Friends and Family, Derek and I are working together with our wedding venue tirelessly to ensure the health and safety of all our friends and family are well taken care of. We understand taking part in this celebration can be scary but we appreciate your understanding with us fighting for this to happen. We wanted to explain the measure we taking on our big day so you have an idea of what to expect. Please see details pertaining to the Ceremony, Cocktail Hour and Reception down below. Ceremony Unless freezing outside, we are holding the ceremony outside. Seating will be evenly spaced to abide by the social distancing rules and masks will be optional. All chairs will be sanitized and cleaned prior to ceremony start time. Cocktail Hour Cocktail Hour will be held inside the hotel in the pre-function space. We will asks all friends and family to wear masks due to the space being in a small capacity (of course, if a drink is in hand you do not need to wear a mask). Everyone is welcome to roam throughout the lobby area or spend time outside. Sanitizing stations will be available. Reception Our Reception will be held in a ballroom big enough to host 300 people. With our guest list size, we aren't expecting more than 150 people. All food (dinner and dessert) will be served by hotel staff member wearing gloves and masks. Guests will be placed at tables of 4. Masks are not required while eating and drinking at a table. However, if you are done with your meal we encourage everyone to wear a mask. Also, sanitizing stations will be in the space for everyone to use. Dancing will be allowed and masks are not required. We've ordered a dance floor 24x24 to allow enough space. You are all our priority. We want you all to have fun in a safe and healthy environment. Please reach out if you have specific questions or concerns. Love, Derek and Chelsea

Derek and I met at the Woodbury YMCA in Woodbury, MN. He accepted the position as the School Age Childcare Director and I was a Member Service Advisor. For several months, we got to know each other on a friendship level. We were both in relationships and over time supported each other through the break ups. Since Derek was a Director, he would be the Manager of Duty every Wednesday. During that time he would utilize his time to be behind the desk with me. Normally, all the other Directors would walk around the building but not Derek. One day, after work I heard my phone go off and saw Derek messaged me on Facebook! I smiled so big and couldn't stop smiling for a couple hours. After that day, we ended up taking turns starting conversations day-after-day until about a month later we FINALLY went to Buffalo Wild Wings and had a un-labeled date. We ended up sitting and talking in the restaurant for 6 hours. A week after that, we went out on our first date, Twins game. On my right was Derek and on my left was a guy who made himself comfortable taking over the resting arm. I was secretly okay with that so I could be closer to Derek ;) He drove me home that night and I was ready for him to plant a big one on me but, us being awkward, I gave him a 'knuckle bump' and left the car. Learning later, that made he knew, "this chick is awesome." Derek and I exchanged vows with immediate family members on February 4, 2019 before he left for Basic training; we chose to go into this new adventure as husband and wife. At the beginning of his training, he mailed me a key chain that is cut in half for each of us to have that says: "May the Lord watch between you and me while we are apart." - Genesis 31:49 We are so excited to have a big celebration with extended family and friends on October 17, 2020. We cannot wait to create more memories surrounded by those who have supported us and provided guidance during our relationship and marriage.