Bride gets quite a kick out of her wedding day

Most wedding photographers don't find themselves taking pictures at a football field on the day of the big event.

Then again, most brides aren't out trying to drill field goals minutes after the ceremony. In their wedding gowns.

Welcome to the football-crazed Kuceyeski family, where dad coaches, mom is a diehard fan who wants to tour football stadiums across the country in retirement and the two youngest children - one of whom is a girl - both played football for most of their childhoods.

In this household, football rules on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and, well, wedding days, too.

"This entire family has always been really into football," patriarch and Libertyville football coach Randy Kuceyeski said matter-of-factly.

On July 18, Randy's daughter Kristen married Anthony Aiello in their hometown of Libertyville. The original plan was to take pictures at scenic Independence Grove after the ceremony.

Then the former Kuceyeski, who had just become an Aiello, had an aha moment.

"I thought, 'Wait a minute. Both Anthony and I graduated from Libertyville, we should go over to the school and take some pictures,' " Aiello said. "And then I thought, 'And I should try kicking some field goals, too. It would be a great picture.' "

So with her long, flowing white dress nearly swallowing her up, Aiello kicked off a tee barefoot.

It probably would have seemed awkward had it not felt so natural and comforting.

Aiello is at home on that football field. She used to kick real field goals there in real games as Libertyville's first and only girl to have ever made the varsity football team.

She belonged on that field. Even on her wedding day.

"I just really wanted to be there," said Aiello, who was the Wildcats' first-string kicker in 2000 and 2001.

In a way, being back on that field on such a pivotal day in her life was kind of like life coming full circle. It was for the whole family, really.

The 25-year-old Aiello, who is now an English teacher at Libertyville and has joined her dad's staff as a volunteer so that she can coach the current kickers at the school, has been around football and that field for as long as she can remember. She, along with her siblings, went to her first games there in a stroller and rarely missed an opportunity to cheer for the Wildcats year after year.

"I was so into football. I grew up wanting to play. And I would always wear my Walter Payton jersey everywhere," Aiello said. "I watched a lot of football with my dad. It was a great way to connect with him."

Randy Kuceyeski has coached football at Libertyville for 31 years and has been the head coach since 1994. His influence on Kristen and his youngest son John, who was a starter on Libertyville's state championship team in 2004, is obvious.

But, truth is, Kuceyeski's wife Martha has had just as much to do with the family's passion for football, if not more.

"My mom is like a fan, a coach, she loves it. She really loves football," said John, the youngest of four Kuceyeski children and a manager for the Penn State football team. He is interested in coaching at the high school or college level someday. "She's kind of been the gel that has brought that (a love of football) all together for our family. She's definitely (set the tone)."

Martha Kuceyeski recently retired as a counselor at Deerfield High School but is working part-time as a counselor at Libertyville, until Randy can retire and the two can tour the country in search of the best high school, college and pro football games each weekend. She has missed just three Libertyville football games in the 28 years she's been married to Randy.

She is as knowledgeable about the game as they come.

"She's the one person who can ask me why we ran this play or that play in a certain situation," Randy laughed.

In high school, Martha was a cheerleader, but instead of standing on the track in between cheers with the rest of the cheerleaders she would stand on the sideline so that she could better see the game.

"I wanted to know what was going on. I loved being at the games and I loved football. I still do," said Martha, who has become known for leading cheers in the parents' section at Libertyville games. "I don't know, I guess it's because I grew up in Ohio. Randy and I both grew up in this town called Alliance and in Alliance, you went to the football games on Friday nights. That's just what you did. My parents had season tickets for their whole lives and had just one son play football. But we were always at those games. It meant a lot to us and I grew up to really love the game."

And that's a good thing for Randy Kuceyeski.

He says that it takes a special wife, and a special family, to tolerate the ups and downs of life with a football coach. The fact that they all went above and beyond and chose to become so closely involved in his career and in the game he loves makes him feel all the more blessed.

"This family has always supported everything I've ever done. They've been there every step of the way," said Randy Kuceyeski, who even gets support from his extended family. His grandson religiously wears a Libertyville football jersey to school on game days.

"From Day One, my entire family has been a part of what I'm doing, no matter how big or small, from cheering at the games to being a part of the state championship," Kuceyeski said. "I haven't taken a step without them.

"I kind of see this as a family-owned program."

So congratulations to the groom, Anthony Aiello. And welcome to the family.

Now, are you ready for some football? You better be.

• pbabcock@dailyherald.com