The following also incorporates the Big Red love stories of some more recent grads, as well as current info on the logistics of on-campus weddings.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n By Beth Saulnier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Classmates Alicia Duran \u201921, MHA \u201921, and Connor Gerlach \u201921 started dating their first year on the Hill, after meeting through mutual friends. \u201cOver the years, we spent lots of time exploring both campus and Ithaca, going to hockey games, listening to Chimes concerts, and generally doing the things that undergraduates do,\u201d Gerlach recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs soon as the topic of marriage came up, we knew that our wedding had to be at Cornell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pair got engaged during a trip back to the Hill in 2024\u2014they celebrated by watching the Big Red beat Princeton 5-0 in Lynah Rink\u2014and started planning their nuptials, which were held in June 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They tied the knot in Sage Chapel, with the Chimes playing as they exited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After a cocktail hour on Willard Straight\u2019s Ivy Terrace, their reception\u2014featuring food by Cornell Catering\u2014was held in the Memorial Room, complete with appearances by the Pep Band and East Hill\u2019s ursine celebrity, Touchdown the Big Red Bear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur wedding had Cornell written all over it from start to finish,\u201d Gerlach says, \u201cand we would certainly not have had it any other way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each year, between a dozen and two dozen couples choose the Hill as their spot to tie the knot\u2014launching their married lives from a place that\u2019s often deeply meaningful to at least one (and often both) parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their celebrations often feature Cornellian touches large and small, from Chimes concerts to Cornell Dairy ice cream to photo sessions amid the elegant ironwork of Uris Library\u2019s A.D. White Reading Room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div> While most on-campus weddings take place in one of the two chapels\u2014the stately Sage and the more intimate and informal Anabel Taylor\u2014couples can exchange vows at other venues, including the A.D. White House, the Big Red Barn, and even the Arts Quad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our wedding had Cornell written all over it from start to finish, and we would certainly not have had it any other way.<\/p>\nConnor Gerlach \u201921<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo start your adult life at the University and then have this major milestone also take place there had a lot more meaning than if we just rented a hall downtown,\u201d observes Randy Heffernan \u201994, MBA \u201910.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In June 2015, Heffernan\u2014then living in Ithaca\u2014exchanged vows in Sage with Robert Redman, his partner of 18 years, as their two children looked on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n They then strolled to the Johnson Museum for the reception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy experiences at Cornell\u2014both degrees\u2014were major growth periods in my life, and I came out of it a bit of a different person each time,\u201d Heffernan says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGetting married is a major transition, too. I\u2019d walked across the Arts Quad twice to graduate\u2014and I crossed it again, as part of a married couple for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many Cornellians who get hitched on the Hill, the big day means a short commute from Sage\u2014the premier spot for vow-swapping\u2014to a reception at the Statler.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s what Niyati Shah, MEng \u201909, did when she and her now-husband, Shane Feely, tied the knot in October 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI grew up a lot at Cornell and learned a lot about myself,\u201d says Shah, a biomedical engineering alum. \u201cTo me it was natural to get married on campus, because Cornell shaped me into the person that Shane fell in love with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the ceremony in Sage, the couple sealed letters from their parents, and notes to each other, inside a Cornell coffee can that they\u2019d bought on their first trip to campus together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Chimes played a custom concert as they left the chapel, and they posed for photos at her favorite campus spots including the A.D. White Reading Room, McGraw Tower, and the West Campus arches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Says Shah: \u201cI was showing off the campus that I fell in love with to my guests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019d walked across the Arts Quad twice to graduate\u2014and I crossed it again, as part of a married couple for the first time.<\/p>\nRandy Heffernan \u201994, MBA \u201910<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Alexandra Wolfe \u201918, BS \u201917, MEng \u201917, recalls admiring Sage even before she matriculated, during a tour of campus as a high schooler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And as it turned out, the Hill was where she\u2019d find her soulmate: she and Alberto Lopez Delgado \u201920 fell in love after meeting at a salsa dance at Agava, then a popular local eatery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of the reason they chose to wed at their alma mater, Wolfe says, is that since both are immigrants\u2014she from Romania, he from Cuba\u2014\u201cIthaca was our first home together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like many Sage brides, Wolfe and her attendants awaited the ceremony in the crypt where the University founders are interred, and she fondly cites a version of the chapel\u2019s nuptial myth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLegend has it that if the bride gets cold feet, Ezra and Andrew will climb out of their coffins and give her a push down the aisle\u2014because if she\u2019s marrying a Cornellian, she\u2019s probably making a good choice,\u201d Wolfe says. \u201cI know I did!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div> So what are the logistics of getting married on the Hill?<\/p>\n\n\n\n First off, at least one member of the couple must have a tie to the University\u2014be it as an alum, trustee, faculty member, staffer, or current student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was showing off the campus that I fell in love with to my guests.<\/p>\nNiyati Shah, MEng \u201909<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Happily for today\u2019s crop of affianced, gone are the days when snagging a spot meant dialing and redialing the phone the moment that season\u2019s crop of reservations opened up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, it just involves emailing weddings@cornell.edu<\/a>, and a staff member from Conference and Event Services<\/a> will get the ball rolling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe really try to get to know the couple and understand what they love, what makes Cornell a special place for them,\u201d says Arts & Sciences alum and current Brooks School grad student Max Mandeville \u201923, a senior conference and event planner who heads up the Hill\u2019s wedding services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI always remind our staff: for us it\u2019s just another day at work, but for them it\u2019s one of the most important days of their life. Let\u2019s really try to celebrate, have fun, and make it an exciting and fabulous day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We really try to get to know the couple and understand what they love, what makes Cornell a special place for them.<\/p>\nMax Mandeville \u201923<\/strong>, senior conference and event planner<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In other good news for aspiring brides and grooms: these days, there\u2019s no reservation crunch for on-campus ceremonies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While there was a bump in demand after the end of COVID restrictions, Mandeville says, now it\u2019s generally possible to get your favored date without much stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barring major events like Reunion and Commencement, both Sage and Anabel Taylor offer three dedicated ceremony slots each Saturday\u2014at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4 p.m.\u2014with other venues and days also available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reservations can be made a maximum of two years in advance, but (the event\u2019s other logistics aside) ceremony slots can often be had with much less notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if the couple wants their big day to be relatively tiny? The office has provisions for \u201csmall weddings and elopements\u201d comprising fewer than 30 guests, ceremonies less than half an hour, and no catering, among other guidelines.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere have been so many fun weddings,\u201d Mandeville observes, when asked to share some of his fondest nuptial memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of my favorites was two years ago. As the couple was exiting Sage Chapel, they were showered with rose petals. They had a speaker playing really exciting music, and instead of walking to the reception, their wedding party carried them to the Statler. All of the guests were following behind dancing, and we had staff there to stop traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Story continues below.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of reception comestibles, Mandeville explains, while certain facilities such as the Straight require the use of Cornell Catering, others allow for outside caterers, of which the University maintains an approved list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Alums aiming to plan a campus wedding should be aware that some popular past venues, including the Johnson Museum and the Botanic Gardens, are not currently available for receptions or ceremonies\u2014though if arrangements are made, they can be used for photo sessions.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the couple wants their big day to be relatively tiny, the events office has provisions for \u201csmall weddings and elopements\u201d comprising fewer than 30 guests.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Conference and Event Services also maintains a list of preferred vendors for photography, flowers, cakes, live music, DJs, and more, plus a roster of local officiants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause we shared so many foundational memories with each other and our friends at Cornell, hosting our wedding on campus was incredibly meaningful,\u201d says Big Red bride Shweta Modi \u201919.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Modi and now-husband Neil Shah \u201919 met as juniors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They had their first date\u2014dinner on the Commons, followed by a movie\u2014on a snow day, when classes were canceled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCornell Conference and Event Services, Cornell Catering, and the Statler Hotel were phenomenal to work with,\u201d Modi says.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey were exceptionally accommodating of our traditional Indian wedding\u2014seamlessly executing our pre-wedding dance night at Willard Straight Hall, our ceremony at Sage Chapel, and our reception at the Statler.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another Cornellian bride, Jennifer Fang \u201903, recalls that her non-alumni guests were particularly awed by the Straight, marveling: \u201cIt\u2019s like you\u2019re getting married at Hogwarts!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because we shared so many foundational memories with each other and our friends at Cornell, hosting our wedding on campus was incredibly meaningful.<\/p>\nShweta Modi \u201919<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Fang and James Lamb \u201903 had met in August 1999, at a ballroom dancing class held on the second day of freshman orientation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That encounter, she says, is a long story involving \u201cLegos, Collegetown, and the world\u2019s worst pick-up line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their first official date came a day or two later, in the Straight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe went to an orientation event at the Memorial Room, but ended up spending the entire night sitting on the Ivy Terrace talking, and watching the sun set over West Campus, and then rise again,\u201d says Fang. \u201cFrom that night onward, we were inseparable throughout our years as undergraduates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the two decided to marry, the venue was obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In August 2015, less than a week shy of their 16th anniversary as a couple, they exchanged vows on the Straight terrace, \u201con the very spot where we had first shared a night looking over Cayuga Lake and fallen in love.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n They held their rehearsal dinner at the Statler, the site of their first Valentine\u2019s Day dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reception was in the Memorial Room, where Lamb had spent countless hours in the Student Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In August 2015, Jennifer Fang \u201903 and James Lamb \u201903 exchanged vows on the Straight terrace, \u201con the very spot where we had first shared a night looking over Cayuga Lake and fallen in love.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Fang chalked a celebratory message on Ho Plaza, and the couple posed for portraits overlooking Libe Slope. The wedding\u2019s official accent color, naturally, was carnelian red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe never even considered getting married anywhere else,\u201d Fang admits. \u201cWe were so fortunate that not only was our Cornell wedding hugely symbolic for us, but it was also an incredible wedding venue in its own right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And does Mandeville\u2014who has worked to create memorable Big Red weddings for many dozens of his fellow alumni over the past six years\u2014envision Cornellian nuptials for himself one day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sure my partner would not let me,\u201d Mandeville says with a laugh. \u201cHe\u2019s over at Ithaca College\u2014so we\u2019ll have to find something between the hills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Top: Gretchen Goldman \u201906 and Tom Di Liberto \u201906 enter married life on two wheels (Michael Grace-Martin)<\/em>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Published August 3, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n We introduce you to some of the many alums who\u2019ve tied the knot at their alma mater\u2014plus the basics of planning your own nuptials<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":74611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"We introduce you to some of the many alums who\u2019ve tied the knot at their alma mater\u2014plus the basics of planning your own nuptials","alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-74446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Alicia](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Gerlach-5A2A1394-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Shirley](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Durham-adeles-parents_alt-A-819x1024.jpg\")
\n
![\"Randy](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Heffernan-Rob-and-Randy166-A-819x1024.jpg\")
![\"Niyati](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/shah-feely-A-1024x576.jpg\")
\n
![\"Alexandra](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/wolfe-credit-jen-pecka-photography-215-A-819x1024.jpg\")
\n
![\"Erica](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Lill-B-1024x893.jpg\")
\n
![\"Jolanda](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/connelly-pandin-_MG_0271-A-819x1024.jpg\")
Saying ‘I Do’: A Big Red Wedding Album<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Jennifer](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Anderson-DAmato2-credit-Anthony-Tiballi-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Stella](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Xu-Kiss-outside-Church-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Morgan](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/dickens-moyal-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Melanie](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/West3-A-1024x575.jpg\")
![\"Catherine](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Whalen-Wedding-Photo-1974-A-819x1024.jpg\")
![\"Cathy](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/paddock-A-819x1024.jpg\")
![\"Kathryn](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Tomaine-Blackley-AU-KathrynMichael-143-credit-Allison-Usavage-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Alissa](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Terry1-credit-Kevin-Able-A.jpg\")
![\"Kristi](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/SnyderBaust27-credit-Heather-Ainsworth-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Sandy](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/schorr-breckheimer-A-1024x1024.jpg\")
![\"Carolyn](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Neuman1-credit-Buzzell-Studio-A-1024x1024.jpg\")
![\"Jaime](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Novikoff10-credit-Robert-Kaussner-A.jpg\")
![\"Pam](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Lein-Meigs1-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Marcus](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/hoover-cerroni-wed-0403-copy-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Nicole](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Hart11-credit-Robert-Kaussner-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Nicole](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Gupte5-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Patti](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Ross-PattiDavid-Wedding007-A-820x1024.jpg\")
![\"Deirdre](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Courney-Baston1-A-819x1024.jpg\")
![\"Alison](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/BrungerHardgrove2-credit-Jimmy-Brosius-Job-Reis-Photography-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Erin](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Crespi8-credit-Megan-Schley-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Kara](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Barry1-credit-James-Bass-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Shweta](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Modi-Shah-Wedding_FULL-0750-A-819x1024.jpg\")
\n
![\"Karen](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Bennett4-Ithacating-Credit-Kelly-Dennison-Colealt2-A.jpg\")
![\"Jennifer](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/fang-lamb-A-1024x1024.jpeg\")
\n\n\n\nDid you get married on the Hill? Share your memories!<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"