Bride and Groom First Dance Surprise: Laura and Martin's Chauncey Center Wedding

Laura and Martin are two off-the-beaten-track types of people. Not just figuratively, but literally. Laura is a specialist in outdoor survival education, and Martin is a former elementary school teacher who now leads meditation, social-emotional learning skills, music and creativity programs in schools all over California and beyond.

They celebrated their wedding on the lawn outside the Laurie House at Princeton’s Chauncey Center, with a beautiful view of the pond in the background. And from the very start, their wedding ceremony wasn’t “business as usual.” Soon after Laura walked down the aisle, the officiant led everyone in a grounding breathing exercise. It was a powerful way to begin the day.

Not only are Laura and Martin unusually thoughtful, heartfelt people, but they have a pretty awesome sense of humor, too. (What an incredible combination of personality traits, right?)

They had one of the best bride and groom first dance surprises we’ve ever seen: They danced a minuet.

That’s right, an 18th century social dance in 3/4 time. And they wore the appropriate costumes, to boot. Powdered white wigs, a long waistcoat, and a baroque gown and petticoat.

If you’d like to do something to delight your guests and give them something they’ll never forget, you couldn’t do much better than that!

Speaking of a sense of humor, we couldn’t publish this blog without quoting the story they told us about how they got engaged. We’ve heard lots of fabulous engagement stories, but this is definitely one of the best of them:

Martin tried to rent a sailboat and take Laura on a weekend trip to an island and propose on the island, but she thought the sailboat was too expensive (it was) so they went on a hike instead! On the hike, he had his gopro on his head and looked like a nerd the whole time, and just when he was ready to propose, on a dock on a beautiful lake, the camera ran out of batteries, of course. He told her that he had a gift for her and then just put the ring on her finger. And asked her if she’d want to marry him. She was just laughing the whole time so we are still not sure if she ever said yes. But we’re assuming she did. The ring was made out of wood, because Laura has always dreamt that her partner would one day make her a ring out of wood.

And without further ado, a few pictures from their utterly delightful, unforgettable wedding: