Interstate opens just in time for bride and groom

By Mary Garrigan and Barbara Soderlin, Journal staff | Sunday, November 09, 2008

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Jason Huntley and Patricia Krugjohn thought they were planning a stress-free wedding. The groom would wear sneakers with his suit, and the bride would wear a chocolate-brown dress and not some poufy white concoction.

Turns out it's a good thing Patricia, 26, can describe herself as "definitely not a bridezilla."

She was driving Wednesday with her sister and her sister's family from her home in Kansas City to the wedding in Rapid City when the blizzard struck, stranding the family at Wall.

Interstate 90 was shut down, the wedding was planned for 1:30 p.m. Saturday, and the couple still didn't have their marriage license.

They were lucky to get one of the last rooms at the Motel 6, where they spent Thursday and Friday checking the news and calling the 511 hotline to find out when I-90 would open. Aside from poking around in Wall Drug, there was nothing to do but pray the storm would end and the snowplows would push through.

In Rapid City, groom Jason Huntley, 28, was considering how to rescue his bride.

"We went so far as to try and find a helicopter," Jason said Friday. "I'm joking about getting a snowmobile and going to Wall to pick her up."

Jason said he even attempted to play "knight in shining armor" and took off for Wall to pick up Patricia on Thursday. It took him about 10 minutes on I-90 before he realized that was a bad idea and turned around.

It wasn't until late Friday evening they got word the interstate had opened, and after waiting for Wall street crews to plow the on-ramp, the bride, her sister's family and the dress were en route to Rapid City.

County Register of Deeds Donna Mayer met them at the courthouse at 10 o'clock Saturday morning.

"She did us a special favor and let us in," Patricia said. "Huge thanks to her, because otherwise we wouldn't have been officially married."

They went immediately to get into their formal attire and then to the chapel, at the Cedar Canyon Wesleyan Church Camp in west Rapid City.

After a reception of cake and punch and hors d'oeuvres, they planned to spend the night in a local hotel, before heading back to Kansas City, where she works as a nuclear engineer. Jason has been living and working for his family's construction company.

Patricia's parents are Guy and Carol Krugjohn, and Jason's are Ron and Shirley Huntley.

The couple dated in high school, but hadn't seen each other for several years until they ran into each other just before the Fourth of July this year, at a Rapid City summer festival.

"Jason and I just fell in love again," Patricia said. After the wedding that went off as planned after all, she said, "I am the happiest I have ever been in my life."

And even though they said the residents and hotel staff in Wall showed wonderful hospitality, it may be awhile before Patricia wants to go back.

Jason understood. "We're not going to Wall for the honeymoon," he said.