Packers-Chiefs tailgate wedding was chaotic, mistakes were made, but 'it was perfect'

ASHWAUBENON ‒ When getting married during a tailgate party, you have to accept a certain amount of bedlam.

Jamie Schumacher and Dustin Rodvelt embraced it.

"Mistakes were made, it was chaotic, we had zero control, and it was perfect," said the former Ms. Schumacher.

Jamie, a Green Bay Packers fan, and Dustin, a Kansas City Chiefs fan, were married on Dec. 3, almost at Lambeau Field, before the Packers-Chiefs game.

Ryan Prueher, manager of Veterans Tailgate Zone, who volunteered to officiate the ceremony, contributed to the let's-just-go-for-it atmosphere.

"I knocked down the alter, mixed up the rings, I called them Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher," Prueher said.

To be fair, it was not a sedate setting. The Veterans Tailgate Zone, at the northwest corner of South Oneida Street and Stadium Drive, adjacent to the stadium parking lot, was packed with Packers and Chiefs fans, some of whom knew what was going on and some who didn't.

"It was a couple hundred strangers, but they made it even better. It’s really all a blur, but I think it turned out perfectly," said Jamie, now Rodvelt. "Everybody was just having a great time. Our friends and family were made to feel very special at the tailgate and the game."

A few traditional elements were evident. The bride wore white, with a gray Packers stocking cap. The groom wore black. Prueher wore a green t-shirt and green-and-yellow-striped Packers overalls.

They came to the idea for the wedding over the summer, although they didn't know at the time that they were serious.

"The past summer we went to Shawano where her dad is from. We did a tour of Lambeau and joked about how we should get married when the Chiefs play," Dustin said.

They were reluctant to actually do so because of concerns about northeastern Wisconsin weather in December, but decided in early November to go for broke, although they didn't want to actually go broke.

Jamie said she was no bridezilla, and the wedding planning bears that out.

"All we did is make sure we had tickets to the game. We bought a few parking passes, set up a little tailgating with family and friends," she said.

Prueher saw a posting by the Rodvelts on the Die Hard Packer Fan Facebook page and volunteered his services. It was not his first wedding. He officiated one at the tailgate last year as well, and set up a conference call with the past and future brides and grooms before Sunday's ceremony. He said the previous bride was "almost the wedding coordinator for the day."

Jamie was raised in South Carolina and Kansas, but her dad is a Packers fan, so she is as well. Dustin was raised in Kansas, and so he is a Chiefs fan, but already understands how marriages work.

"I am a Packers fan as long as the Chiefs aren’t playing, or they aren’t playing each other," he said. "I never had a second-favorite team."

The outcome — the Packers scored a 27-19 upset — did not spoil the day. In fact, it evened the score. The pair attended the Packers-Chiefs game in Kansas City in 2021, Jordan Love's first start at quarterback, which Kansas City won 13-7. The Rodvelts live in Holton, Kansas, only 90 miles from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

"We both enjoyed the game. It was phenomenal to be able to go to a game at Lambeau Field, something I’ve always wanted to do," Jamie said.

As well as hosting tailgate parties and weddings, the Veterans Tailgate Zone raises money for charities and delights in bringing fans together, whichever team they support. Prueher, who owns a DJ company, said it's become a gathering place for opposing teams' fans.

"The big thing about tailgating, if it’s done right, it brings people together. It creates this fraternity of super fans that can control how everyone else’s experience is while they are around," he said.

Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Packers-Chiefs tailgate party setting for 'perfect' wedding