Erin Waggoner was all smiles when her fiancé proposed to her during the UK-Florida game in Lexington last season.
When Kentucky opens the football season by hosting Southern Mississippi on Aug. 31, it will be the 145th straight home game that Erin Waggoner has attended.
She’s always been a Kentucky fan because her father played on Kentucky’s freshman basketball team during the 1960-61 season. Her football craziness took off when she attended UK during the Tim Couch era and when she graduated and got her first teaching job, her first purchase was a pair of season football tickets in 2003 that she has renewed annually.
So it probably should be no surprise that Waggoner will be getting married Saturday — on Kroger Field (weather permitting).
“When they renovated the stadium in 2015, they did a tour for season ticket holders. They told us that they’d start renting out the premium spaces after that first seasons for parties, weddings, etc. and of course my first thought was ‘If I ever get married, I am doing it here!’” Waggoner said. “There were plenty of times in the eight years that followed that I thought that was a pipe dream, but then in March 2023, I met him.”
Her fiancé, Patrick Wofford, is from upstate New York and grew up a Syracuse fan. She said he “loved” Kroger Field as the wedding venue as much as her.
“He popped the question at halftime of the UK/Florida game last season. I had told Patrick I had always dreamed of a sapphire engagement ring, so he spent months picking out the perfect UK blue stone for my ring,” she said. “I knew he had the ring, but I didn’t know how or when the actual proposal was going to happen.”
He had tried to reach UK officials about getting his proposal on the big screen at Kroger Field but had no luck. He also made an Instagram post asking her to marry him hoping it might be put on the big screen. By halftime, he couldn’t wait any longer.
He convinced her to check her Instagram .
“I was tagged in-a picture of the two of us from earlier that day with the caption. ‘Hey Beautiful, let’s make your 141st home game in a row special. Will you Marry Me?’” she said. “When I turned towards him, he was untying the ring from the drawstring on his shorts. He was too nervous security would stop him with the ring box in his pocket. Of course, I said yes.”
No, she will not have UK associate coach Vince Marrow officiating her ceremony or the wedding party in UK football gear per se.
“I did tell my girls to just buy a UK blue dress. They’ll be in blue, I’ll be in white,” she said. “Also my ring bearer asked his mom, one of my bridesmaids, if he could wear a football jersey and she told him no. He said, ‘Ask Erin, she’ll say yes.’ Guess who was right? So he’s wearing the UK football jersey and our flower girl is wearing a UK cheerleader outfit. I tried to get the Wildcat there too, but they’re at cheer camp that weekend.”
Starting center Eli Cox’s parents, Katherine and John Cox, will be catering a “unique” option instead of Waggoner having a traditional wedding cake.
“Katherine and I met when we both worked for Jessamine County Schools. I have eaten her food at various events, and macarons are my favorite cookies. So when she started selling them, I started buying them,” Waggoner said.
“A friend saw a display of macrons on a tiered tray instead of a wedding cake and sent me the picture. I immediately sent it to Katherine and asked if she could do that for me with the UK blue and white ones I had seen her post that she made for tailgating this year and thankfully she said yes.”
Waggoner did make one special request to UK athletics hospitality officials who handle facility rentals. She wants to set in her regular seats at Kroger Field with her fiancé to take a selfie to remember the day.
“Since I’ve had a smart phone with a front facing camera (2009), I always take a selfie before kickoff. Seems fitting I do it before the wedding too,” she said.
After being a single woman with two season tickets for 20 years, this season she’ll have four season tickets because her fiancé wanted to add more tickets.
“I am gaining four sons, a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter with this marriage,” she said. “He knows I wasn’t kicking out the girls who have been with me for two decades to give him my other ticket every game.”
When Waggoner bought a house about 10 years ago, her “must-have list” for her realtor included a home within walking distance of then Commonwealth Stadium. That has changed.
“My fiance lived in Lawrenceburg when we met, so we’ve split the difference and live in Versailles now,” she said. “We booked tickets to California for our honeymoon. The Cats will have to do fan day without me this year.”
So what would be Waggoner’s perfect case scenario for this football season?
“First I need the rain to hold off so I actually can get married on the field although for what it’s worth, my invitations said ‘Commonwealth Stadium.’ I am super chill about all of this, but I didn’t want a grocery store name on my invites,” she joked.
“As for this season, I think we have an amazing team, but that schedule is stacked. But you know what? I am a 45-year-old first-time bride. I think I’ve beaten some odds there, so let’s shoot for the moon and say an undefeated home season in 2024.”
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Story Wednesday on the times Waggoner’s consecutive home-game streak almost ended.
5 Responses
What a great story and a great fan!
yes she is Judi
Love this!
Same here Rob
I have known Erin since she was in junior high. Her dad and I sat together in the church choir and often missed our cues during choir practice because we were talking UK sports!