1 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
2 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
3 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
4 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
5 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
6 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
7 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
8 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
9 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
10 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
11 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
12 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
13 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
14 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
15 of 15
Photo by Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
Courtship: Jen Lewis, a kitchen and bathroom designer at Signature Kitchen & Bath, first met Dennis Caplinger, a digital producer at Rodgers Townsend, because of their mutual appreciation for beer. Dennis, a home brewer with a large presence in the St. Louis beer community, was at MicroFest in May of 2014 when he met Jen (“I was just participating in the drinking of the beer,” she says) through a mutual friend. “Once my friend pulled him over and they started talking, I found a way to insert myself into the conversation,” she says with a laugh.
That night, one of Jen’s friends was having a birthday party, so she invited Dennis over, and they hit it off. The two reunited the following day to walk their dogs—for Dennis, his chocolate lab and for Jen, her pit bull mix—in Tower Grove Park. For the next week straight, they were inseparable, and each vouches that by the end of the eighth day spent together, they knew they were meant to be.
Proposal: Because both Jen and Dennis are from Michigan—Jen from northern Michigan, and Dennis from just outside Detroit—Dennis figured it would be a wonderful place to propose. With the help of his family, he planned a trip that they’d take via RV, which he and Jen rented in Detroit and drove north to Traverse City. Unbeknownst to Jen, he had already asked her family’s permission to marry her, and then secretly planned for Jen’s family to be there for the moment of the proposal.
At the end of their drive, they decided to go on a hike through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. At the uppermost point of the walk, Dennis got down on one knee. “It was just such a stunning place,” Jen says, “and I was so happy that my whole family got to be there to see it.” Even though Jen had all the reason to believe that Dennis was going to propose that day, she had put it out of her mind during the final leg of the drive. “He threw me for a loop,” she says, “because he fell asleep in the car! I was thinking, ‘No way is this man going to propose!’”
Ceremony & Reception: Jen and Dennis got married on March 18 with both ceremony and reception at Haue Valley in Pacific, Missouri—an event space with a farm and barn. “We’re very much outdoors people,” Dennis says, “so we knew we wanted something rustic." The venue also has a storage closet filled with decorations from previous guests, along with a selection of cedar rounds perfect for table centerpieces, and all of it was free for Jen and Dennis to use. In addition to an entirely vegan meal, Haue Valley also allowed the couple to brew their own beer. “We chose the kinds we wanted to serve,” Jen says, “and then gave them cute, cheesy wedding names like ‘Hoppily Ever After IPA,’ ‘It’s a Nice Day for a Wit Wedding’ and ‘Beer-ly Beloved Ale.’” In fact, beer was central to the wedding décor: 100 beer bottles served as flower vases and candles, the guest book was custom-made ceramic growlers, and Dennis had his father’s old beer can pull-tab tie clip that he wore for the special day. “It was vegan, beer-themed, rustic chic, if I had to give it a name,” Jen says.
The Details:
Venue: Haue Valley
Photography: Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
Catering: Graze Catering
Cake: Danielle Kulla-Branz Wheeler (a friend of the couple)
Flowers: Wildflowers
DJ: TKO DJ
Hair: Colleen Spink at Naturally Pure Salon
Makeup: Naturally Pure Salon
Dress: Pronovias from Simply Elegant
Shoes: Naturalizer
Jewelry: Summit Jewelers; Arn Krebs
Tux: Men's Wearhouse
Bridesmaid dresses: Etsy
Stationery: Designed by the couple
