He held out ring and promised not to run away again
Kaitlin McLean and Ryan Kenaley married on May 2, 2015
THE INTRODUCTION: Kaitlin McLean and Ryan Kenaley grew up in neighborhoods across the street from each other – he in Stenning Woods and she in Southwood Estates off Del. 7 near Hockessin. They rode the school bus together starting in elementary school, with Kaitlin a year ahead of Ryan. They both went to A.I. du Pont High School, which is where they first started hanging out together. Both were in the marching and concert bands. She played flute, and he played trombone. Because they lived so close together, their parents would take turns carpooling them to and from the school. “We were both really shy so it took us awhile to admit we liked each other,” Kaitlin says. In her junior year, though, she worked up the courage to invite Ryan to the prom. He was surprised, but she could tell he was happy to be asked.
THE FIRST DATE: For the junior prom at A.I., he wore a black tux. She wore a lavender floor-length dress and the corsage he bought her. He drove. But they were still so shy, it took Ryan about two months to ask her out, this time to the first “Spiderman” movie starring Tobey Maguire in 2002.
THE FIRST KISS: About a month after the movie date, they kissed in the parking lot of A.I. du Pont High School after a band event. Ryan was so nervous that he immediately ran back to his car. They never dated anyone else, and her graduation in 2003 led them into a nine-year long-distance relationship. Kaitlin went on to McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, where she majored in biology and biochemistry. Ryan graduated from A.I. in 2004 and went to the University of Delaware, where he majored in chemical engineering. She attended medical school at Penn State, graduating in 2011 with a focus in neonatology and deliberately choosing to return to Delaware for her residency. She lived with her dad for a while, and Ryan lived in Hockessin. About a year and a half later, they moved in together.
THE PROPOSAL: Kaitlin and Ryan had talked about getting married, but not in any depth so when Ryan suggested going to dinner at a restaurant near A.I. du Pont High School on Dec. 21, 2013, she wasn’t in the least bit suspicious. But he confused her when, instead of turning into the restaurant parking lot, he pulled into the high school lot, stopping near the location of their first kiss. Ryan asked Kaitlin if she remembered what made this spot special. She said she did. He asked if she remembered what happened after that first kiss. “You ran away,” she said. He then dropped to one knee and said, “I’m not running anymore,” and asked her to marry him. She was stunned. She paused and just looked at him. He claims the silence lasted uncomfortably long. Not for her, she says. Then she said yes. It turned out that he feared he was such a terrible secret keeper that he had her ring shipped to his parent’s house, where they could keep an eye on it until the day of the proposal. The night he gave her the ring, they tried to surprise her mom by calling and saying they were going to drop by, but her mom guessed right away.
THE CEREMONY: They married May 2, 2015, in Middletown at Delcarm Farm, a private residence with a large refurbished barn that hosts a small number of weddings each year. Kaitlin and Ryan felt like it was the perfect place to make their wedding unique by putting their own personal touches on it. The ceremony was outdoors in front of the house on the farm property. They said their vows under an arbor made by Kaitlin’s dad. Their longtime friend Dennis McBrearty, who works in the theater department at the University of Delaware, officiated. He has known Ryan since they were both 5 and Kaitlin since middle school. Her sister Liz Gardner was her matron of honor, and Ryan’s brother Justin was his best man. Their nephew, 19-month-old Liam Jones was the ring bearer. He is the son of Ryan’s sister Erin and her husband, Will. They bribed the toddler down the aisle by playing on his love of trucks. For his ring bearer present, Kaitlin and Ryan had bought him a silver digger excavator toy truck. When it was time for him to walk down the aisle, Will put the truck on the ground near the arbor, and Liam headed straight for it. The bride and groom’s mothers did the readings. Kaitlin’s mother read a passage from “The Runaway Bunny,” which she read to her kids when they were small.
He didn’t look far for ring. Her parents gave it to him.
THE DRESS: After trying on several dresses, Kaitlin knew there was something special about the A-line Costura by Pronovias gown appliqued in Spanish lace with a sweetheart neckline that she found at Jennifer’s Bridal in Hockessin. It featured a scalloped border along the train and a complementing jeweled sash. In her bouquet, Kaitlin carried a piece of lace from her paternal grandmother Mary Lou McLean’s wedding dress and a seashell charm from her maternal grandmother Glenda Brick, to represent summer vacations with her family. Her mother-in-law sewed a heart from McLean family plaid to the inside of her dress to represent Kaitlin’s Scottish roots.
SOMETHING OLD: Her mother’s wedding veil, which had been worn by her sister Liz at Liz’s wedding a year before.
SOMETHING NEW: Her wedding dress.
SOMETHING BORROWED: A white beaded clutch that belonged to her grandmother Glenda.
SOMETHING BLUE: Her garter. All of the somethings old, new, borrowed and blue were given to Kaitlin by her mother at Kaitlin’s bridal shower, in packages marked something old, new, borrowed and blue.
THE RECEPTION: With help from family, they decorated the barn on the Delcarm Farm property with white lights and paper lanterns. Kaitlin had always known she wanted to use royal blue as her wedding color and when she looked around Pinterest, she decided she liked the bright yellow of sunflowers with that. Then everybody realized that the blue and yellow are also the A.I. du Pont school colors. That makes sense, Kaitlin thought. They included a lot of personalized touches to reflect their “nerdy” personalities including quotes and characters from favorite TV shows and movies such as “Firefly,” “Game of Thrones,” Marvel’s “Avengers” and Disney movies. Their cake topper was Bowser and Peach from Super Mario video games. Ryan and Kaitlin, Kaitlin’s sister Liz and her husband John and Kaitlin’s twin brothers Matt and Rob performed a dance routine to “Greased Lightning” from the musical “Grease.” The twins, who were 17 then, had been doing lip sync competitions at school, with performances choreographed by Liz. They did “Thriller” at Liz’s wedding. They were a little flummoxed when the music played at the venue was different than the song they had practiced to, but their guests still loved it. After the formal reception, they had a bonfire. Guests relaxed on bales of hay and made s’mores.
They swiped right, and that led them down the aisle
THE HONEYMOON: Kaitlin and Ryan went to Hawaii. On Maui, they went snorkeling at Molokini, saw a sunrise at Hale’akala and drove all the way around the island on the road to Hana. On the big island, they went to Volcano National Park and to the top of Mauna Kea for stargazing.
THE FAMILY TREE: The bride is the daughter of Kay and Jay Grant of Hockessin and Scott McLean of Wilmington. The groom is the son of Debbie and Kevin Kenaley of Hockessin.
WHAT’S NEXT: Kaitlin and Ryan live in Newark with their cat, Laci. Kaitlyn is a physician specializing in neonatology currently in her third and last year of a fellowship, which ends in June. She works at Christiana Hospital and A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in the neonatal intensive care unit. Ryan is a chemical engineer who works for W.L. Gore and Associates in new product development. She will be looking for a job soon, and when she finds one, she and Ryan will figure out where they can settle down and buy their first house together.
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