Our celebration is the 16th of October '21, a year after our courthouse marriage the 22nd of October '20. Thank you for being an important part of it.
We first met in 2011 at a five week high school summer scholarship program at Centre College in Danville, KY. Three hundred students attended the program, and although we don't remember meeting each other, there is photo evidence to prove we were in the same room at the same time that summer. We met again our first year at the University of Kentucky where we both attended college, introduced through mutual friends who became a close friend group the rest of our time there. We began dating in our junior year after two years of friendship. Our chosen career paths took us to different parts of the country after college, but we maintained our relationship with nightly phone calls and video dates. We became engaged in California at Martin's beach August 2018. The pandemic shortened our time apart, as we've lived together since March 2020, first in Tennessee, and now in California. A small ceremony with family was planned in April 2020 in Tennessee and a follow up celebration in August 2020 in California, but these were postponed until October 2020 and October 2021. Now we celebrate being together and happily married with you all after a long journey, and we are immensely grateful for your support and kindness to us these years.
Arrive and enjoy mingling and playing yard games. Sip and snack, and make yourselves comfortable.
A mobile wood-fired pizza oven will be staffed and will serve as much pizza as you want to eat. You have a choice of four pizza options in the menu below. Continue to grab drinks and play games until 7:30PM when we'll begin the toast.
Jonathan Elliott, aka "Best Person", will give a toast. We will read our thanks and our vows, and family will participate in a small ceremony to kick off the evening of dancing.
We'll have a first dance, and DJ Tiny will get us all moving on the dance floor. Be sure to brush up on your line dancing beforehand! Scroll to the end of the page for practice videos. Around 9PM we'll take a quick break for cake.
We'll exit the party and lead folks to an optional lantern-lit gathering on the beach.
Courtesy of Felice Forno
The celebration will be held in a clearing near Seal Rock Beach known as Indian Village. Although the area is now managed by a local conservancy, the naming was inspired by the mortar and pestle found nearby, which belong to local or visiting Native American people. At the time of Spanish contact, the Monterey peninsula was inhabited by the Rumsen-speaking Ohlone people and visited seasonally by inland tribes who would harvest from the ocean. The Rumsen Costonoan Carmel Tribe is active today, although the tribe was forced to relocate to southern California to find work on ranchos after years of poor treatment and anti-Native American policies. Like many areas in the Monterey peninsula, this is a special place, not only for the peaceful people who belong to it, but also for the dwindling wildlife species protected within it. We are honored to celebrate our lives' most special occasion here.
The Dunes Rd, Pebble Beach, CA. Please park on the left side of the road after the gate and before the clearing.
This special occasion would not be complete without the participation of Jonathan Elliott, on whom we have bestowed the dubious title of "Best Person". Only our naming of the title is questionable in its indulgence, but we mean it with all sincerity. Any person or couple would be so lucky to find a friend in Jonathan, and we are grateful he is a part of our lives; both our lives are richer for it. We've known Jonathan since our first year in college and have been steadfast friends since. Together we have been on many adventures, and we hope for many more. One important goal of this celebration is to convince him of the benefits of living in California in case he should find his way here one day, so be sure to treat him well.
