USD couple to tie the knot at Danforth Chapel next year

A majority of USD students may never see the inside of Danforth Chapel—the small brick building near the center of campus has neither classes nor regular church services. At least two USD students, however, are planning a major milestone of their lives at Danforth next year.

In May 2017, accounting graduate student Tanner Comp and senior psychology major Courtney Jacobsma will tie the knot in the chapel. The pair, both from Sioux Falls, have known each other since they were high school freshmen. They have officially been a couple for six years.

Jacobsma recalls Comp, a Brookman Hall resident assistant and member of Beta Alpha Psi, as being cordial early on in their relationship.

“He was a gentleman,” Jacobsma said. “He would open the door for me and do really nice stuff like that for me.”

Last March, Comp proposed to Jacobsma after reading her a poem in front of Danforth Chapel. The chapel holds a special place in Jacobsma’s heart.

“My relationship with God is very important to me,” Jacobsma said. “The chapel is a place on campus where I can come and still have that personal time that I need.”

On May 12, 2017, Comp and Jacobsma will take their vows at Danforth. They were able to rent the chapel at a cost of $54, which Comp said he thought was a very good deal.

The chapel, Comp admits, is not large enough to accommodate a large crowd, so the ceremony is going to be modest in size.

“The wedding itself will be small,” Comp said. “It (the chapel) has an approximate capacity of 60 people.”

Because of size limitations, only the couple’s immediate family will attend the wedding ceremony. The reception in Sioux Falls, however, will host between 225 and 275 guests.

The couple said they have their hands full between planning the wedding and finishing school, and they won’t stay planted in Vermillion long after the wedding – Comp has accepted a job in Omaha, Nebraska, and they will be moving there a month after getting married.

Jacobsma said she goes to the chapel whenever she needs some time to stop and reflect, or when the USD Christian group Campus Crusade for Christ holds an event there.

“I always thought that, if I could, this is some place I would want to get married,” she said.