October 9th 2016
Bent Mountain, Virginia
Alex and Kristen met after being randomly assigned as roommates at their apartment complex. Both were enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs at West Virginia University; Kristen double majored in Chemistry and Forensic Science and Alex majored in Civil Engineering. While Kristen was in her last preseason with the WVU women’s soccer team, Alex helped her through by cooking her dinner and expanding her movie knowledge. They hit it off right away.
They were together about 5 years before Alex asked Kristen to marry her. In that 5 years, they moved from Morgantown, WV to Blacksburg, VA for graduate school. Kristen is working toward a PhD in Chemistry, researching inorganic photocatalysts and the post-synthetic functionalization of polymers. Alex is pursuing a PhD in Industrial Systems Engineering and does Human Factors research in Transportation Safety.
Alex proposed using a TARDIS (Doctor Who) ring box that she made while Kristen was away; Alex taught herself to solder and took apart the home phone so she’d have enough wire to finish the project. The TARDIS lights up and makes sound. Kristen puts her rings in the box every night.
Alex and Kristen were both escorted down the aisle by their parents and had a simple mountain top ceremony that incorporated some of their favorite things: Doctor Who cake cutters, Alice in Wonderland tea bag favors, Star Wars lightsabers and Guardians of the Galaxy themed first dance.
Wedding Songs: “In My Life” by the Beatles (Stringspace cover) for the processional and “Happy Together” by The Turtles for the recessional.
The brides had a first dance to “Come and Get Your Love” by Red Bone. Say the brides, “We started watching Guardians of the Galaxy and the song came on as the title track. We were both like, ‘This is it!’”
Kristen’s Favorite Moment: It’s a tough choice. We had lightsabers, cut our cake with sonic screwdriver cake cutters, tossed a cat (stuffed animal) instead of a bouquet, had a science and craft table for kids where I demonstrated the absorbent properties of sodium polyacrylate (fake snow) to my dad, and to top it all off we had an epic lip sync battle. But after all of that, my favorite part was really our handfasting ceremony because at that moment I was joined to my best friend.
Alex’s Favorite Moment: Aside from that whole marrying my best friend thing some of my favorite moments were seeing all of my friends and relatives in the same place, my father-in-law killing it in the lip sync battle with his rendition of “Day Dream Believer” by the Monkees, and hanging out with our awesome photographers (seriously, make sure you like your photographers because you spend a lot of time with them).”
Alex and Kristen really made their wedding a reflection of their relationship. As Kristen mentioned, they tossed a stuffed cat rather than a bouquet. “The idea was that whoever caught it would be the next person to adopt a cat.” They also had some of Kristen’s science crafts—like fake snow, slime, and beads that change color when exposed to UV light—and both children and adult guests were entertained. Additionally, their wedding cakes and pies were made by a local bakery where they go for breakfast nearly every weekend.
Asked if there’s anything they would change, the brides confess that their DJ was not only unprepared for the wedding but continually used heteronormative language throughout the event. “We were referred to as “bride and groom” more times than either of us would have cared for. The DJ also played songs that the brides explicitly requested that he not play at the wedding. – Needless to say, we would have picked another DJ.”
Even with that slight hiccup, Alex and Kristen had a beautiful wedding day with their loved ones. Says Alex, “Picking out the music was my favorite part of planning the entire wedding. Our cake cutting song was, “When I’m 64” by the Beatles.”
One more highlight from their day? The brides planned a lip sync battle and say it was a huge hit. Their only regret? “Not having someone record each act!”
“But of all these friends and lovers, There is no one compares with you. And these memories lose their meaning When I think of love as something new.”