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PUNXSUTAWNEY — Jennifer Wertz only slept for about 30 minutes Friday night, but she was wide awake Saturday afternoon.

Early that morning, on Groundhog Day, a limousine whisked her and her fiance, Robert Broadrick, to Gobbler’s Knob for Phil’s prognostication — six more weeks of winter — before the couple readied for their wedding that afternoon.

Borough Mayor James Wehrle married the Altoona couple in the council chambers-turned-wedding-chapel, sporting a Punxsutawney Phil necklace, beneath an arch filled with roses, snowflakes and white lights.

Wertz and Broadrick won the experience in “Phil’s Dream Wedding Giveaway.” More than 100 couples applied for the chance to win the wedding of their dreams on Groundhog Day.

For Wertz, that included theme colors of red and white, along with snowflakes, displayed as a brooch on her gown and sparkling decorations in her veil.

“It’s exactly what I imagined,” the new Mrs. Broadrick said after the ceremony. “I spoke to his mom a couple years ago about my dream wedding.”

Rob Broadrick’s mother, Lynne, nominated the couple for the wedding giveaway, calling it “incredible.”

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “It’s the most stressless wedding I’ve ever been involved with.”

Wertz agreed about the ease of preparing for the day, organized by Simple Elegance by Michelle and Affordable Creations in Punxsutawney, along with other area businesses.

“We read a lot of letters and shed a lot of tears,” Pat McCorkle of Affordable Creations said about choosing the winning couple.

“We were looking to bring the wedding business to Punxsutawney. We think it’s a good area for it.”

Four other couples married in the borough that day, and two others renewed their vows.

Although she shed a few tears before the ceremony, Wertz was thrilled afterward to have worn a smile throughout.

“I made it through without bursting into tears!” she said. “I did it! I didn’t cry!”

Wertz’s mother, Sue, said her daughter’s wedding was “absolutely gorgeous” and that the experience met all of Jennifer’s dreams, including a winter wedding and an ice sculpture surprise at the reception.

“It’s kind of funny the way the number 22 kept coming up,” Sue Wertz said.

Her daughter will turn 22 on Feb. 22. “This year at the Knob, they announced it was the 122nd year,” she said.

This was the first time that the two families experienced Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob.

“It was crazy,” Jennifer Wertz said.

“It was crazy, and it was crazy cold,” Rob Broadrick added.

The couple live in Pittsburgh, where Rob Broadrick attends the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics.

Part of their wedding package includes a three-day honeymoon — in Pittsburgh.

Wertz said they hope to see some parts of the city they haven’t yet visited.

Mirror Staff Writer Jessica VanderKolk is at 946-7465.

 

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