MARIES COUNTY— A bride with roots in Maries County who spent over a year planning her wedding was not going to let even the coronavirus stop her from getting married.

Paige Bocklage, 26, and Ted Leonard, 27, who live in Webster Groves, MO, were high school sweethearts who were married at Holy Family Church in Freeburg on Saturday, April 25 with less than 10 people present.

Paige’s parents are Todd and Tracy Bocklage of Columbia, MO. Todd Bocklage’s family is from Vienna as his parents were Charles and Helen (Stratman) Bocklage who lived in Florissant, MO. His grandparents were Ben and Emma (Reinkemeyer) Stratman. They have many relatives in the Vienna area and beyond.

Paige and Ted’s wedding journey that ended up in Freeburg is an interesting one. The couple had been planning their beautiful wedding for a long time. They were going to get married in a church in Webster Groves with the wedding reception set to be held at Mt. Pleasant Winery in Augusta, MO. Then the coronavirus pandemic came along and made it impossible for the wedding to be held in the form they had planned.

Paige’s mom, Tracy, said her daughter wanted to get married regardless. “This couple was determined to get married,” she said. They decided to make some changes to their plans. The new plan was a very small wedding with only their parents, best man and maid of honor and the priest.

They both knew Holy Family Parish priest, Father Bill Debo, as he is a friend of both of their families. Tracy went to high school with him. Ted’s mom, Susan Leonard, is a teacher at the Catholic school in Columbia and knew Fr. Debo, too. “He was the perfect one to do it,” Tracy said, and when he was told Paige and Ted were getting married, he said, “It’s about time” and was happy they asked him to perform the ceremony. Because of the governor’s order to social distance and not gather in groups more than 10 persons, they asked Fr. Debo if they would come to him in Freeburg as they didn’t want to travel to St. Louis.

To make the day extra special, they planned to go to the family farm in Vienna, currently owned by Don and Gary Stratman. They wanted to reenact some of the photos that were taken at Charles and Helen Bocklage’s wedding on March 2, 1957. One of those photos was taken with the wedding party in front of Visitation Church and they wanted one taken there as well. It had historical significance. In the 1957 wedding party photo of Charles and Helen, with them were Patricia (Stratman) Wall, Marcie (Bocklage) Hodge, Irene (Hilke) Stratman, Ambrose Bocklage and Walter Stratman. Another nice piece of history for the family is that Todd’s grandparents, Ben and Emma Stratman, were married 100 years ago this year.

Holy Family Church in Freeburg is a beautiful and historic church. During their planning it was considered the perfect setting for a small but meaningful ceremony. There would not be a full mass due of the coronavirus. Tracy said she thought the small ceremony would be very sweet.

Those who they planned to be at the church with Paige and Ted were their parents and Paige’s sister, Caroline, who is the maid of honor. Ted’s brother, Paul, who lives in Oregon can’t come and Paige’s brother, Ryan, won’t be there either because he lives Washington DC. They are all sad about that. Ted’s dad may be the best man for his son.

Paige carried a bouquet of flowers from her parent’s yard as well as from some of the neighbors flowers. The bouquet included some lilac blooms with a special meaning as they were cuttings from an original lilac bush of a Stratman relative, Marceline Stratman Raithel. Tracy got them from Karrisa Weidinger Grellner’s home in the Columbia area.

One of Todd’s Stratman relatives, Brenda Weidinger, said some of the Vienna kinsmen were planning to be outside of the church in Freeburg on Saturday to greet and cheer on the newly married couple as they left the church.

After the ceremony in Freeburg, the small group planned to come to Vienna to take photographs in places important to Paige’s father’s family. Then they planned to go back to Columbia to the Bocklage home for a dinner from Olive Garden and enjoy a small wedding cake. Friends and neighbors were asked to participate in the day by being outside to greet them when they drive through the neighborhood in Columbia. “This is going to happen,” Tracy said a few days before the wedding.

They still hope to have a wedding reception in August at the winery.

Tracy said she is very proud of her daughter and how she has handled what the coronavirus has done to her wedding plans. “She’s been incredibly mature, flexible and open minded. It’s nice to see our child be so mature.”

Ted’s mother will be at the church but will stay in the back social distancing because she is taking care of her mother. Tracy said, “I have to hug my daughter on her wedding day,” adding, “I hope we all come out better, being more human and appreciative when we get to hug someone again.”

Paige is their first child to get married and the Bocklages are proud of her. “She’s delightful,” her mom said.