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Miami Valley couples, wedding venues prepare for cicada season

Miami Valley brides and grooms are hoping buzzing doesn’t drown out wedding bells.

Tuesday, a Wright State University biology professor told News Center 7, recent cooler temperatures are still keeping cicadas underground a little longer, but he still expects them to peak around May 25th.

That means billions of bugs will be flying around the area, making a lot of noise, as couples say their vows.

“I’m a little nervous,” Dannielle Carter from Tipp City said.

She is getting married at The Willow Tree in Tipp City on May 30th.

“Nature plays an incredibly important part in what we do here, and that’s what makes me nervous,” Ben Bickert, the venue’s owner said.

He has owned the property for nine years, not long enough to experience the impending once every 17 year cicada season.

However, Kathy Piech-Lukas knows what to expect, because her first year working as a wedding planner was the last time Brood X emerged in the Miami Valley.

“It was loud. I remember it being very, very loud,” Piech-Lukas said.

Between the pandemic and the cicadas, she decided not to take on May and June weddings this year.

“I think life is just a big sundae, and it’s sweet and it’s salty, and right now it’s got a cicada cherry on top,” Piech-Lukas said.

Though Bickert doesn’t have 17 years of experience, he does have nearly a decade in the business, enough to know the importance of having a backup plan.

“If there are issues with these things flying around, we can get everyone comfortably inside the barn where it is safer and less distracting,” Bickert said.

That backup plan is giving Carter peace of mind as she thinks about her wedding day.

“I’m very excited,” Carter said.














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