330 Weddings: Cascade Valley park

Owen Gsellman and Katie Ferguson went on an ordinary walk through the woods on Owen’s Medina farm in November 2021. They sat on a porch swing to watch a beautiful sunset. Then Owen led Katie through a tunnel of lights to a clearing in the woods with s’mores, hot chocolate, balloons and string-lit trees. Amid that stunning display that Owen set up over a week, he proposed.

“We had our friends take pictures. We had a bonfire, sat there and talked for a little bit,” says Owen. “We added plans to go have parties with her family and my family after because she wanted to tell everybody right away.”

Katie and Owen met at Grace Church in Bath around 2018 when they were both 16. They went on a mission trip to Haiti, and Katie pursued Owen. Her initiative paid off, and the two started dating in 2020 and fell in love.

The couple, who live in Akron, got married at the Valley View area of Cascade Valley Metro Park in Akron July 2, 2022, and celebrated at a reception with 150 guests at the newly renovated Himelright Lodge.

From The Bride

Vision Realized: My dress was an A-line cut, and it was ivory with floral lace. I had a pretty veil that matched the dress that was really long. I wore pearls. … The colors of the wedding were terra-cotta orange and sage green. The flowers had a little bit of pink in them, green and orange. I really like the whole atmosphere together — everything worked really well. Everything was perfect.

Divine Presence: One big piece of decor we had was a massive wooden cross that my dad and Owen built together. We had that at the altar. It was 12 feet tall. It was really cool. They worked really hard on it. That was my favorite thing.

Dancing Queen: I had some of my friends perform a contemporary dance piece in the ceremony. I grew up a dancer, and dance was really important to me. I had one of my best friends choreograph a piece, and they performed it. The artist was Matthew Mole and the song was called “The Wedding Song.” … [Owen and I] did a little bit of a dance [to “Ulysses”], but my dog ended up getting [on the dance floor]. I also did a father-and-daughter dance with my dad. I choreographed a really funny, fun dance to … [“About Damn Time” by] Lizzo. I choreographed a dance with all my bridesmaids to [“Crazy in Love” by] Beyonce.

Breakfast All Day: We did something a little bit unconventional. We had breakfast foods at our wedding. We had waffles, French toast and bacon. I love breakfast food.

From The Groom

Natural Connection: What really set us over the edge was the barn [at Valley View], the quaintness and the beauty of the nature around there.

Joy Found: I love how lighthearted and fun the wedding was. It didn’t feel stressful. Everybody was just really happy.