VENUE: Jerry and Jill Finn’ s Family Farm WEDDING DRESS: Gabriella’ s New York Bridal Salon( Designer: Lihi Hod) FLORAL CROWN: Forage RINGS: Koerber’ s Fine Jewelry( Jacquelyn’ s wedding band was the original band her late father, Michael Koerber, gave her mother, Felecia Koerber; Alex’ s wedding band was his grandfather’ s.) SHOES: Badgley Mischka PHOTOGRAPHER: Holeigh V Photography FLORIST: Nance’ s Florist WEDDING PLANNER: Nance’ s Events CATERER: Neil and Patty’ s Fireside Grille BARTENDERS: Lip Service, Inc. STATIONERY: Impressions by Helane Cooper CALLIGRAPHER FOR INVITATIONS: Calligraphy by Tracey CALLIGRAPHER FOR WEDDING SIGNS AND PROPS: Riley + Ko BRIDESMAID DRESSES: Jenny Yoo MEN’ S SUITS: The Black Tux WEDDING CEREMONY AND COCKTAIL HOUR MUSICIANS: Danny Kiely, Craig Wagner, Jane Halliday and Ben Andrews Wedding Reception Band: Tony and the Tanlines
When Jacquelyn Koerber first met Alex McClure, it was love at first sight – for him. So much so that the then 23-year-old concluded the 30-year-old woman he’ d just met was his perfect match, got down on one knee and proposed.
“ I, of course, laughed him off and said,‘ You’ re insane!’” says Koerber, who had just recently moved back to Kentuckiana from New York City, where she had been living for the past seven years. Koerber had been out with her cousin, and McClure ended up in their circle of friends when they first met in 2013.
“ The more we talked, the more we realized we had in common,” Koerber says.“ I lived in New York for seven years. He actually went to school in upstate New York. As the night progressed and the drinks flowed, I guess you could say, Alex came to the conclusion that I was his dream girl and actually got down on one knee and proposed to me.”
Says McClure:“ I knew the first night that we met. … My first proposal was promptly rejected, but it’ s something we still laugh about to this day.”
Koerber brushed it off that evening, and they didn’ t meet again for another six months.“ I went out with my cousin again and ran into him, and of course he was so embarrassed,” she says.“ He was like‘ I never thought I’ d see you again!’ and I was kind of OK with that because I was so embarrassed.’”
As Koerber spent more time with her cousin while making new friends in town, she became close with McClure, although nothing romantic blossomed between them.
“ In the interim, I found out that my dad( Michael Koerber) got stage four cancer and was sick,” Koerber recalls.“ Having found that out, I didn’ t tell anyone. Not my best friends, not even other family members because I think to say it out loud meant it was real. But I found myself telling Alex about it – this random guy that I was semi good friends with – and I started confiding in him everything that was going on with my father, the deepest personal life stuff.
“ Through that, our friendship continued to grow and I realized what an important person he’ d become in my life. We just got really close, and we ended up going out on a date. He, of course, had asked me out many times between that moment and then, but I wasn’ t ready to date.
“ I had a friend tell me,‘ Here you have this guy that has been so good to you and been such a good friend to you. You’ re an idiot if you don’ t go out with him! It kind of woke me up, and and I was like,‘ yeah, you’ re right.’”
Despite a seven-year age difference, McClure and Koerber dated seriously for two-and-a-half years. Koerber, whose name is synonymous with fine jewelry – her family owns and operates Koerber’ s Fine Jewelry in New Albany – had heard“ about a million proposal stories” but said she truly wasn’ t prepared for the day McClure popped the question himself, for real this time.
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