COVID-19 cancel your wedding?

Valentine’s contest will gift $33,000 ceremony to one lucky couple

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BROOKINGS – COVID-19’s blight on gatherings postponed many marriage vows, but area wedding professionals will give one lucky couple a shot at a free dream event worth $33,000.

Any interested engaged, or married couples looking to renew their vows, simply need to tell their deserving story by Feb. 7 at www.hitchstudio.com/styled-shoot-real-wedding-giveaway.

All vendors donating their goods and services will pick the best love story and announce a winner, quite appropriately, on Valentine’s Day.

The winning couple will tie, or re-tie, the knot in an afternoon ceremony May 16, 2021, which will include:

• A tented outdoor venue at Schade Vineyard & Winery in Volga

• Three outfitted attendants each for bride and groom

• Up to 50 guests

• Invitations, photography, videography, a catered meal, DJ, dresses, tuxes, plus much more. A full list of prizes is listed at www.hitchstudio.com/styled-shoot-real-wedding-giveaway.

 “This event was really born when I got a phone call from one of the couples I was working with to plan their wedding,” said Renee Bauman, owner of Hitch Studio, a Brookings event planner.

“They said they would rather lose their deposits from multiple vendors than try to reschedule their wedding for a third time. That broke my heart,” Bauman said.

So, she led the effort to bring area wedding professionals together in a giveaway to celebrate one lucky couple.

“I’ve been searching for the right way to give back to the community after the pandemic, so when Renee asked me about giving away a dream wedding to a couple in need, I knew this was the opportunity I was looking for,” said Dillon Ringling, owner of Schade Winery & Vineyard. 

Participating vendor giveaways include: ceremony and reception venue (Schade Winery and Vineyard, Volga), catering (Chef Jeni & Company, Sioux Falls), photography (Erica Lynn Photography, Brookings), gold silverware and chair rentals (Ideal Wedding & Events, Tea), flowers (Thistle & Dot Floral Design, Sioux Falls), makeup and hair services (Shelon Artistry, Brookings), bridal gown rental (Marie & Marie Bridal, Sioux Falls), tuxedo rentals (Trendz, Brookings), desserts (Random Sweets, Brookings), DJ services (Pinnacle Productions, Sioux Falls), videography (Refractor Films, Sioux Falls), food truck catering (Midwest Fresh, Brookings), linens, napkins and dinnerware (Party Depot, Brookings), cake (Cakes and Confections by Chef April, Sioux Falls), drone videography (Top-Shelf Views, Brookings), bridesmaid dresses (Ellie Stone Bride, Sioux Falls), stationery printing (Allegra, Brookings, and Smith & Smith, Sioux Falls), décor rentals (Prairie Lane Vintage Rentals, Sioux Falls) and wedding planning services, wedding styling, and wedding stationery (Hitch Studio, Brookings), among others.

“The local wedding industry is choosing to start 2021 with a fresh and positive outlook, and we think this will help couples do the same,” Bauman said.