Part II:
Destination "Nuptials and Honeymoon in Italy with Kelly and Jared" 
Whittier Street

A continuation of the romantic journey of Kelly and Jared in 2022 following his proposal and her acceptance under the "Midnight Sun" in Barrow, Alaska.

Jared & Kelly, September 10, 2022, Hoover Reservoir, photo by Rebecca Ashley Photography

pon return from our "Engagement under the Midnight Sun" in Barrow, Alaska, in July, we set in motion the nuptials plan.We will talk about Dave’s passion for music, but also tell your story of
falling for each other (living across the street) and then moving
immediately back when your children left your home.
Dave –
Where are you from? I was raised in a suburb of Washington DC and
moved in middle school to Charleston, WV.
When did you develop a passion for music/piano? Early adolescence – I
started taking lessons in 6 th grade which evolved into playing by ear.
Who were your influencers? Elton John and keyboard players from
bands like Styx, REO Speedwagon and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
How did you learn to play by ear? When I was younger, I would listen to
music and find chords. In high school, my parents introduced me to a
college music professor who taught me music theory which gave me a
very strong appreciation of chord roots, structures and patterns.

What band are you playing with now? I’m currently playing in
piano/guitar vocal duo “John & Dave” which offers “fun bar classics”
and a jazz centric/R&B pop band, “This Side 5” covering anything from
Post Modern Juke Box to 70s/80s/90s female vocal favorites.
What other bands have you played with in the past? I’ve stayed active
in a variety of central Ohio bands since the late 80s. Most notably I was
in The Reaganomics throughout the 90s and early 2000s when we used
to play constantly at bars like Ludlows, Victory’s and The Patio and
warm up for national acts such as KC & Sunshine Band, Cheap Trick,
Rick Springfield and Smash Mouth. I was also in a popular original band
which charted on college radio back in the early 90s, Quiet Matters.
I’ve also done a variety of solo gigs for weddings, holiday parties and
private events.
Any other musical interesting thoughts? And how can people hire your
band? Website, phone number etc. “John & Dave” and “This Side 5”
can be found on Facebook.
Dave and Michele -
How did you two meet? We met in the late 90’s - living across the
street from each other on 5 th and Kossuth. While dating other people,
we developed a great friendship that involved walking Dave’s dog to
Stauf’s and the park and many happy hours at Barcelona. At the time,
Dave was in the Reaganomics and was busy most weekends. Eventually,
we were both single and Dave had a free weekend so we decided to
take a last minute trip to Key West to get away from the winter
weather in Ohio. The rest is history – we fell and love and eloped to
Hawaii/Maui a year later. Dave sold his house on 5 th and we moved to
an adorable home on Berger and Mohawk where we welcomed our
son, Jack, a few years later.

Tell some stories of your earlier GV history.
We always loved walking the brick streets and enjoyed the quaint
spaces around the neighborhood. There were so many options for
entertainment - Shakespeare in the park, local dining, and the charm of
living a mostly pedestrian lifestyle. There were always social gatherings
and community events within a short distance. We were regulars at
Lindey’s and on first name basis at the coffee shops.
Why did you decide to move back? We moved to the Worthington Hills
community with the birth of our daughter, Ava, to allow for more space
for our family. While we loved our Worthington community, neighbors,
and friends, our hearts were always drawing us back to the German
Village and knew that we would move back to the area when the timing
was right. After our daughter graduated high school last spring, we
jumped at the opportunity to make the transition and found a charming
home on Beck Street.
What do you love to do in the area? We love walking our dog, Izzy –
every day is a new adventure for her. We just joined the Schumacher
Place Civic Association and hope to be more involved in our community
here. We love to entertain and enjoy being social – our favorite places
being Barcelona, Chapman’s, Bendi and Parson’s North Brewing - the
winter farmer’s market on Saturdays are wonderful. There is just
something special about living in this area. We feel both a sense of
pride for living in a historical home and a sense of belonging and
connection to others who have chosen to live here, too. We look
forward to gardening in our courtyard this spring and to hosting more
gatherings.
What do you love about the area? We love how friendly everyone is -
we never meet a stranger on our walks. Right now, our young adult
children are getting to know the area and already see how amazing this
community is. Our daughter, who attends The Ohio State University,

enjoyed the Village Lights evening and our son, who attends The
University of Cincinnati, enjoyed exploring the local restaurant scene
with friends over his holiday break.
Anything else you want to talk about.
Michele is a gifted intervention specialist and teaches math for
Worthington Schools and Dave has always worked in the telecom
industry and currently is Sr. Product Solutions Specialist for Verizon
supporting their 5G network enterprise offerings. We love to travel
with a recent favorite trip out west where we explored Yosemite and
San Francisco.
Both of our children are creative like their Dad. Ava enjoys singing,
playing piano, and theater. She is a member of the Women’s Glee at
OSU. Jack is a communication design student in the DAAP program at
the University of Cincinnati and is doing his first co-op for OSU Medical
Center in their signage department.​

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Surprise wedding cake from Jared to Kelly, creation by Short North Piece of Cake

​Our betrothal was held on September 10, 2022 at Kelly’s parents’ lovely home on the Hoover Reservoir.  An intimate occasion, shared with immediate family.  Kelly wore a strapless tea length gown with a sweetheart neckline, and classic lace overlay.  Vows were exchanged at sunset. ​

Jared surprised Kelly with a goofy custom cake that replicated their engagement scene under the Whale Bone Arch in Alaska, with a Harry Potter twist (Kelly is a HP nut!). 

Mid-September, we flew to Milan to spend two weeks exploring the northern part of Italy, visiting Lake Como, Tuscany and Rome, plus quick stops in Lugano (Switzerland), Cinque Terre and Pisa.  We rented a small car to cruise around to our destinations before returning the car in Rome.
​​
Kelly’s heritage is Italian, and we both love the wine, cuisine, architecture, cities, history, lakes, mountains, hills and sea views.

Lake Como

​View of Lake Como from our AirBnB

In the Lake Como area we enjoyed a variety of fun excursions.   The highlight was a full day boat cruise on the lake, where we explored the whole waterway, stopping in several of the small villages (Menaggio, Bellagio, Varenna, etc.) for lunch and provisions (ie Aperol Spritz).

​Lake Como is spectacularly beautiful, especially so from the water. 

Post boat day on Lake Como

https://lovecomo.com/lakelife/divino-13/

Divino Tredici (13) in Menaggio (Lake Como) was our favorite restaurant.  Standout item, the beef carpaccio!

Lugano

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/destinations/lake-lugano/

We whizzed up to Switzerland and took a ferry tour of Lake Lugano; beautiful too, but our hearts belong to Lake Como.

Cinque Terre

Vernazza, Cinque Terre

The five villages of Cinque Terre each offer their own unique look and feel. There is a trail that goes from one town to the next (parts of it are hilly and other parts flat). Originally, there were no inland roads and the only way to reach the locations was by sea. 

We dined at the Ristorante Porto Roca in Monterosso al Mare (Cinque Terre), nestled in the hills overlooking the sparkling Ligurian Sea. 

https://www.portoroca.it/

Pisa

Leaning Tower of Pisa nonsense

We stopped by the Leaning Tower of Pisa for the obligatory photos.

Chianti

Cooking class in Greve, Chianti

A cooking class held in an old Tuscan farmhouse on the family’s vineyard was a delicious treat!  We made bruschetta, beef stew, egg noodles and sauce, and finished with tiramisu - all from scratch.

Vineyard and olive tree groves at the cooking class in Greve, Chianti

https://www.pizzerialacantina.it/en/

Pizzeria La Cantina in Greve has the most charismatic chef/owner in the region.

Another highlight was our Airbnb in Greve in the Chianti area. We stayed on a small family-run, working vineyard, and just happened to be there while the family was doing their harvest! While in Greve we visited several vineyards for tasting experiences, including Castello di Verrazzano, Montefioralle Winery and, Montecalvi Winery.

Montefioralle, Greve in Chianiti

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Verrazzano cork displaying the “Gallo Nero” seal

Greve is part of the Italian wine making region best known for producing Chianti Classico, which bears the symbol of the “Gallo Nero” or Black Rooster on the bottles. They are classified DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) which is the highest level of recognition for quality Italian wines.​

Our return to Rome would not be complete without a visit to the Trevi Fountain

In Rome, we did all the touristy stuff – Coliseum, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, and Pantheon. ​

Another great time was visiting Kelly’s old stomping grounds in Piazza Navona, which she frequented when she studied abroad in Rome while in college.  We even ran into the local neighborhood bartender who was still slinging drinks.  Laughter was abundant as we reminisced with him!

Last night, dining at the Pantheon

The view of the Pantheon, only 100 feet away, while dining at Hostaria Pantheon in Rome was not to be missed.  Gazing at the 1,900+ year old building, imbibing on classic Italian cuisine and vino, left us entranced as we thought about the ancient thru present history the building has witnessed over the centuries… 

https://www.hostariapantheon.it/

And they lived happily ever after........... Ciao!

Nuptials & Honeymoon in Italy - Kelly & Jared    Issue XXIV

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