Newlyweds visit John Deere museum during honeymoon trip

WATERLOO, Iowa — Nothing says “I do” like a Deere.

Niagara Falls or a Disney theme park are logical destinations for a honeymoon, but Minnesota newlyweds spent the Memorial Day weekend visiting the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.

Kevin and Kolby Hansen were married in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on May 18, KWWL-TV reported. It was a Deere-themed wedding, since Kevin works for the company in Minnesota.

While most newlyweds opt for popular honeymoon destinations like Niagara Falls or Disney World, one Minnesota couple has chosen a more unconventional path, finding their perfect getaway right here in the Cedar Valley.
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— KWWL (@KWWL) May 26, 2024

After the wedding ceremony, the priest drove Kevin’s 1952 Model A Deere tractor to haul the wedding party to the reception, according to the Quad Cities Times.

“The priest was pretty excited because he actually made a whole route and everything,” Kevin told the newspaper. “That worked out really well.”

Kevin was also excited. His wedding band is in the shape of a tractor tire, the newspaper reported. Kolby found it on Etsy, and the ring has the proper tread.

The couple grew up around farms and are big John Deere fans, with Kevin noting that he was always a fan of the company’s brand and heritage.

“When I was younger, my grandpa had all different brands of tractors, and John Deere is kind of what you always went to,” Kevin told KWWL. “Then, when my dad moved on to where we are now and started farming down there, we started with other brands, but then John Deere just took the cake there.”

The couple bonded over the John Deere brand, Kolby said.

“I don’t think Kevin would be with me if it were anything other than John Deere,” Kolby told the television station. “My grandparents had a dairy farm that they sold when I was young, but I was able to grow up still and go on hay wagon rides and stuff around the farm.”

Museum officials had a surprise for the couple when they arrived on Saturday, the Times reported. They received gift bags filled with John Deere merchandise.

“This doesn’t happen very often,” Grace Rodman, the museum’s lead tour coordinator, told the newspaper.

Rodman told the Times that the Hansens were the second or third couple to visit the museum during their honeymoon. She added that last year, the museum hosted a wedding party at the facility.

The honeymoon will not end at the museum. The couple planned to visit John Deere’s company corporate headquarters in Moline, Illinois, according to the newspaper. And then they will tour the John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour, Illinois.