The groom was a big hockey fan, a fan of the Springfield Falcons. The bride apparently didn't need a lot of coaxing to agree to enter the contest; the winners would receive a free wedding, including rings, flowers, tuxes and gowns and featuring a ceremony at center ice in the MassMutual Center.
But would she have what it took to win?
The answer came one autumn Saturday, when Lance Koske and Shawna Grossi vied against four other couples to move one round closer to victory in the Falcons' first annual Wedding on Ice Contest, presented by Hannoush Jewelers. Before this qualifying round, Falcons' management had staged a massive scavenger hunt across Hampden County to winnow the field of more than forty original contestants down to five semi-finalists. Only two couples would survive this next round, held at Pearl Bridal in Holyoke. Each bride would hold onto a wedding dress with one hand—no switching hands, no bathroom breaks—for as long as she could up to eight hours, while she and her groom answered a series of questions to test what they knew about each other. If more than one bride went a full eight hours without letting go, the diehards would participate in a tie-breaker: the two couples with the best scores in the question-and-answer portion would head to the finals.
"I honestly thought we'd be out of there in three or four hours," recalls William Bullock, the Falcons' senior account executive who came up with the idea for Wedding on Ice. "But each bride held on for eight hours. One poor girl's arm was blue by the end."
Turns out, Shawna Grossi, now Shawna Koske, did have what it takes. In addition to her demonstration of stamina, she and her fiance nailed the question-and-answer portion. Now it would be Lance's turn to show the right stuff.
During intermission at the Falcons' opening game of the year, the hulking figure of Lance Koske, decked out in a bridal gown, squared off against a similairly attired wannabe groom. The challenge: find a hidden Pandora bracelet charm hidden in a wedding cake. To the cheers and jeers of 5,500 hockey fans, Koske sent frosting and crumbs flying and found the charm.
"We wanted to find the right couple," says Bullock. "Lance and Shawna were just the perfect couple, particularly this being our first time [staging Wedding on Ice.] They came at it with the right attitude, which is basically, 'Let's have fun.'"After the final couple was selected, Bullock says he found out that Lance "was just a huge hockey fan, had been a season ticket holder in the past." Since the wedding, Bullock has remained social with the Koskes. "After all we've been through, I consider them friends," he says.
Bullock says the Falcons plan to hold the contest annually. While the official timetable for the 2010 contest isn't yet set, Bullock says that interested couples can email him (wbullock@falconsahl.com) and he'll put them on the list. Bullock says that the Falcons will undoubtedly hold a series of competitions, as they did this year, in order to find the special couple.
"We're looking for an enthusiastic, fun couple who understand what it's all about, which is having fun," Bullock says. "You have to realize you're getting married at a hockey game, not a nice big church."
