How To Organize Your Wedding Around What Is Truly Important To You

We wanted our wedding to be personal and familiar. Our parents, Caine’s brother and his wife, and Katherine’s grandmother attended the courthouse ceremony, followed by a sixty-person reception with our closest families and friends. 

The people who know us best know that we both love to sing and dance. In addition to dancing to a carefully curated playlist, we asked everyone in attendance to join us for a sing-along to Stand By Me by Ben E. King. We chose this song for the message. We were publicly committing to stand by each other and each other’s families, and asking our families to stand by us--in whatever ups and downs the future holds. 

As a final personal touch, Katherine’s mother baked dozens of sugar cookies for a late night treat, served with gelato. The sugar cookies are a family legend and the recipe remains a secret. 

Eating is a major part of our relationship! We love new food experiences and extended meals that lend themselves to laughs and good conversation. We wanted to create a memorable food experience for the people that mean the most to us. 

As guests arrived, they saw the chef tending to the outdoor wood-burning oven and picking fresh herbs from the garden. We sat side by side at long farm tables and passed heaping communal plates of food. 

You always hear that the bride and groom never eat at the wedding - this was not true for us! We savored every bite and also had time to visit with guests at each table between courses. We couldn’t think of a more fitting location than The Corson Building! 

We each highlighted a cultural tradition specific to our families to connect us to past generations and recognize each of our identities. Caine chose “jumping the broom.” The broom ceremony is a symbol of sweeping away the old and welcoming the new, or a symbol of new beginnings. With roots in African cultural heritage, the custom spread through African ethnic groups in the United States in absence of any legal recognition of enslaved people’s marriages. The broom ceremony represents the joining of two families while showing respect and paying homage to those who came before the couple. 

Katherine chose Senbazuru, or one thousand origami cranes, and involved her family and friends in completing the project. Cranes are symbols of nobility, health, and loyalty. It is said that they live for one thousand years and mate for life. Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds one thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish. 

Our favorite memory of the day is the 20-minute window after our ceremony and before we were announced at our reception. We were waiting upstairs at the Corson Building, watching our guests arrive and sitting together, enjoying our first hours as a married couple. That time provided us with an opportunity to reflect on our love as a couple and our love and support from our family and friends. 

Caine: Remember that this is a celebration of you and the person you love and have chosen to spend the rest of your life with. Spend time together; laugh, kiss, and dance. The memories and happiness of this day will serve as reminders throughout the time of the joy of your union. 

Katherine: Enjoy the day! Do whatever you need to do leading up to the wedding so that you can let go the day of the wedding - whether that means hiring a day-of coordinator, delegating tasks to friends, creating a minute by minute timeline - and then let go the day of the wedding… Soak up every moment of a day that is dedicated to the momentous occasion of committing to living your life with your partner.