We were officially married as Ashley and Derek Jager at Grace Lutheran Church, Elkhart Indiana on July 4, 2016. Our wedding was a peaceful gathering with friends and family members. The adventures from how some of our guests arrived to the wedding made it even more memorable before it started. In particular Kelli and Craig Sterley traveled from Michigan to New York to pick up a new Jeep making it safely to the wedding all within 24 hours. We also had family traveling from Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington D.C.
Our dear friend Russ Draper had his cameras in hand to capture the moments of the wedding and we were blessed to have him along for the adventure. He captured pictures that many of our family members and friends are loving at the moment and we will cherish them for many years to come. You can see his full album on his website here.
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he wedding music performance made for a soothing atmosphere with Ashley’s mother, Emy Berger playing the flute with her brother Mark Smith on the violin before the service. The church organist, Candy Henkler, played with Ashley’s father, Tim Berger, on the trumpet during the recessional. It was wonderful to hear the instrumental music from the second level of the church balcony and to know that it was being produced from the hearts of family members and Grace Lutheran church members.
Pastor Dan Forehand at Grace Lutheran church helped us along the way in preparation for the wedding spiritually with thoughtful pre-marriage counselling sessions and a lifetime commitment in our marriage journey.
So many helping hands went into making the wedding day a truly wonderful experience for the both of us and we want to say thank you to everyone in making this a special day for us.
The reception was a beautiful family gathering at Oxbow Park even with the constant rain showers and gloomy skies. The shelter protected us throughout the reception hours and we enjoyed a wonderful catered meal of pasta with the guests and desserts from our dear friend, Paula Turk. We absolutely loved the whole reception experience and even some family members went and enjoyed yard games in the rain.
After the reception we headed on our way to the honeymoon at the Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Be sure to visit our website again for more upcoming blog stories that will highlight our honeymoon experience!
Game Changers 