Jadrien Komnick & Ryan Sheehan
Our Story
ABOUT JADRIEN:
Jade is a teacher and likes to be involved in an assortment of activities in her free time. She enjoys music; she plays the violin and piano and loves singing! She also loves dancing, yoga, scrap-booking, crafts, and cooking. Additionally, her family and friends are very important to her.
ABOUT RYAN:
Ryan is a software engineer at High Voltage Software and programs video games. It is his dream job and he is currently working on an unannounced title for the Nintendo Wii. In his free time, he enjoys participating in sports, playing games, and practicing his guitar. Like Jade, his family and friends are a central part of his life.
HOW WE MET:
We met through Greek life in college. Jade is a member of Alpha Phi Sorority and Ryan belongs to Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. At an Alpha Phi philanthropy event (Phi Esta Bowl) to raise money for cardiac care and research, some friends of ours decided to set us up to go to Alpha Phi Barn Dance together. The night before Barn Dance, the two organizations had a mixer to go play Laser Tag and then sign t-shirts made for the event. We spent the whole evening talking and flirting, and quickly learned that we had found someone very special. It felt like we had known each other forever! Later, when the markers came out to sign t-shirts, we somehow ended up drawing all over each other. Ryan pretended he was going to draw on my face and backed me into a corner. As I was cringing to avoid the marker, he kissed me instead! The next night at barn dance was the most amazing date; we always had so much fun together and found such a deep and supportive companionship. We soon fell in love and the rest is history!
WHEN WE GOT ENGAGED: August 16, 2008
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Ryan brought me roses and candles before we left to go to downtown Chicago. We walked to Buckingham Fountain (one of the biggest fountains in the world... it shoots up 150 feet in the air and lights up and plays music!). A tourist photographer walked up to us and asked if we wanted him to take a picture. Ryan said yes and, just as the photographer was about to take the picture, Ry got down on one knee, presented me the beautiful ring, and asked me if I would marry him. I of course said yes as I was choking back tears of joy. The crowd around us was all clapping and cheering. We took a few more pictures and savored the moment. As we were leaving the fountain to walk to dinner, a beautiful fireworks display began nearby at Navy Pier. We then went to dinner at a fancy restaurant on Michigan Avenue. The entire evening was absolutely perfect!
Our Wedding
Our wedding will be a black-tie affair to celebrate our love and future together with all of our friends and family that we hold so dear.
The wedding will take place at the church where Jadrien was raised (Zion Lutheran Church in Bethalto, IL). The doors will open to begin seating at 2:40. The ceremony will begin at 3:00. The wedding colors are gold and ivory, and a string quartet will provide the music.
We ask that guests please refrain from flash photography during the wedding. (Non-flash photography is more than welcome, though!) Our photographer (Bella Pictures) will host a website from which guests can digitally save pictures directly from the website or order copies. Guests can even upload their own pictures to share with others!
After the ceremony, guests will be dismissed by ushers to a receiving line in the church lobby. You will then be given a handful of rose petals to throw as the bridal party makes their way towards the wedding trolley.
Our Reception
After the ceremony, the wedding party will go take pictures at the nearby rose garden while our guests head to the Collinsville Gateway Center for a cocktail hour beginning at 6:00 in the LaSalle Prefunction Room. You may enjoy hors d’oeuvres including fresh sliced fruit, vegetable crudite, assorted cheese and crackers, and butler-passed bruschetta.
The doors to the main banquet room will open shortly before 7:00. The wedding party will then join everyone for a beautiful evening of entertainment, food, dancing, and FUN!!! пЃЉ
The served dinner menu includes Caesar salad with ranch dressing and Parmesan cheese along with Italian bread for the first course. The main course includes roasted baby red potatoes tossed with steamed broccoli and Italian herbs, glazed gourmet baby carrots, and your choice of bowtie pasta alfredo with grilled chicken, roast beef in a rich brown sauce, or vegetarian lasagna. For dessert you may enjoy one of the following: butter pecan with caramel filling, white with coconut filling, chocolate with raspberry filling, white with strawberry and cream cheese filling, or amaretto wedding cake.
Travel Arrangements
Collinsville, IL is located off of I-55, an easy location for guests driving from the North or flying into St. Louis Lambert Airport, which is located about 20 min. to the west. The town also has an assortment of hotels within walking distance of the Gateway Center. We have reserved blocks of rooms at the Super 8 and the Fairfield Inn.
For guests who have extra time, the nearby city of St. Louis has so much for visitors to enjoy… the Arch, the Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, the Art Museum, Forest Park, the Muny, Busch Stadium, the Landing… the list goes on and on! If you are looking for something to do near your hotel in Collinsville, you might try the Gateway Fun Park (mini-golf, Go-Carts, and bumper boats), or Splash City Water Park. Local restaurants include Porter’s Steakhouse, Zapata’s Mexican Restaurant, Bandana’s Barbeque, Denny’s, Bob Evans, Ruby Tuesdays, etc…
Weather in Collinsville in July is usually HOT, with an average high of 88 degrees, and an average low of 69 degrees. The temperature has been known to go much higher, with a record high of 111 degrees! While it is usually hot outside, we do recommend bringing a jacket or cardigan for indoors, because many places overcompensate with air conditioning!
A Special Message From Us
We are counting down the days until our wedding, and are so happy to have so many wonderful friends and family in our lives who will be there to share our day with us. Thank you for taking the time to view our website, and we hope to see you at the wedding!