The love story of Paige Woodford and Brandon Swiatnicki began with a text message. Paige was on her way to work and she received a text from her friend, Cassie Cook, saying, “I have a guy for you.” Cassie told Paige why he was such a good fit for her and shared his phone number and photograph with her to spark her interest. Cassie also proceeded to text Brandon separately and rave about Paige! Paige tried to be patient and waited over a week to hear from Brandon, but she didn’t get a text or call! Paige worked up her courage and finally sent him a message introducing herself. After a week and a half later of texting back and forth, they finally arranged a date to meet up for the first time. It was a Sunday and they decided to grab lunch at Dockside in Oconto and go mini golfing afterwards. Apparently this is the key combination to the perfect start of a relationship. From that day forward, Paige & Brandon were inseparable and loved spending as much time together as possible. Ten months later they moved in together and started talking about their forever together. Living together made their relationship grow stronger & they knew they never wanted to be apart from one another.
October 6th, 2019 took their relationship to the next level. It was a Sunday…a day that is apparently good luck for new beginnings for this couple! Brandon & Paige were tired from celebrating the Nor wedding the night before in Green Bay. They spent the morning snuggled up with their dogs and relaxing to recover together. The day was warm, sunny & overall beautiful! Brandon asked Paige to accompany him and the dogs on a walk at the Oconto marsh to enjoy the day together. The thought of a proposal crossed Paige’s mind, but the walk was so unplanned that she convinced herself that it was just a dream of hers. They arrived at the trail, which is about 3.5 miles long and surrounded by gorgeous nature and water. They were finishing up the walk and Paige was just about to cross the bridge to head back to the car, when suddenly Brandon stopped her and pulled out an engagement ring. Brandon asked Paige to marry him. Paige remembers feeling happy, shocked & shaking with a permanent smile! There were hugs & kisses and the rest of the day Paige found herself staring at her ring constantly. Paige’s mother was the first person they shared the news with! They waited until she got home from work and walked over to her house to show off the ring. She was so excited for them and couldn’t wait to start spreading the news! That evening, Paige & Brandon spent the night at home making dinner together and shared their engagement with more friends and family. The whirlwind of excitement has continued to grow since that day!
Brandon and Paige knew they wanted to get married the following summer, so wedding planning started right away! The first decision was the venue. They toured the Tundra Lodge together and mutually agreed it would be a perfect fit for their celebration with friends and family. Paige took the lead on planning things after that, but Brandon always approved of her decisions and helped to keep the budget on track. In order to help with the coordination of the day, they decided to hire 88 Events to set up decorations and flowers for the ceremony and reception. A wedding day coordinator was also hired to keep the day organized. Next up was booking a DJ and photographer, which they also mutually agreed on quickly! Brandon & Paige relied on each other for planning their wedding day. Paige appreciated the support and help from her family and friends to get the guest list created as well as help her find her wedding dress!
Paige is a Registered Nurse at Bellin Health. She works at two separate clinics including, Pain Management in Green Bay and Breast Health/Radiology in Marinette. Brandon is a lineman for WPS and is based out of the Menominee location. They each enjoy their drive and passion for their careers, but they have many hobbies that keep them busy when not at work. Paige has always had a love for animals since her childhood, so naturally Brandon learned how to accommodate her desire to have lots of animals at home! Two dogs, two cats, & a rabbit currently live with them…and more animals may be joining them in the future! Paige has also always had a big part in her nephew’s life. Paige loves spending time with Lucas, and over time Brandon has taken on the role of Uncle and adores being with Lucas, too! Lucas even has his own room in their house. Brandon’s biggest hobby is definitely farming and working on equipment. He prefers to stay active and likes to have projects going on to keep him busy. Brandon also loves spending quality time with his dog, Lincoln. Lincoln could play fetch all day, which is something that happens alot in their home! Together, Brandon & Paige have many mutual friends. On weekends they are often found getting together for dinner and drinks with them!
Part of the journey towards getting married is taking engagement photographs together. Paige enjoyed this experience with Brandon because it was something she was nervous about and together they had a lot of fun! Brandon surprised Paige by being comfortable and in turn that made her more relaxed. Brandon enjoyed how simple and easy the photo session went, and together they are both excited to have experienced something new together! Their engagement photos turned out so perfect because the love these two share doesn’t need direction or guidance. They look at one another and find comfort and love and that shined through in all of their photographs!
Brandon & Paige have a relaxing lifestyle together that they both enjoy. Brandon loves that they can both be busy during the day, but end up at home together enjoying quality time with one another. Whether they’re doing something with the dogs, out to eat, cooking at home or watching new TV shows together, this couple just enjoys spending these moments as a couple. The love and fun they feel with one another feels timeless, as if they’ve been together much longer than two and a half years leading up to their wedding. Family is a big part of their relationship, and together they try to spend time with them as much as possible. After their wedding, Brandon & Paige plan to continue their simple lifestyle and hope to build a home together and start a family!
“I am most looking forward to the moment when we see each other for the first time at the ceremony. I will try my hardest not to cry! Although, I tear up just thinking about it. I also cannot wait for our first dance as a husband and wife. I have been dreaming of this day for so long, and cannot believe it is actually happening and the man that will be there is the love of my life and has every quality that I would ever want in a husband. I love that we will be able to celebrate with all our family and friends and share this magical experience with everyone!” – Paige
“I am most looking forward to seeing Paige in her wedding dress for the first time. I am also looking forward to celebrating with family and friends. I anticipate everything to go smoothly.” – Brandon
Early in the year 2020, the world was hit by the pandemic known as COVID-19, or coronavirus. Families were asked to remain home, businesses were completely shut down & schools were closed for the remainder of the school year. Planning a wedding took a completely different direction amidst the chaos of COVID-19. Paige felt the effects of this really hard. From March until June, Paige wasn’t sure if their wedding was going to happen. The ever changing updates were a rollercoaster. Paige knew the only thing that mattered was having close friends and family present to celebrate their marriage, but the dream of a big wedding felt on the brim of being taken away completely. Brandon and Paige found new strengths as a couple during this time. They felt that if they can get through this, they can get through anything together! Brandon will always be grateful for the support from close friends and family, making them feel celebrated and excited. At first, Brandon had the mentality, “It is what it is.” He was set on having the ceremony & reception all within the same year and didn’t want to postpone anything. Luckily, the timing of things worked out and Paige & Brandon were able to be the only event at Tundra Lodge on their wedding day, with lots of friends and family present to celebrate!
August 1st, 2020 Paige married Brandon and together they started their lives as Mr. & Mrs. Swiatnicki. The morning started off with nerves and excitement as each of them got ready at the Tundra Lodge. Paige was downstairs and had help from her bridesmaids and mother to get into her wedding dress.
“I am so glad we got to this day, finally. I am very relieved we are here! Everything is gonna be good from here on out!” -Kelly
They each read a letter from one another to remind them of their love and excitement for all the day would hold. Paige shared a special moment with Bill before meeting Brandon at the ceremony.
“I thought you were absolutely beautiful, Paige. I’m so happy for you today!” -Bill
When the doors opened and Paige saw Brandon crying, she was shocked. She wasn’t expecting that at all! She could have lost her composure, easily, but kept it together with a smile! Brandon’s heart dropped and he thought, “She is so beautiful!” He felt more nervous as Paige walked down the aisle. This was his most memorable moment of the entire day. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked right away, but he was nervous that his mic was on so he waited until after the ceremony. The first thing they said to each other was, “Hi.”
The ceremony was a beautiful celebration of their relationship. “Today is a celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, and of two people who are in it forever. You fell in love by chance, but you’re here today because you’re making a choice. You both are choosing each other. You’ve chosen to be with someone who enhances you, who makes you think, makes you smile, and makes every day brighter.” – Matt Funk
Friends and family cheered & clapped as the couple was introduced as Mr. & Mrs. Swiatnicki for the first time. Family photographs were taken and soon the wedding party was getting on the party bus and the Tundra Lodge was being transformed for the reception. The fire alarm went off 20 minutes after the wedding as the bridal party was getting ready to leave. Adam said, “I was only kidding when I told Brandon to pull the alarm because that would be his last chance to run before getting married!” The ceremony was a blur for Paige, but it was her favorite part of their wedding day.
The wedding party ventured to Osprey Point to capture fun moments together. The mosquitos were the worst part…but the laughs, snuggles & kisses were the best part! Guests were back at Tundra Lodge visiting and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newlyweds to enjoy dinner with their presence. The wedding party made a grand entrance and dinner was served. Paige was so thrilled with how the decorations turned out at the ceremony and reception. Dinner was excellent and the atmosphere their friends & families created was spectacular. Paige & Brandon felt the love from all those that surrounded them, and they were thrilled with the amount of people that came to celebrate their marriage.
The cake was cut, sunset photos were captured, and the couple opened up the dance floor by sharing their first dance as husband and wife! Many guests participated in the anniversary dance and soon everyone else was socializing, celebrating, drinking & dancing. The rest of the night included lots of wine and dancing for the Bride! Brandon talked with as many people as possible, and was also found on the dance floor a few times! Paige shared a very special moment with Lucas that she’ll always cherish. He found her and wanted to dance, so Paige scooped him up and cuddled him on her shoulder and together they danced to Bette Milder, “Wind beneath my wings.” The reception ended at midnight, but Brandon & Paige managed to go to the hotel bar with friends & family that were still standing until 2:15 am!
“Brandon, even though we dealt with everything we did, the wedding was still perfect and I had the most amazing man waiting to take my hand. I wouldn’t have changed it one bit, everything worked out as it should have and now I get to have this crazy memory and we get to tell our kids how bad we wanted to be married, that we did it through a pandemic.” – Paige
“Paige you are the love of my life, I love you more than anything in this world. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you.” – Brandon
