It’s a love story for the books — Northern Virginia residents Katie Lettie and Vincent Bauer will tie the knot this weekend after nearly 13 years together. And they’ll be doing it with a public wedding right at the Arlington Public Library.
Lettie and Bauer are the recipients of APL’s first and only wedding giveaway, which kicked off this fall. As the winners, the couple will be married at Arlington’s Central Library, with everything from the venue to the DJ to the cake provided.
The Happy Couple
Lettie, 32, and Bauer, 34, have been together for nearly 13 years after meeting in college in Chicago. After some time navigating a long-distance relationship, they moved in together in Ballston. They chose Arlington for Bauer’s work and to be closer to Lettie’s family. (She grew up in nearby Berryville.)
The couple recently relocated to Fairfax, but they say that Arlington still holds a special place in their hearts. “When we moved to Arlington, it just felt like life unfolded before us,” Lettie says, adding that it was there that they adopted their dog, Sassafras, and met a community of friends in the neighborhood.
So a community wedding in the heart of Arlington felt just right. “I think being able to celebrate that in the community with everybody who is part of that kind of broader network is really quite special,” Lettie says.
As avid readers and lifelong fans of libraries, the couple says this opportunity was perfect for them. So perfect, in fact, that the contest was what helped them decide to get married. “We did not have particular plans to get married. … When we saw the library competition, it was a great reason to take that next step,” Bauer says.
The Contest
In November, the library sent out a call for applications from people who “love books, love libraries, and love love.” The prize was a fully funded wedding (sponsored by the Friends of the Arlington Public Library), including the venue, catered food for the reception, a cake, a DJ, photography, party favors, wedding bouquets and boutonnieres, and more.
There were a few things not included, such as marriage license fees, invitations, hair or makeup, or wedding attire.
Applicants had to live in the DMV area, be APL cardholders, and be comfortable with having a public wedding. To apply, the library asked couples to answer the question, “Why would you love to get married at the library?” in a format of their choice.
For their application, Lettie put together a magazine-slash-cookbook that she says, “tells our story and why we want to go to the library and get married.” It’s a miniature version of a larger magazine-style cookbook they make every year for Christmas to recap the year.
And when she got the call that they had won, Lettie says, “I was tearing up and shaking. I was very, very excited. It was exciting. I was pumped.”
The Wedding
The ceremony will be at Arlington’s Central Library at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 12. Fifty of their closest friends and family were invited for the ceremony and reception.
And the community is a key part of the event. For one, library patrons and members of the public can stand and watch the ceremony. (The reception is for invited guests only.) Library director Diane Kresh will officiate the wedding.
They worked to “really pull the public and the other library patrons into the wedding, as opposed to just being a wedding that happens to be at the library,” Bauer says.
Plus, two members of the public will serve as witnesses. Library patrons have left advice and well-wishes in a book at the library, some of which will be read aloud. APL even held crafting events to arrange bouquets and make handmade flower decorations out of book pages.
Visitors to Central Library can also snap a photo by the LOVEwork sculpture out front, on display until July 16. Plus, check out some of Lettie and Bauer’s favorite books.
It might not be the most conventional wedding, but that’s what they love about it.
“What I would want people to take away from this is that people can celebrate their love, their relationships, however they want,” Lettie says. “What I want it to be is a celebration or a validation of however people want to get married or not get married — you know, move in together well before marriage or well after, have children before marriage, date for 20 years, or date for two days and get married, right? I feel like for me, the central point of the wedding at the library is that it’s a little bit different.”
Feature image by Christopher George, Arlington Public Library
