Names: Gretchen Corl and Brianne Croteau
Ages: Gretchen, 39; Brianne,35
Professions: Gretchen is a Data Report Writer and Brianne is a Event Director.
City, State: Lewisburg, PA
Date of Wedding: June 28, 2014
The Big Day: Our ceremony can be described as “Marquee Love”. We’re getting married in a gorgeously restored art deco movie theater in our town. There will be custom movies on the big screen, our names up on the theater marquee, and a red carpet for the guest arrivals. We have a shared love of pop culture and all things movies, so this is a perfect fit. The rest of the evening will be all about the party and we expect everyone to be on the dance floor until the venue lights come on. We’re excited about so many aspects of the big day but we really can’t wait to dance with our toddler son at the reception – he’s been practicing his moves for months!
The Firsts
First meeting: We met through mutual friends on the first day Brianne moved to Washington, D.C. By that evening, we knew we had a special kind of connection and after a year of developing our friendship, it was clear to us that we were meant to be together. This May we’re celebrating our 10 year anniversary!
First date: I think our first “date” was a night out in Woodley Park in late December 2003. I lived in the neighborhood and we had drinks at the bar of the Marriott Wardman Park hotel and shared a fellow patron’s birthday cake. We had been out many times before as friends, but that night was a turning point.
First kiss: That same night! Gretchen and I knew that there was something special there.
When they knew?
We joke that no matter how hard we tried to keep away from each other, we were bound to be together! Really, we were such good friends that neither one of us wanted anything to come between that, but it was inevitable and we both knew that we were really meant to be together and to have a family one day.
The Proposal/The Ring(s): We legally married in October 2013 in a short ceremony outside the National Zoo (where we went the first day we met). Only a few friends joined us and at that point, we didn’t even have rings, so I surprised Gretchen with Ring Pops during the ceremony, much to our son’s delight!
Our wedding this summer in Pennsylvania will be a chance to re-create our ceremony with all of our family and friends and celebrate over a decade of our love and friendship. We can’t wait!
Honeymoon: With a two year old, it’s hard to say when we’ll have time to get away. But we look forward to spending the summer together, post-wedding, relaxing and having a lot of fun!
Looking into the Future: We are so happy to have our friends and families join us for our wedding this summer. We are excited about entering the next stage of our lives together and celebrating many more joyous milestones to come.
