gave Allegra a pen. 

Sophomore Chris Jelken, 

who was also at the movie, remembered 

that scene as well. 

“We watched ‘Hitch,’ and in 

there, there’s that scene about 

you’ve got to give a pen to 

impress the lady,” Carsyn said. 

“Chris actually gave me a pen 

that night.” 

The couple laughed as they 

recalled the memory from 2019, 

having no idea they would say 

“I do” five years later. 

Laughter persisted as a common 

theme throughout Chris 

and Carsyn’s relationship. Especially, 

when the couple had 

their first official date in February 

2019. 

“Before the date I said, ‘The 

only detail you get to know is 

that we’re going somewhere 

fancy. So, 

y o u ’ r e 

going to 

want to 

dress nice, 

and there 

will be 

pictures,’” 

Chris said. 

“We were 

almost out 

of town. I 

said, ‘Oh, 

s h o o t . 

We’ve got 

to turn 

around, I 

forgot my 

wallet,’” 

C h r i s 

led Carsyn down the hall of his 

dorm room at Northwestern. 

The floor was lined with Christmas 

lights. 

When Carsyn walked in the 

door, she saw a card table with 

a bed sheet over it to serve as a 

tablecloth. 

After Carsyn took a seat in the 

decorated Colenbrander Hall 

dorm, Chris picked up whistle 

left on the table to begin the 

“very elaborate” night of festivities, 

according to a laughing 


Carsyn. 

“I blew it when we arrived so that our waiter 

knew we were there. One of my buddies down 

the hall, he came, and he took our order,” 

Chris said. 

There was only one thing on the menu: 88 

Chinese from down the street. The couple 

ordered “The Special” for the night, and Chris’ 

friend ran to pick up the bag of takeout. 

“We just kind of hung out and talked and 

got to know each other a little bit at the table 

then, and it was kind of silly and fun. And 

then finally he came back with our food, portioned 

it out, and when we were about done, 

I blew the whistle again,” Chris said. “I had 

some of my friends who were in the Northwestern 

choir come in and sing a little trio; 

there were three of them that came, and they 

sang to us. After that, I blew the whistle again, 

and my friend came to take pictures of us on 

our date.” 

After Phase One of the date was complete, 

Chris and Carsyn went to Blue Bunny Ice 

Cream Parlor in Le Mars. 

“While we we’re doing that, they cleaned up 

the mess that we had made in the dorm with 

our plates and dishes and the table and stuff 

and replaced all of my furniture, basically, so 

that when we came back, we could watch a 

movie and hang out,” Chris said. 

Evidently, the couple deemed the homemade 

date a success. 

After graduation, Chris began thinking 

about what taking Carsyn out for dates the 

rest of her life would look like. 

On Dec. 2, 2023, Chris figured there was 

no better place to propose than Henry Doorly 

Zoo & Aquarium in Omaha, NE. 

“Growing up back in Colorado, we would 

go to the zoo in the winter,” Carsyn said. 

“They would have the Electric Safari, it was 

called. We would go at night, and they would 

have Christmas lights all over, and you could 

still see the animals and 

stuff. And Omaha did 

that for the first time.” 

C a r sy n a s k e d 

Chris if they could go to 

Omaha’s first Zoolightful. 

Her parents had moved 

from Colorado Springs to 

Omaha, so Chris concocted 

a seamless plan. 

“We were also 

celebrating her mom’s 

birthday around that time 

and that was kind of the initial reason we 

went down to Omaha. Then we found out the 

Zoolightful thing was happening, so we added 

that to the itinerary,” Chris said. “We had 

walked around the zoo and seen the animals 

and found all the best Christmas lights. At the 

end, we planned that we were going to take 

some family pictures in front of one of the big 

Christmas trees and that I would get a picture 

with Carsyn — then that’s how it would go.” 

Carsyn had taken in the sights and sounds 

of fuzzy animals, crawling things and swimming 

creatures, not expecting to take home 

anything more. 

“Going into that night, I kind of had a little 

bit of a feeling that I was like, ‘Oh, it would 

be really nice if he proposed here; this is 

sentimental because of my childhood, and 

my parents are here and it would be cool if 

it happened tonight,’” Carsyn said. “But then 

when it actually happened, I was like, ‘Oh, 

Newly married Chris and Carsyn Jelken share a kiss during 

their ceremony Saturday, March 23, 2024, at First Reformed 

Church in Orange City. A reception for the couple followed. 


“ It’s so fun getting to live with your best friend. It’s fun getting to have 

someone around all the time to go on adventures with.” — CARSYN JELKEN 

this is like happening, happening. Like, he’s 

proposing.’ So, I was surprised but not, if that 

makes sense.” 

After dating for four years, Chris and Carsyn 

spontaneously shortened their engagement to 

three months. 

“We were just kind of looking at days the 

first week after getting engaged because we just 

wanted to enjoy it. We were at the symphony 

with his parents, and I was looking, and I saw 

that Prairie Winds had this one date available 

still in March. I was like, ‘Well, should we just 

get married in March?” Carsyn said. “That 

Sunday we were at church in Orange City, 

and I went out to use the bathroom and just 

started talking to someone that was from our 

church. And then he was like, ‘Oh here, let’s go 

talk to pastor mark now and look at the calendar,’ 

and before Chris knew it, I came back, 

and I was like, ‘So, we have a pastor, we have a 

church, and we have the venue. So, we’re going 

to get married on the 23rd.’” 

Everything from there was smooth sailing, 

Carsyn said. 

Well, almost. 

Saturday, March 23, 2024, arrived with 

beautiful, sunny weather. No last-minute details 

were needed, and the couple was ready to 

get married. But when Carsyn put on her dress 

before the first look, her stomach dropped as 

she realized it didn’t fit. 

“It felt like the world 

was ending,” she said. 

Carsyn was able to get 

the dress on well enough 

so the bridal party could 

stay on schedule and take 

photos. She knew though 

it wouldn’t last much 

longer than that. 

“The straps were way 

too tight so I couldn’t 

put my arms down,” 

Carsyn said. “I walked 

around with my arms up 

between pictures, and then I would try to put 

them down for the pictures.” 

After taking photos at the Prairie Winds 

Event Center in Orange City, the bridal party 

made its way to First Reformed Church several 

blocks away. Chris and Carsyn told their pastor, 

“We aren’t running away,” then left to find 

someone to fix Carsyn’s dress. 

“It was actually my cousin’s mother-in-law,” 

Chris said. “We kind of called her in an emergency, 

and she drove down from Hills, Minnesota, 

and got here around 3 o’clock. She fixed 

it in about 20 minutes, and we had 10 minutes 

left before we walked down the aisle at 3:30.” 

By 3:20 p.m. Carsyn walked out of the Prairie 

Winds Event Center and made eye contact 

with her to-be husband. In the midst of chaos, 

she looked at him and took a breath. 

“Let’s get freaking married,” she said. 

The couple sped to the church and arrived 

with five minutes to spare. 

From walking down the aisle to the couple’s 

goodbyes, Carsyn said everything turned out 

wonderfully. The venue was set up in emerald 

green and gold accents, representing the elegant 

ballroom Chris and Carsyn envisioned. 

They ate smothered chicken and pork loin, 

complete with cupcakes for dessert, before 

dancing all night. 

Being married the last three months has felt 

like a daily slumber party, according to Carsyn. 

And just like during their first movie night, the 

newlyweds continue to laugh as hard as ever. 

“It’s so fun getting to live with your best 

friend,” Carsyn said. “It’s fun getting to have 

someone around all the time to go on adventures 

with.” • 


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Photo Credits: Picture This Photography

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