Ring by Spring

“I was intimidated by her. She was not as joyous in the morning,” Qualm said of his first impression of VenHuizen.

“I just remember thinking he was super cute and really funny,” VenHuizen said.

Their engagement was very unique and special to the two of them. Qualm had gone to his church earlier that afternoon, on Friday, February 27th, to set up for the proposal. He created a heart of candles and set three colored roses on a table: pink, orange, and red. He had Josh Tuttle and Rachel Haas light the candles and make sure everything was good to go while he and VenHuizen ate at Carnaval.

“I told Rachel I had to lead worship at my church that Sunday, which was true, so we were just going to swing by after supper,” Qualm said.

When they got there, they walked into the candlelit room and Qualm explained to her how each rose symbolized a different part of their love: the pink symbolizing affirmation, the orange symbolizing desire and attraction, and the red symbolizing love.

“The roses go back to our first date,” Qualm said. “It led to the whole getting down on one knee thing.”

Their big day is Friday, June 26th of this year. They plan to have the ceremony in Sioux Falls with a reception to follow.

Luke DeBoer and Rachel Thornton’s romance goes far beyond USF’s campus. The two met almost five years ago at Inspiration Hills Camp, where they were both counselors. DeBoer said that he was shy and didn’t say much.

“She approached me and talked,” DeBoer said. “I would kind of just mumble things to her.”

Thornton had no problem talking and said that she eventually cracked him. “Now he talks to me all the time!”

They made a vow to be best friends and travel the world together. They’ve gone on several vacations, worked out-of-state jobs, and done road trips together.

“We’re going to Honduras this summer, and we’re getting excited for that,” Thornton said about the medical missions they plan to do there on May 28th.

The two have survived years of distance, with Thornton living in Sioux Falls and DeBoer living in Le Mars, Iowa, which was an hour and a half commute. In fall 2012, Thornton attended Northwestern College in Orange City while DeBoer was still at Le Mars High School. The two have not only overcome distance, but also initial jitters while getting to know each other. DeBoer said that it was nerve-racking to kiss her for the first time.

“I was walking her to her car after a date and thought it’d be a good idea to kiss her goodnight,” DeBoer said. “I ended up getting the corner of her mouth, and we had to do it over.”

“He’s gotten much better,” Thornton replied with a smile.

DeBoer proposed to her at Falls Park on January 4th after a cold walk in sub-freezing temperatures. Photographer Rachel Haas had been in place for 30 minutes waiting to capture the perfect moment.

“I had Rachel all stressed out thinking it would happen the day before,” DeBoer said. “I wanted there to be anticipation.”

They plan to tie the knot on Friday, August 21st at Inspiration Hills Camp in Canton, South Dakota with a reception to follow.

Jordan Wenborg and Joey Bosch have known each other a little over a year but have hit it off quickly.

“I was kind of confused on why such a beautiful girl would even want to talk to me,” Wenborg said. “I didn’t get it, but I couldn’t be happier that she did.”

“We were both really shy and just timid around each other so it was really hard to get to know each other at first,” Wenborg said about their first few times hanging out.

Bosch replied with a smile that that wasn’t true, that he was the awkward one, and she was perfectly fine.

Wenborg proposed to her during dinner at the Garden Hilton Inn. He went there early to make sure the fishing pole was in place on the bridge.

“I had them set me up in a horrible spot near the kitchen so I could sneak out and go put a fishing pole out on the bridge,” said Wenborg.

At the end off the fishing pole he had a lure that said, “You’re the greatest catch I’ve ever had. Will you marry me?”

While she was reeling the lure up, Wenborg dropped to one knee and proposed.

“I had a whole speech prepared, but I was so nervous I forgot it all and just said ‘Will you make me the happiest person in the world and marry me?’ ”

Bosch commented on the wedding planning process and says its been a very laid back process and most of the big stuff has already been taken care of and has fallen into place.

Wenborg and Bosch are excited to become Mr. and Mrs. on Saturday, October 3rd, 2015 with a reception to follow the ceremony.