Michelle and Jeff

July 15, 2006; The Grande Ballroom, Vandivort Center Theatre, Springfield

At first glance, Jeff and Michelle Houghton are the all-American couple. But under the surface are two people who have a unique view on how life and humor should be blended together. And nothing could manifest that mindset better than their wedding day.

Jeff Houghton and Michelle Seifert met while working at a summer youth camp in Colorado. Michelle called her identical twin sister, Jenn, after meeting Jeff and told her how much she liked him. Eventually, Jeff moved to Springfield to be near Michelle. And after five years of dating, they decided to take the plunge. According to Michelle, her highest priority in planning their celebration was to make sure all of their family and friends had a really good time. "I wanted Jeff's family [from Iowa City] and all of our out-of-town guests to be completely happy," she says.

"Finding a church was the hardest," Michelle says. But when they visited Central Christian Church, they fell in love with it. Michelle and Jeff decided on Hickock's Steakhouse for the rehearsal dinner, so the guests could easily walk to the special show put on by The Skinny Improv, in which Jeff has been a regular performer for two years.

They enjoyed The Grande Ballroom at the Vandivort Center Theatre for their reception, as it provided lots of space for dancing. A major highlight of the reception was Michelle's sing-a-long to "Whatta Man" by Salt-N-Pepa, especially when she cocked her hip and pointed to Jeff's mom as she sang the line, "Every time I need him, he always got my back / Never disrespectful 'cuz his mama taught him that."

Along with the reception, the ceremony itself was a time for laughter. Jeff created a slideshow of pictures that played before the processional. Along with photos documenting their childhoods and their time together, Jeff tickled the audience (as improv comedians tend to do) with slides of the Louisiana Purchase and a picture of a wrinkly, toothless couple, labeled "a computer-generated prediction of how Jeff and Michelle will look in 50 years."