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Couple chooses Memorial Stadium for wedding festivities
Monday June 29, 2009
Heather Coit photos/The News-Gazette
TOP: Newlyweds Jonan and Rachel Tiarks sneak another kiss as flower girl Emma Anderson, 5, of Mahomet, patiently waits for the last pre-reception near the Memorial Stadium colonnades. ABOVE: Jonan fires a football as Rachel and the bridesmaids yell I-N-I after guests belted out I-L-L from the skybox during the reception. LEFT: The wedding cake and the groom's cake inside the Colonnades Club.
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When they married, Rachel Hubbs and Jonan Tiarks got a football.
Signed by University of Illinois football coach Ron Zook, the gift came as a little congratulations from staff at their wedding reception venue: Memorial Stadium.
On June 13, the now-Tiarkses became the second couple to use the stadium's Colonnades Club as their reception space, a space UI event planner Bobbi Duval hopes becomes the next cool spot for local weddings.
If you must have a view of a football field, outdoor stadium seats and more flat-screen TVs than bridesmaids, it's probably also the only spot.
It's certainly one of the highest: The Tiarkses celebrated in the long room on the sixth floor of Memorial Stadium's renovated space, complete with bars, dance floor and perfect views of the 50-yard line – and every other line.
"They knew they wanted to use this more than for six games," Duval said. "There's a lot of things we have that others can't really offer, which is nice."
"They went above and beyond," Rachel said. "There were so many little things – like our name on the scoreboard. That was so cool!"
Athletics has been a recurring theme for the Tiarkses, who first got together when both taught exercise classes at Mettler Center. In the bios they sent to Duval, both mention exercise as their first hobby.
When they got together, she was a University of Illinois student from Mahomet heading toward a degree in health administration. He was a specialist in the U.S. Army, a former quarterback for MacMurray College and a Rantoul Township High School graduate from Gifford, about to head to basic training in New York. They had barely started bonding when Jonan had to leave. So they wrote letters, the sent-through-the-post office kind.
"I seriously would wait by the mailbox," Rachel said.
A year later, when they were looking for a place to celebrate their wedding, Rachel heard about a 50th birthday party in Memorial Stadium, where she once sat as part of the Block I, the UI student group of football megafans. When she and her parents, David and Karen Hubbs, toured it, they were sold. "We got in the car and we couldn't stop talking about it," Rachel said. "I couldn't wait to call Jonan."
Duval said the Colonnades Club space comes with a flat rental cost of $2,500 (or $2,000 for the smaller 77 Club). There's no alumni or student discount, she said. "There are a lot of start-up costs – purchasing a dance floor probably wasn't in the original plan."
The Tiarkses had their ceremony at Grace Church in Mahomet, but Duval said she has a couple that are planning to both wed and celebrate in Memorial Stadium next year.
The rental cost includes the dance floor, tables, chairs and risers, bride and grooms' prep rooms and little extras like tulle decorations and lotion in the women's room. "We try to dress it up as much as we can," she said, so the space looks "more like a wedding reception, and less like a football stadium."
Duval said staff had projected using the renovated stadium spaces for about 30 events its first year. But so far there have been about 120 – and climbing. "We're booking for 2010 already," she said on June 15. "This weekend, we actually have a wedding for 400 people, which is going to use all the space."
To use the space, people can bring their own cake, but must book University Catering for any food – which Rachel said turned out great, especially since the caterer provided all the centerpieces, saving floral costs.
Before the reception, the wedding party had photos taken on the field, while the guests watched the shoot from the outdoor seats above. In Jonan's favorite little extra, he and his groomsmen played some football on field, a sweet prelude to the football-shaped groom's cake.
Rachel said her reception space was perfect – as was her wedding day. "It was beautiful," she said. "I thought it was totally unique ... and that's kind of the reaction I got from people."
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