Photos: Matt McGraw

A Blue Devil of a Wedding
Laura Bowers to Kevin Heilenday

The bride and groom met at Duke University in North Carolina, Laura's first day on campus. Four years later, it seemed natural to return to Duke for a wedding at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, a Four Diamond hotel on campus. Laura planned the wedding while traveling and living in St. Louis, San Diego, and Tokyo, while Kevin, an officer in the U.S. Navy, was deployed to the Middle East.

Before the rehearsal dinner, the bride presented the groom with custom cufflinks that are miniature replicas of the Frisbees used in his fraternity's infamous "Beer Frisbee" game and the groom gave her a three-strand Tiffany pearl bracelet. The significance of the bracelet is not just that it would match with bride's wedding dresses, but that the first gift Kevin ever gave Laura, during her first semester of college, was a Tiffany bracelet.

The autumn colors of gold, chocolate, pumpkin, and ivory and the all-calla lily bouquets and centerpieces added a classic and elegant touch to the terrace ceremony, cocktail hour and ballroom reception. Yet, the wedding had the relaxed vibe of a college homecoming with its young guests, dance music, and lounge furniture on the edges of the dance floor. Vanilla and butter cream cupcakes, made from a recipe from the bride's favorite New York City bakery, were frosted in light mocha with differently colored white chocolate autumn leaves atop each.

Eighty-percent of the guests were Duke students and alumni. Both bride and groom are Greeks (Laura an Alpha Phi, Kevin a Sigma Chi) and many of the guests were in the same organizations. To honor this, the bride pinned her sorority pin to the handle of her bouquet and the groom and groomsmen all wore their fraternity pins on their tuxedo shirts. All the tables were named after campus hot-spots and the reception favors were a mini dessert buffet from a favorite local bakery. Guests took their desserts home in gold Chinese takeout boxes personalized with the bride's and groom's wishes.

Never one to disappoint her sorority sisters, Laura wore three different dresses: a diamond white, mermaid style Melissa Sweet, a sleek ivory plunging halter by Dina Bar-El, and a custom made ivory alencon lace mini dress. The mini dress was perfect for showcasing the Duke Basketball garter and made for an easier getaway post-reception, when the bride and groom escaped in a 1950s Bentley to the campus for a few last pictures.