UR professors officiate weddings as former students tie the knot
Alumni
Planning a wedding involves many choices, everything from the venue and guest list to food and floral arrangements. One decision that came easily for some members of the Richmond community was choosing a faculty member to officiate their ceremony.
From lecture halls to wedding bells, professors Julietta Singh, Kristin Bezio, and Joe Hoyle have all been asked to play a significant role in the recent weddings of their former students.
“We tend, as faculty, to connect more deeply with our students because we work in an environment that enables and fosters that kind of attention and commitment,” Singh said.
This past June 21, when 2014 alum Phoebe Krumich and Mario Rojas Acosta stood before their family and friends in the English countryside, their literary-themed wedding was fittingly led by Krumich’s former English professor, Julietta Singh. The ceremony included poetry readings, stacks of books on each dinner table at the reception, and handmade bookmarks for the guests.
At the ceremony, Singh spoke about her 15-year friendship with Krumich, who now teaches English at the American School in London. “I met Phoebe my first year as a newly appointed assistant professor, when she was a first-year student. We connected instantly. She took classes with me every year, and I became her advisor and her senior thesis mentor,” Singh said. “We’ve stayed connected through so many life stages. It was a great honor to be asked to officiate at her wedding.”
Also present was English professor Nathan Snaza (another important mentor for Krumich) and his daughter with Singh, Isa, who walked down the aisle with her parents to lead the procession.
“Julietta was by far the most defining figure of my time at UR. She is the reason I became an English major and a writing consultant — the person who taught me the urgency of language and writing — and she continues to be my north star all these years later,” Krumich said.
Staying on theme, Singh had some advice for the couple. “Be poems for each other. Read each other passionately, open-heartedly, sympathetically, devotionally.”
The science of love
Two years ago, in July, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Leadership Studies Kristin Bezio led the wedding of 2017 graduates Rachel DuMez and Benjamin Kornegay III. Chaplain Craig Kocher officiated the ceremony at the Cannon Memorial Chapel, while Bezio gave readings, invited the couple to exchange vows, and presented a reflection on their relationship.
The couple met in a science classroom on their first day of classes but didn’t begin dating until their junior year when they were both taking a leadership on stage and screen course taught by Bezio. Four years after graduation, Kornegay proposed to DuMez in the Gottwald classroom where they had met. They got married two years after their engagement.
They continued to UNC–Chapel Hill to pursue their doctorates in genetics and molecular biology. DuMez-Kornegay received her degree in spring, while Kornegay is completing his.
“They're an adorable couple. We had a pretty good relationship while they were students here. It was super sweet to be part of their wedding,” Bezio said. The two had taken a class with her and also participated in her research projects. "It’s always cute when couples make it together out of college. They were clearly very happy and in love.”
At the ceremony, Bezio told the story about how the pair fell in love in her class, in which they performed Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
“Through those shared experiences, Dr. Bezio became a large part of our story and continues to be a mentor to us individually and as a couple,” said DuMez-Kornegay.
A genuine proposal
Accounting professor Joe Hoyle has told his students that if they happen to marry another UR accounting student, he would be happy to officiate at their wedding. Three couples have taken him up on the offer, but because he doesn’t have official credentials, his first wedding was officiated as part of a team with a pastor. “He was great because he wanted the couple to be happy, so he told me to do whatever I wanted to do and he would do the legal parts,” Hoyle said.
He officiated the other two ceremonies after the couples were already legally married.
“In one way, it is amazing to me how well the students get to know so many of the faculty. In another way, that’s one of the reasons that many of us are here,” Hoyle said.
This past June 7, Hoyle led the wedding ceremony of 2019 graduates Rachel Tang and Jason Dinsmore, who married at the Decatur House in Washington, D.C.
“Accounting plays a big part in both of our lives, as we first met in accounting class, and we are both still accountants at KPMG,” Tang said. “Professor Hoyle has played an important role in our experience at UR, so we couldn't think of a better person.”
To get ready for the wedding, Hoyle asked the couple many detailed questions, including how long he should speak. He even integrated a visualization exercise into the event.
“During our ceremony, he asked us to close our eyes and visualize our relationship 55 years from now. It was an impactful moment to think that far into the future,” she said.