After dating for seven years, high school sweethearts Jadrien and McKenna Higginson were married outdoors on a sunny day surrounded by an autumn glow.
The two attended Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana, and ran track. Jadrien chose the date of their engagement two years before it happened, and on June 11, 2021, he proposed on a bench at the Newburgh riverfront.
Throughout the planning process for their Oct. 1, 2022, wedding, Jadrien and McKenna focused on making their wed- ding intentional and Christ-centered. They enjoyed asking each bridesmaid and groomsman to be in the wedding party and spending time all together before the ceremony.
The couple wrote their own vows for the ceremony at Kokies Echo Valley, and the bride’s uncle recited a letter about marriage that he had also read at her parent’s wedding. In their unity ceremony, the couple tied three strands together representing their two families and God becoming one.
The reception was held at Kokies Catering and Banquet Center with a classic comfort meal for dinner. The dance party lasted nearly four hours long — and was cushioned by matching sneakers for the wedding party — but it was one special dance that McKenna holds dear.
“We decided to do a private dance halfway through the reception,” she says. “All of our guests went outside to prep for the flashlight exit. Jadrien and I stayed alone inside and danced to the song I walked down the aisle to — a break in the chaos for just the two of us to have a moment together and take it all in. It was the most special and unique part of our day.”
Photographer/ Videographer
Haley Raven Photography
Florist
“I Do” Floral Designs
Dress
Magnolia Bridal House
Catering
Kokies Catering and Banquet Centers
DJ
Todd Early of Generation Sound
Cake
Amelia Cottrell
