Most wedding crashers are a very unwelcome part of a special celebration.
Except when that wedding crasher is a Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame receiver.
On Saturday, Donald Driver gave Joe and Katie Schlueter the surprise of a lifetime when he showed up at their wedding reception at Titletown Brewing Company.
Driver was elsewhere in the building celebrating his induction into the Packers Hall of Fame when he ran into Joe's brother in the elevator. Joe's brother, who lives outside of Green Bay and isn't a Packers fan, didn't recognize him.
"He popped his head out and said, 'what's going on up here?' and [my brother] goes 'a wedding,'" said Joe.
That's when Driver decided to stop in and say hello.
Photo courtesy: Joe and Katie Schlueter
"My older brother was like ah, should I stop him? Is this just some energetic guy who wants to crash a wedding right now?" Joe explained.
Luckily, his brother didn't stop him. The first person Driver ran into inside the wedding was the bride's mother, who also didn't recognize him...until he said his name.
"She wasn't expecting Donald Driver to be at our wedding reception," Joe said.
Joe and his wife Katie were cutting the cake when Katie's sister ran up to her and told her Driver was there.
"Katie instantly dropped everything and runs back there and I was kind of thinking, OK, sure," Joe said. "I turn around and there's Donald Driver on the dance floor."
After wiping the cake off his hands, Joe made his way over. He said Driver immediately gave him a hug and told him congratulations.
Photo courtesy: Joe and Katie Schlueter
"He ended up posing for a bunch of pictures with us and said hi to a couple people, shook a couple hands, he introduced his daughter and then he headed out," Joe said. "He waved goodbye to everybody and everybody cheered."
Although Driver's visit lasted just a few minutes, Joe said it felt like time stood still.
"Even though you can go around town and you can see these guys, say hi, get an autograph, for them to show up at that special day that's going to sit with you for the rest of your life, that's something you can never ask for. It's special."
While Katie was born and raised in Green Bay, Joe grew up in Minnesota. However, he said he's always been a Brett Favre fan.
After playing football at St. Norbert College, he got a job at Bay Port High School as a biology teacher and never looked back.
So for this Green Bay couple, having Donald Driver at their wedding reception was something special.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we're going to remember forever," Joe explained. "I've got Packer memorabilia in my attic, and I think a picture of us and Donald Driver at our wedding is going to be right next to the Aaron Rodgers signed helmet."
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