Upscale Palais Royale Wedding | Jacqui and Nolan | South Bend Wedding Photographer

Weddings

This past July Jacqui and Nolan celebrated their love by saying I do at the place their love story started and ended with an upscale Palais Royale wedding. It was a perfect day summer day in South Bend as all their family and friends gathered at The Basilica to witness the sacrament of their marriage. Notre Dame is a place so special to them, they knew that their wedding would be extra meaningful on campus.

Their Love Story

Jacqui and Nolan both went to Notre Dame for undergrad but he was one year older than her. On Nolan’s Junior Parent’s Weekend, Jacqui happened to be at the same restaurant/bar that he and his family and friends were at. While she was standing near the front she got into a conversation with a lady who later turned out to be his mom! She asked Jacqui what her major was and when she said Science-Business, Nolan’s mom asked if Jacqui knew her son Nolan Henry because he was the same major. Jacqui did not know him at the time so Nolan’s mom went over and grabbed him to introduce the two.

They enjoyed meeting each other and exchanged numbers but didn’t really talk again until about 5 months later. Nolan ran into Jacqui in the student center and asked what classes she was taking for the semester. Jacqui told him she was put in the worst Physics II class that ended at 4:30 pm on Fridays. Nolan had a great schedule but decided to switch into that Physics II class with Jacqui. That’s when Jacqui knew he was a special kind of guy for switching into a Friday evening class for her.

From then on, they sat next to each other in class every week and they became quick study partners. Nolan got to stay for a 5th year to play football, they had so much fun making memories, studying together, making late night food runs, and Jacqui was always of course in the same front row seat of the student section at every game so he knew where to find her. They built a strong foundation to build up their love story.

The Proposal

Jacqui and Nolan were back in South Bend after graduating to watch the Notre Dame vs. Clemson game in 2020. It was the quintessential fall day in South Bend! The morning of game day, Nolan asked Jacqui if she wanted to go on a walk around campus like they used to do together as students. They walked to all of their favorite spots and then reached the log chapel near the lakes. It’s a gorgeous spot to sit, study, picnic and get a view of the lakes. Nolan asked Jacqui if she wanted to go look inside the log chapel, to which she said was absolutely crazy. No one can get inside the chapel without special access. Then he surprised her and pulled out the key to the chapel and opened the door to go explore.

After looking around a bit, Nolan told Jacqui he remembered that her grandma and grandpa got engaged in this exact location when they were their ages. He told her he would love to do the same thing and then got down on one knee and proposed! After many tears, she found out he had a hidden photographer the whole time taking photos and did a surprise photoshoot near the lakes. After, still on cloud 9, they walked over to a friend’s house on Notre Dame Ave. Jacqui was surprised by both sides of families and all of her friends that flew into town to celebrate their engagement. And on that night, against all odds, the Irish beat Clemson which cemented it as the best day ever.