It was a chance meeting through friends that brought Lee Johnson and Meredith (Keefe) Johnson together, but it is their sense of humor and sense of adventure that made them fall in love and plan a life together.
Meredith grew up in the Twin Cities area and graduated from Park High School in Cottage Grove, Minn. She then attended Gustavus Adolphus college in St. Peter, Minn., and is currently finishing her Master’s Degree in Education Leadership in Winona, Minn.
She previously worked in the Chatfield, Minn., school district and has recently begun a new job with Hiawatha Valley of Winona, Minn., where she works in data management.
Lee grew up in the Rushford area and graduated from Rushford-Peterson High School. He attended Riverland Community College in Albert Lea, Minn., specializing in diesel mechanics. Lee now farms with his family at Johnson Rolling Acres near Peterson, Minn.
After the last day of school in 2015, while Meredith was still working in Chatfield, she spent the afternoon golfing with co-workers and after golf they decided to go to JAC’s in Chatfield for a refreshment.
Lee was with a bunch of friends traveling up to Rochester, Minn., and the group decided to make a pit stop at JAC’s, which was on the way.
Meredith’s co-worker, Kyle Tollefson, introduced Lee and Meredith to each other and the two hit it off immediately.
“We just started talking that night and had a really good time,” says Meredith. As the night progressed and the spark was ignited, Meredith eventually asked Lee, “Are you going to ask for my number or what?”
Lee said, “It didn’t take much pushing” to ask for her number, as he had been laughing all night and enjoyed her company immensely.
“We were at the right place at the right time,” states Meredith, for which they are both very thankful.
Meredith and Lee are made for each other, as they are both very outgoing and fun people who enjoy life.
As the two grew closer and then fell in love, the topic of marriage had naturally come up. In July 2016 they looked at engagement rings but Meredith was not expecting a proposal for a few months. “I didn’t think it was going to happen until that Christmas,” she says.
Little did she know that Lee went back to the jewelry store the very next week and bought the ring she had liked the most.
The couple joke around with each other a lot and Lee had made a few “pretend” proposals to Meredith after looking at rings, even getting down on one knee at times, which Meredith had grown accustomed to.
In August 2016, Meredith’s family rented a cabin near Hackensack, Minn., and Lee brought the engagement ring with him, trying to plan his proposal. While the family were all at the cabin, Lee and Meredith decided to go for a boat ride and then get something to eat.
As Lee waited down by the water for Meredith, his initial plan was to propose on the dock, but then he worried she may get excited and drop the ring in the water. So he went up closer to the cabin and nervously waited for her to come outside.
When Meredith came out of the cabin, Lee got down on one knee, and expecting this to be another “practice” proposal, Meredith said “Come on, get up…. let’s go, I’m hungry!”
Lee then opened the ring box and said, “Do you think I should give you this?” which took Meredith totally by surprise!
“I didn’t think it was going to happen that soon,” Meredith explains, but once she realized it was the real proposal, she, of course, said yes. “It was perfect,” she states. Lee says, “It was worth the wait,” to be able to surprise her the way he did.
Meredith and Lee were married July 29, 2017, at Highland Prairie Lutheran Church, the church that Lee has attended since he was a child.
“It’s a cute, little, quaint country church,” notes Meredith. She describes the feel of the wedding as “very vintage-y” with wildflowers in different sized vases, burlap with lace over it for tablecloths and the wedding party flowers were muted tones.
The wedding party included maids of honor Tera Thomas and Marnie Vondal, bridesmaids Shannon Ingvalson, Sara Lange, Frances Miller, Kelsey Braak, Kate Hines and Stacey Hinrichs; personal attendants Amanda Freund and Olivia Newgaard, and flower girls Eva Lange, Madison Ingvalson and Aubrey Ingvalson.
Best men were Zac Johnson and Ben Johnson, groomsmen included Casey Ingvalson, Colin Lange, Ken Carmen, Nick Agrimson, Tyler Vitse and Jordan Johnson. Ushers were Nate Thomas, Lucas Windingstad, Luke Newgaard and Ryan Culhane, and ring bearers Jace Lange, Davis Lange and Jackson Ingvalson rounded out the group.
Lee and Meredith are thankful to Meredith’s parents, Thomas and Julie Keefe and Linda Glaser, and Lee’s parents, Brad and Kari Johnson for their support and are grateful to their hosts Chris and Kelli Coley, Don and Dawn Kullot and Dan and Sue Keefe.
Approximately 350 people attended the wedding and the reception, which was held at the Lanesboro Community Hall in Lanesboro, Minn. The couple had many local businesses provide their services, including Preston Floral and Gift, Granny’s Liquor, catering by the Pastry Shoppe, Karaoke Joe as entertainment and Iron Horse Outfitters and Inn for lodging.
The couple took a “mini-moon” to Duluth, Minn., following their wedding and will be taking a honeymoon to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, in the near future.
Lee says Meredith’s best qualities are that she is talkative, very outgoing, laid back and very smart, while Meredith states Lee’s best qualities are that he is passionate about his work and hobbies, is a hard worker, is always concerned about others and is fun to hang out with, and the couple spend a lot of time just enjoying each other’s company and laughing.
“We are both outgoing and adventurous,” says Meredith, adding, “we like to go on adventures together,” and the two have begun their adventure of a lifetime.
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