Rachel + Jeremy | Late Summer Roses

A love story that began in a second-grade classroom, anointed year after year by Our Lady’s grace and healing, fulfilled in a Christ-centered Mass and elegant, historic Midwest venue.

Rachel and Jeremy first met as children, in the same class at school for First Reconciliation and First Communion when Rachel transferred to the school. “The first memory I have of him is when he read for Mass in his tiny second-grader suit and tie during our First Reconciliation,” Rachel says. “I never imagined the Lord would make that moment the beginning of our love story.”

Flash forward to high school and college, when they became better acquainted through the teen ministry at their parish, each growing in individual relationship with the Lord as they passed by each other year after year. When Jeremy transferred to Franciscan University, where Rachel was attending, she invited him to dinner one night, knowing from her past experience of switching schools that the transition could be tough. “That one dinner turned into a weekly dinner, which turned into lunches, and movie nights, and game nights. By the end of the semester, we were closing out the dining halls and finding any excuse to spend time together,” says Rachel.

Even before recognizing or admitting her feelings for Jeremy, she found herself drawn to his one-of-a-kind sense of humor, his intelligence and most of all, his utmost respect for the Lord and the desire for a relationship with Him.

From the Bride:

When Jeremy first confessed his feelings for me, I was so surprised!

I had never been pursued by a man who willed my ultimate good. A man who loved me second because he loved God first.

I decided right then and there that before we took another step towards dating that I wanted to offer up our friendship to the Blessed Mother no matter what the outcome would be. Jeremy, being the man he is, supported this decision and we prayed together about what the Lord wanted for each of us.

Eventually, we received a green light from the Lord to begin a relationship. To say it's been a rollercoaster ever since is an understatement. We've experienced the highest of highs together, but have equally shared in the lowest of lows. We've had every adventure and can't wait for more.

In the first year of our relationship, we consecrated ourselves to the Blessed Mother on her feast day as Queen of the Universe. We have such a love for her for all the ways she has interceded in our lives, and made it a practice to pray the Rosary often.

We dated for four years before getting engaged and boy did the Lord bring us through ups and downs. But through it all, the Lord was good and faithful. He brought us together over and over, teaching us how to love like Him: how to apologize, and forgive, and laugh through the tears. He helped us grow year after year and nurtured our past wounds, bringing healing to each of us.

After four years that included long-distance dating, one break, and a lot of love, Jeremy popped the question. It might not sound romantic, but I’ll remember it forever!

We had booked an escape room with Jeremy’s sister and brother-in-law, Erica and Ben. About 50 minutes in, my competitive side was showing. To make it out of the room in time, one last question needed to be answered. “Rachel Marie,” Jeremy began, “Four years ago on this day was the first time I said I love you. Will you do the honor of letting me love you forever? Will you marry me?” Of course, I shouted my yes.

Thus began the exciting time of being engaged. We spent a lot of time preparing in different ways, mentally, emotionally but most importantly spiritually. We met with my Spiritual Director and our chosen Officiant, Deacon Tom Biegel, as well as with a mentor couple. Through all of those meetings Jeremy and I came to an even better understanding of and mutual respect for one another. We even made the decision to stop kissing 100 days out from the wedding, because--dang!--chastity is hard, especially when you’re so close to spending the rest of your lives together.

During our last month of engagement, we embarked on a novena I had always dreamed of incorporating into my wedding day. We prayed the 54-day Rosary Novena and chose to end it on August 22, the feast day of Our Lady Queen of the Universe--the day we had first consecrated ourselves to the Blessed Mother, and the day we had first chosen to one day get married. During the novena, the first 27 days are prayed in petition for a specific intention, and the last 27 days are prayed in thanksgiving.

This is what we prayed for:

For the binding, healing and forgiveness of all generational sin from the Fisher and Medina families and the sin we had brought into our relationship.

For our marriage and the building up of our souls as we were to become one with each other and one in Christ.

For our future children, for their sanctity and that they may follow the vocation God our Father calls them to.

On the 54th day, we prayed our final Rosary in a private Chapel just 30 minutes before saying our vows. It was such a precious moment to entrust the entirety of our relationship, our marriage, our future children and so much more into the arms of our Most Blessed Mother. She had done so much for us in our short lives and we were eager to invite her into the rest of what her Son was calling us to. Jeremy sat just one pew in front of me so that we could do a First Look--as I practically sprinted down the aisle to him.

Lastly, as we were about to say our vows, Jeremy picked up a beautiful San Damiano Crucifix. We had chosen a Franciscan crucifix because of how important of a role it had played in our lives at Franciscan University. We each placed our right hand over our Lord and made our vows to love one another as Christ had loved us.

When our officiant exclaimed the words you may now kiss the bride, Jeremy lowered his lips to Jesus on the Cross, and I followed suit. Then we shared our first kiss as husband and wife.

After the Mass had ended, we had requested that Deacon Tom set up the Chapel for a time of Adoration. For so long I had waited for this day, and I wanted Jesus to be the first person we spent our time with as husband and wife. It was absolutely perfect.

As people filed out of the Church and made their way to the reception, Jeremy and I were in audience with Our King, thanking Him for bringing us to that very moment. After some alone time in Adoration, we opened the Chapel doors for any guests who wished to pray before Him. Afterwards, we hopped on our party bus and truly rejoiced in the rest of the day to follow. At each and every turn we wanted the Lord to be involved in our journey.

Every moment we thought, how can we invite Him in even more?

Throughout our entire relationship, Jeremy and I have strived to keep our eyes on Christ. We haven’t been perfect by any means, yet each and every time we messed up, we helped the other run back to Him. It’s beautiful to see how the Lord had brought us from receiving our first sacraments together as children to receiving the Sacrament of Marriage. The Lord is a romantic! He had planned this from the beginning, and I am so excited to see how His story plays out in the rest our lives. He placed me here so that I could say yes to marrying my best friend, my love, my companion chosen for me on the journey home.

From the Photographer:

From the first phone call with Rachel and Jeremy, I could see how important their faith was to them. They spoke about all of the pivotal moments in their relationship where the Lord and Blessed Mother were so present, and how they were brought into their season of engagement.

When we met in person for their engagement session, they were close to starting their 54-day Rosary novena. It was the most beautiful thing to witness the final rosary of Rachel and Jeremy’s Novena on their wedding day and be a part of Adoration after their wedding mass. To see a couple so focused on getting each other to heaven was incredibly inspiring. They truly kept Christ the center of their entire wedding day from start to finish.