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LITTLETON, Colo. — June is typically a popular month for weddings. This year is no different, but one bride and groom will stand out from the rest.
Jimmer Fredette and his fiancée, Whitney Wonnacott, plan to be married June 1. The former KSL News intern and her basketball-wielding beau recently sat down with KSL to share a little of their love story.
Dealing with wedding plans and fame
With so much going on in their lives right now, Jimmer and Whitney say a day to just make cookies is more of a treat the actual treat itself — and that's exactly what they were doing when we visited them at Whitney's home in Littleton, Colo.
"It's crazy, but it's a lot of fun," Whitney said. "I mean, it is stressful at times. There's a lot to think about, a lot going on. My mom and dad and I — like every day, we make lists of things we have to do."
Whitney just graduated from BYU and moved back home to plan her wedding. Her groom, on the other hand, has spent the past year playing for the NBA's Sacramento Kings.
"(Jimmer) is the one who gets all the attention, and he handles it pretty well," Whitney said.
But Jimmer would rather all that attention go to Whitney.
"Whenever we meet people I always try to introduce them to her, and then she will keep the conversation going," Jimmer said.
"Yeah, whenever we meet someone we don't know, he's like, ‘Talk to her. Talk to her,'" Whitney chided.
How they met
Jimmer first started talking to Whitney during the NCAA tournament three years ago. He was a sophomore guard and she was a freshman cheerleader.
But it was Whitney who made the first move, because she was friends with Jimmer's sister-in-law Cami.
"I had been texting Cami the whole time about what she was going to do that night, and then somehow Cami's phone all of a sudden died … And I got a text from another girl, and it was this one," Jimmer said, pointing to Whitney.
My dad is a BYU fanatic, so he saw him and was like, ‘Whitney, that's Jimmer Fredette.' And I'm like, ‘Who the heck is that? That's the weirdest name I've ever heard.'
–Whitney Wonnacott
"She's like, ‘Cami's phone died, and so she wanted me to start texting you because I was her roommate,'" Jimmer continued. "She's like, this is my number … and I had texted her back, so she got the number.'"
It was a brilliant plan, Whitney said, confessing that her friend's phone hadn't actually died. And while it's the first time Jimmer met Whitney, the latter remembers seeing him a long time before that.
"My freshman year at BYU, I remember I went there to visit right after I made the cheer squad, and my dad spotted him on campus," Whitney recalled. "My dad is a BYU fanatic, so he saw him and was like, ‘Whitney, that's Jimmer Fredette.' And I'm like, ‘Who the heck is that? That's the weirdest name I've ever heard.'"
"But I knew very much who he was," Whitney's father, Richard Wonnacott, said. He never imagined Jimmer and his daughter would one day get engaged — which is a whole other story.
The engagement
"She's a really big snoop, so she knows everything that's going to happen in her life," Jimmer said. "She knows all her Christmas presents and all her birthday presents before they actually come."
So, the groom-to-be had to be sneaky. Last summer, Jimmer hid in his Provo home while Whitney, who thought he was at a golf tournament, came over to help move his brother's car.
I kind of left a little note on the bed saying, ‘I'll see you tomorrow, Whitney. I have a present for you. It's outside, so you'll have to go out there and try to find it.'
–Jimmer Fredette
"I kind of left a little note on the bed saying, ‘I'll see you tomorrow, Whitney. I have a present for you. It's outside, so you'll have to go out there and try to find it,'" Jimmer recounted.
Whitney found that present — a pair of shoes — and went back inside. That's when Jimmer snuck up behind her and made the best move of his career.
"I asked her to marry me, and she said, ‘Yes,'" Jimmer said.
"He got rid of all the evidence. He did a good job," Whitney laughed. "I had no idea."
Now, they're a few days from being married. Whitney has the ring she was hoping for, the shoes, and someone she can just be herself with.
Marriage initially a tough sale
Jimmer said he knew early on that Whitney was the one.
"I knew a lot sooner than she did," he said. "I had to put in some work to make sure she stayed around."
"I was writing a missionary at the time, so I wasn't really too concerned with him," Whitney conceded. "I was like, he's a fun guy, we have a lot of fun, but I didn't really know. But he was persistent."
It was a trip to Glens Falls, New York, Jimmer's hometown, that eventually got her on his team.
"They just welcomed me with open arms," Whitney said. "I was like, ‘This is the best. These are great people. I love them!'"
"It was Angelina's Pizza that did it," Jimmer joked.
"Yeah, it was the pizza that did me in!" Whitney laughed.
It became the perfect relationship — but not because of the fame.
"No, because that's not who (Jimmer) is," said Whitney's mother, Tammy Wonnacott. "He's just a nice, wonderful young man who loves my daughter."
It's because they just get along. They're best friends who enjoy being together.
"We're just kind of normal and hang out, don't really talk much about basketball," Jimmer said. After their marriage, Jimmer and Whitney have somewhat of an uncertain future ahead. After the next NBA season, Jimmer isn't sure if the Sacramento Kings will renew his contract, or if he'll play somewhere else.
Whatever happens, though, he knows he has a great wife ready to support him, which he says is all that really matters.
