Last Saturday night, Julianne Donovan and Nathan Wyman got married. Since both are creative, crafty types, I knew that their wedding would be pretty spectacular, and my suspicions were confirmed when I got the invitation. It encouraged guests to wear costumes and comfortable shoes for the after-ceremony parade, and it also included two tickets to the debut performance of Love Shall Endure, the play that they wrote and directed.
I first met Julianne several years ago through friends, and not long afterward, she invited me to her annual Festivus party. Since then, her party has been written up in a book (which Justin Kendall covered in this article in the Pitch) and she went on to open Keen Bee Creative, a design and illustration company. Nathan teaches in the theater department at William Jewell College -- he’s a theater technical director and sceneographer -- and the ceremony took place in the school’s Peters Theater.
My boyfriend and I didn’t wear costumes, though I did briefly contemplate dressing as a giant thumb because thumb-wrestling is one of the Feats of Strength at Julianne’s Festivus party. Thankfully, the other attendees picked up the costume slack. After we were seated in the theater, we spotted two older guys dressed as the Blues Brothers and a couple in Native American garb. We also saw a group in Ren Fest gear that included a jester, a knight and a Shakespearian chap in a blue-velvet doublet and a plumed hat. The best costume idea went an adorable 7-month-old girl, who dressed as a cherub. She wore shiny, light-pink shorts over her diaper and a tiny set of angel wings.
Love Shall Endure was awesome. It started with two actors playing the old-age versions of Julianne and Nathan. They sat on a sofa on one side of the stage and reminisced about their courtship, from their first meeting on an Internet dating site to the proposal. A narrator dressed in circus ringmaster garb came out and read their first e-mail exchange, then two more actors portraying the current-day version of the couple re-enacted the key moments of their relationship. When Cody Ross, who played young Nathan, first came out onstage and re-created the nervous motions of Nathan waiting for Julianne to show up at their first meeting at Broadway Café, some members of the audience started chuckling. “Why are they laughing?” whispered a little kid sitting behind me. “Because that’s just like him,” her mom said.
The play ended as the old couple described the yearlong planning that went into the ceremony. They got up to hobble off, and Dr. Andrew Pratt, the officiant, stepped onstage. “Are you ready?” he asked them. “Let’s begin.” Then the black curtains went up to reveal a gorgeous set. An Oriental rug covered a raised platform. The backdrop consisted of gold columns and orange and purple swags of fabric. The bride’s attendants wore plum, and the bride looked gorgeous in an orange dress. The ceremony itself was lovely. Julianne’s voice wobbled as she repeated her vows. I also liked how they read the Irish “May the road rise up to meet you” blessing, as well as Apache and Jewish ones.
We skipped the parade after the ceremony; it seemed like a long walk (even though the program listed it as “less than 1 mile”). Plus, we didn’t want to hike back after a couple of beers. Anyway, the reception was at Heritage Hall, which is right by Liberty’s historic square. The room was beautifully decorated with paper lanterns, vintage fabrics on the tables and a variety of flowers, which they got at the City Market, from their garden and from friends’ gardens. In fact, both Julianne and Nathan tried to keep everything as local as possible; her dress was made by a local artist, and the Mediterranean buffet was catered by Habashi House. “It’s a hometown wedding,” Nathan said at the reception as they were making the rounds. More Julianne and Nathan touches included two vintage typewriters, which served as guest books; a photo area with a bench, a fabric backdrop and a variety of costume hats, capes and feather boas; and the fake cake, a cheesy monstrosity that Julianne made to look like concrete pillars. She said that a couple of guests tried to swipe off some frosting from it and were baffled to come up empty.
Cut … and scene. We soon left after eating slices from the real cake and having our wacky-hat pictures taken. “Thank you so much for coming,” Nathan said to us. No, thank you, guys, for inviting us to such a unique wedding. -- Jen Chen
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I was the harpist before the wedding, and it was such an honor to have been part of such an amazingly unique wedding! It will be a fond memory always. Nathan and Julianne, thanks for sharing yourselves with all of us!
Congratulations!
Today I thought of Julianne(strange to remember her birthday after sooooo many years!) and I decided to Google her and this is what I found! I am so happy for you. It looks like it was an awesome day!
Hi Guys
Congratulations on your wedding. It looked like a riot.
Sorry that we couldnt be there to see you married Nathan Mate.
We were thinking of you and seeing the pictures has been wonderful.
Miss you loads and hope to see you BOTH soon.
Lots and lots of love
Ella and Christian
xxxxxx
I'm Julianne's mom:) Julianne has always been so creative and had a knack for having a good time and Nathan is the perfect mate! Their wedding was such fun and also so very meaningful. Everyone enjoyed it and I'm happy to have been a part of it.
What a great article! I, like Lorna, have been trying to describe all of the wonderful and unique elements of this wedding. I traveled from Georgia to attend and it was more than worth the trip. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!
I'm Nathan's Mom and I thank you, Jen, for your great article. It has been so hard to explain to people "back home" how utterly cool this wedding was! So, now I can just email them this article and they can see for themselves. The native American couple was my sister and her husband. They are in their 70's and were so excited to be able to come in costume. Their last name is Savage.....so there you go....what better costumes could there have been for them?
You just can't know how happy I am that Nathan met Julianne! I have never seen him so complete and happy. They are truly a special couple (even though I may be a little biased in my opinion!).
Thanks again!
Lorna Monroe
The wedding was one of the most unique weddings I have ever been to. I've know Julianne for over 5 yrs or so and there was no way I was gonna miss her wedding. She and Nathan make a GREAT couple and I'm glad to have both as friends. I wish them all the love,peace and happiness possible! Love ya both! :)
Great article, Jen! I'm the cherub's mommy, and yes, she was really freakin' cute. This was certainly the most amazing wedding I think I've ever been to, including mine. From the invitations to the food, every touch was a statement of Julianne and Nathan's creativity and love for life. The murmur I heard most was, "This is so THEM!" The best part is that they love their family and friends so much that they wanted to share themselves and their love story in such a unique way. Damn you, Jen, I'm getting all misty! :-)
Hello... I was the Jester at the wedding... I thought I would tell you thank you that you did a very nice job on this article! I plan to keep it forever as I would like to remember this experience and its uniqueness in as much detail as possible! Julianne is my cousin, and although I don't have the priviledge of knowing her or Nathan that well, I have always admired her ability to share her originality with those around her! Again, thank you...
-Jessika
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