FLORENCE, Ky. – Eliza Wilde and Jon Kenyon were married Monday, Oct. 11, at Cicis pizza.
Yes, at Cicis, the pizza buffet chain.
As Wilde walked down the aisle looking toward her groom, she passed tables of people who had been eating pizza minutes before. The song "His Cheeseburger" from Veggie Tales played over the loudspeakers and video games blinked from the arcade room.
The restaurant is Kenyon’s favorite, and Wilde planned the wedding as a surprise for her husband, who thought they were getting married at the courthouse the following day.
A wedding at a pizza restaurant fits them as a couple,Wilde said.
"Honestly, it's perfect for Jon and I," Wilde said. "We are both kind of unconventional, and we don't take things too seriously, and we like to have fun together."
'Jon and I are gonna get married one day'
The couple met in 2018 while working together at Embassy Suites Lexington Green Hotel.
The first time they spent time together outside work was for Wilde's birthday in December of that year. Wilde and some friends went to a number of clubs and bars, and Kenyon met them at a restaurant called Tolly-Ho in Lexington, where the couple lives.
While Kenyon was in the bathroom, Wilde began eating his cheesy fries. One of their other friends teased Wilde about it, and as Kenyon returned from the restroom, she said, "Oh it's fine, Jon and I are gonna get married one day."
About a year later, they started dating, and Kenyon proposed in July 2021. The couple planned to get married next year at a wedding venue that Wilde's parents own. They decided to get married sooner, though, because Kenyon's insurance covers in vitro fertilization. Wilde isn't able to conceive naturally, and the couple wants to have children.
They were originally going to get married at the courthouse and still have a ceremony next year. Wilde decided to surprise Kenyon with the ceremony at Cicis, though, because he surprised her by proposing at the Pinnacles hiking trails in Berea, Kentucky. This was a place she loved and where they had their first date, and she wanted to return the favor by planning their wedding somewhere Kenyon loves.
The wedding
As far as Cicis President Jeff Hetsel knows, this is the first wedding held at a Cicis location. The pizza chain based in Irving, Texas, has more than 300 locations in 25 states.
When Cicis executives learned Wilde is an army veteran, they knew they wanted to make her and Kenyon's wedding day special, so the pizza chain helped plan the event. The wedding was paid for by Cicis.
Cicis employees planned many aspects of the event, decorating the restaurant with balloons and a large "E" and "J" for the couple's first initials. The wedding included two cakes: a traditional wedding cake and a cake made from Cicis cinnamon rolls.
Hetsel officiated the wedding, flying in from Texas for the ceremony.
"It's exciting to be able to do something for them and serve them," Hetsel said. "The fact that they chose us to be a part of this special time is really cool."
Northern Kentucky reporter Rachel Berry can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @racheldberry.
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