‘Wedding for Good’ Will Say ‘I Do’ to Support for Local Mental Health Initiatives

Two popular local morning radio personalities are having a wedding, but even though Jason Browne and Angela Steco might already seem to have the rapport of an old married couple, they’re not really getting hitched.

Brown and Steco, co-hosts of B94.5’s ‘Morning Getaway,’ are hosting ‘Wedding for Good,’ a nuptials-themed event that will raise money and awareness for local organizations that are addressing mental health needs in different ways.

It will start with a pre-party — kind of a bachelor/bachelorette party — on Saturday, Feb. 8. Then on Feb. 15, the ‘wedding ceremony’ will be followed by a reception. The beneficiaries for this year’s event are Jana Marie Foundation, Tides and the Osaze Osagie Memorial Scholarship at Penn State.

Last summer at an event in downtown State College, friends told Browne and Steco they act like they’re married, Browne said. That inspired the idea to have a wedding-themed event as a fundraiser for local causes.

‘We thought if people recognize who we are and can trust that we’re going to try to have some fun and do something wacky and crazy, let’s just put on something that’s positive and see what happens,’ said Browne, who has been on the air with Steco for nearly five years. ‘This is our way of trying to leverage our professions to give back to the community. Since we’ve been blessed to be in this role it’s kind of our responsibility to do something for others.’

They hope to make the fictitious wedding an annual event focused on a different cause each year. For the first year, Browne and Steco decided on mental health services and turned to Centre County United Way for help narrowing down a list to Jana Marie Foundation, which supports mental and emotional health through creativity and dialogue, and Tides, which offers grief support programs for families coping with the death of a loved one. They decided to choose a third on their own, and both gravitated to the Osagie Fund, which provides resources for students with intellectual and mental health diagnoses.

Saturday’s pre-party will kick off at the B94.5 studio, where guests 21 and older will then take an Arrive-N-Style limo ride to Rampage Room at the Nittany Mall. They’ll enjoy snacks and have use of the smash and splatter rooms and virtual reality arcade for two hours. Then they’ll hop in the limo again, enjoy some champagne and music and head over to Tastebuds Kitchen, where there will be some wedding-themed foods to make and eat, before heading back to the station.

Tickets for the pre-party are available here.

B94.5 hosts Angela Steco and Jason Browne are hosting Wedding for Good, a benefit for three local organizations, on Feb. 15, with a pre-party on Feb. 8. Photo by Michael T. Davis Photography

On Feb. 15, the wedding will be from 4-5 p.m. at 3 Dots Downtown, 137 E. Beaver Ave. The focus won’t necessarily be on the ‘bride and groom,’ but on mental health organizations, including those beyond this year’s beneficiaries. Before the ceremony, which is a family-friendly, free event, Taproot Kitchen, the culinary venture that provides opportunities for individuals with disabilities and mental illness, will be on hand for guests to join its members in making appetizers. The Jared Box Project will have a station to make boxes of toys and games for children in the hospital, and Browne and Steco are lining up other organizations to participate and provide activities as well.

Browne said that he would like to have as many mental health organizations as possible participate, and any that wish to be involved can message him through facebook.com/weddingforgood.

The ceremony will include a video highlighting mental health services, a procession of leaders from those organizations, performances, and vows between the community and the organizations expressing their support for each other.

‘[Angela and I] are just the setting for all of this to take place,’ Browne said. ‘We’re in the background, but we’re the catalyst to make it happen.’

Among the many sponsors for the event, Diamonds & Lace, Confer’s Jeweler, Connections Tuxedos, Daniel Vaughn Designs and S’hair-eng Styling Salon will be providing everything to help the participants look their wedding-day best. 

The fun then heads to Hyatt Place, 219 W. Beaver Ave., for the reception, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. Federal Taphouse will provide the food, with Duck Donuts and Delectable Delights taking care of desserts and the wedding cake. A cocktail reception with cash bar will be followed by the reception from 6-8 p.m. It includes dinner, activities, games, a flower toss, and, of course, dancing, with music provided by Mint DJs. Michael T. Davis Photography is serving as the wedding photographer.

Happy Valley Improv members also will be mingling throughout the night in character as fictional members of Browne’s and Steco’s families.

Early-bird prices for tickets will be offered until Monday, Feb. 10. Browne and Steco also will be live on Facebook at 5 p.m. this Wednesday and Friday, as well as Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week, and if the chat reaches 10 participants, they will be giving away free tickets to the reception.

Browne said he is hopeful that this year is a success so that Wedding for Good can be an annual way to support community organizations.

‘It’s finding how we can leverage what we’ve been fortunate to have: a voice on the radio,’ Browne said. ‘How can we leverage that in a positive way? This is our attempt to do that and we hope to foster future Wedding for Good events and other events to give back.’