Wedding puck drop, 35 years later
Bride nixed his idea of leaving their reception to do it in tux and dress
A little ditty ’bout Steve and Diane, two American kids who — if Steve had his way — were going to leave their wedding reception, head downtown to drop the ceremonial puck at a Milwaukee Admirals game, and then hurry back to their guests.
That was April 9, 1983. And, as you might imagine, Steve’s idea didn’t fly with Diane.
“She said there’s no way I’m going to leave that reception,” Steve said.
Steve eventually got his wish. It only took a few decades.
On Tuesday, the couple’s 35-yearand-1-day wedding anniversary, they stepped on the ice at the UWM Panther Arena and together dropped a puck before the game between the Admirals and Chicago Wolves.
Steve works in maintenance at The Moderne downtown; Diane is a homemaker. Grandparents three times over, they live in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood.
Diane was just 18 when she got engaged to Steve, who was 23 then. He presented her with a box as big as a sofa, and inside were six gradually smaller boxes that led to an engagement ring.
They waited five years before marrying at St. Mary of Czestochowa on Fratney St. and then celebrating with family and friends at Eddie’s Southside Hawaiian Hall on Mitchell St.
Rather than springing the puck idea on Diane the day of the wedding, he asked her months ahead of time and made several more attempts to win her over. As season ticket holders back then, he loved the image of them out there on the rink in that wedding dress and white tux.
“I kept on trying and it didn’t work. She said there’s no way we’re going to do that,” Steve said.
Diane remembers wanting to stay with their wedding party and other guests, many who had come from out of town. Hockey would have to wait. Right now I’m picturing every woman who has ever been a bride nodding in agreement with her.
“He wasn’t too happy about that,” she said. “He kept saying we’ve got time in between and all that.”
With his plans iced, Steve needed a backup. So he hired a singing alligator to serenade his bride at the reception.
He and Diane have joked about the puck snub over the years. As their 35th anniversary drew near, Steve contacted the Admirals as he had in 1983 and asked if the offer was still good. They said it was.
Tim Van Wagoner, the team’s director of game operations, said they have about a dozen ceremonial puck drops per season, usually by sports celebrities or other VIPs. He couldn’t remember another one related to an engagement, wedding or anniversary. The puck droppers are not charged a fee, and they go home with the puck, a photo and a good memory.
“The captains of the two teams skate over and we PA the reason that the first puck is being dropped. And it’s on the Jumbotron,” he said.
At an anniversary party Monday, Steve once again turned to the faux animal kingdom and arranged for a singing pink gorilla in bib overalls to come and present Diane with a surprise envelope. Inside were Tuesday’s Admiral tickets and the revelation that they were finally dropping the puck together.
“I’m finally getting my way after 35 years!” Steve laughed.
The Homfeldts looked like a couple very much in love at the party Monday at Valent’s bar on Richards St.
“He always surprises me,” Diane said. “Every day.”