We got married!

Surprise! We exchanged our vows in an intimate ceremony at the Windhorst farm on Sunday, August 30. It was a beautiful sunny morning. We were married under the old oak trees in the rolling green 80 acre pasture, which has been in the family for four generations. A life long friend played an acoustic rendition of "Can’t Help Falling In Love" at the beginning of our ceremony as we gathered together. We wrote our own vows and another friend officiated. Always the crafty planner, I thoroughly enjoyed creating our celebration that was honest and true to who we are as a couple. Casual. Relaxed. No nonsense. We enjoyed donuts, cake, ice tea and conversation before heading on our way. It truly was the perfect day. While we chose to celebrate with only immediate family and friends, you were in our thoughts and hearts. With all that is going on in the world today, we wanted to keep our wedding celebration simple and sweet. We both wanted a small wedding from the beginning, and this was the perfect opportunity to make our day unique to us. We loved celebrating outdoors in a place that is special to us both. With all the restrictions and wanting to keep our day relaxed and intimate, we wanted to surprise you with our marriage announcement. It’s the closest we ever got to eloping! To you - our family and friends - thank you. A thousand times, thank you for always being there for us. Thank you for your never ending love and support. We are incredibly happy to call ourselves husband and wife, and plan to celebrate with you when it is safe to do so! Love, Todd & Lauren Mielzarek

We met for the first time on September 2, 2015. It was our very first date, so we chose a bar located in the middle. We bonded over the great outdoors, love of Minnesota lakes, our mutual love of animals, family, and Lord of the Rings. It was a date that lasted until the bar closed down. Over the next few months we met each others families and shared our favorite hobbies together. I soon met man’s best friend, Dozer, who didnt seem to mind my presence too much. A while after we moved into our tiny townhouse we decided to get a puppy, because one dog was obviously not enough. Cash loved Dozer from the get go, and now they’re inseparable. The Proposal. We bought our house and planned to move in September 2019. We chose the middle of the month, Friday the 13, because we aren’t superstitious... but we might be now. Everything went wrong that weekend. The paperwork wasn’t ready on time, which meant that we couldn’t move on the day we had planned, we had to sleep on air mattresses and eat takeout for 3 days. On Monday, September 16, in the midst of moving, we took a break and had our photo taken in front of our house. While we were waiting for an appliance delivery, someone was mowing our lawn, and our family was unpacking boxes for us inside... Todd knelt down and pulled out the ring he had planned to give me on Friday the 13.

Todd works at Edco Products as the Paint Line Lead. He has been with the company since 2016, and recently completed his schooling as a certified maintenance mechanic. Todd enjoys deer hunting, pheasant hunting with Dozer, and fishing on the northern Minnesota lakes. Lauren works as the Memory Care Activities Director at a local senior assisted living. She’s been working at the same community since 2016. She loves her job and began working in elder care 12 years ago. She also loves to sew, garden, kayak, and do just about anything crafty.