Jacob Ruder & Brooke Madison

Brooke and Jacob met in 2018 at Ocean Zen one December evening. Brooke’s college roommate and her boyfriend, Christian, had asked Brooke to join them for dinner. As fate would have it, Jacob had been good friends with Christian in high school, so he came over to their table to say hello. After Brooke and Jacob sheepishly made eye contact from across the restaurant during dinner, Brooke’s friends invited Jacob to go to a bar downtown with them. “He walked through the doors into the bar, and we both locked eyes on each other,” says Brooke. “It was such a different but nice feeling.” Brooke says she knew he was the one from the night they met, so they decided to date long-distance for a year and a half during college.

Four years later, Jacob popped the question at The Worman House Bistro in front of the beautiful fountain overlooking Table Rock Lake. Both of their families were there to celebrate the sweet occasion. As they began wedding planning, Brooke and Jacob had several ideas they knew they wanted to incorporate into their special day. They chose to hang pictures of each of their parents and grandparents in the entryway of the chapel with an inscription that read, “Generations of Love. All that we are and all that we hope to be we owe to our loving families.” Brooke included her late grandmother in the wedding by wrapping her bouquet in lace from her grandmother's wedding dress.

The wedding had many unique aspects, but one that stands out the most is Jacob’s ring that he designed himself to match Brooke’s eye color. The couple’s favorite part of their wedding day was their first dance outside under the twinkle lights followed by a beautiful fireworks display. Sparks really were flying at the Ruder wedding!