Local Love: Krista + Nate

Nate and I first met years ago when I was the front desk attendant at the Quincy YMCA, and he would come in with work friends to play basketball. We exchanged a few words here and there, but it was always short and cordial. Our love story didn’t start until about six years later when his sister-in law, whom I played volleyball with, posted a picture of Nate and his nephew playing on her living room floor. I remembered him from my time working at the YMCA, so I sent him a friend request. Within 30 seconds he added me back and sent me a message. We went on our first date the day after Christmas in 2021 and have since welcomed our daughter Maecey to the world and become husband and wife just recently on October 21st, 2023.

Nate proposed on September 18th, 2022, at my parent’s house on the dock to their pond. He had been waiting for the best time and decided that morning that was going to be the day! With the help of my sister, a last-minute pizza party at my parent’s was put together so some of our family could be there for the big moment! I was completely shocked and never expected that random Sunday evening would be the turning point of our future together.

We found out we were expecting Halloween 2022 and that only added to our excitement of planning our big day! We stretched the planning out to eliminate stress and to focus on our newborn daughter. It was super helpful having access to our venue the entire week leading up to our wedding. It made setting up such a breeze and allowed us to really enjoy time with our family and friends who traveled here to celebrate with us.

Our wedding truly represented us as individuals and as a couple. Nate and I are not fancy people, and we value spending quality time with the people in our lives all while having a good time! We celebrated with around 200 people at our ceremony and over 400 at our reception and wouldn’t have changed a thing! Our wedding party consisted of nine people on each side and a kid entourage, aka ring security, that consisted of all our nieces and nephews. Our wedding was casual dress with a go with the flow feel and the ability to bring your own liquor. We opted for a holy matrimony donut wall over traditional wedding cake and show cased our personalities through the music and décor.

The most important thing to us was joining our families as one in the presence of our friends and family. Nate has a 9-year-old daughter named Aubree and it was very important to me that she was included in every detail. Nate and Aubree shared a private first look as Aubree was my maid of honor and I also wrote vows directly to her and shared them during the ceremony. Nate and I also chose to do a sand ceremony with our daughters to symbolize the blending of our families.

Our wedding day was everything and more than we could have hoped for. We were surrounded by family and friends and enjoyed every second of our big day. We had amazing vendors, an amazing bridal party, and an amazing celebration of our new life together. It was the perfect day to FALL in love.

Venue: Adams County Fairgrounds

DJ/Photobooth: Quincy’s Finest Entertainment

Photographer: Quincy’s Finest Entertainment

Hair: Katie Wagner & Kylee Churchill

Makeup: Olivia Lynn + Duncan & Co

Flowers: Hy-Vee Harrison

Caterer: JJ’s Catering

Donuts: Wal-Mart

Cake Petit Fours: Venvertloth’s

Videographer: 217 Films

Wedding Dress: Girls In White Satin

Party Bus: Party In Progress