For many excited couples, the reopening of the Chapel means the renewed possibility of getting married at the heart of Duke’s campus.
After undergoing a year of renovations during which no weddings were able to take place, the Duke Chapel reopened May 11. Blanche Williams, a wedding director at the Chapel, said that many couples postponed their marriage ceremony for a year in order to wed in the Chapel and are now taking advantage of the newly renovated space.
“We have a very full July,” Williams said.
Williams explained that the University gave the Chapel staff a “good heads-up” about the renovations, so no weddings were scheduled during the construction work. She added that some florists, bakeries and other businesses near Duke have felt the effects of the lack of Chapel weddings and are looking forward to their return.
Donna Parks, publisher and owner of Southern Bride and Groom magazine, wrote in an email that the beauty and historical significance of the Chapel make it a desirable wedding venue. Parks also noted that Durham has many beautiful reception venues and other businesses that are desirable to many couples.
“This area attracts great talent so you will find first class wedding planners, florists, musicians and rental companies that can help the couple create their dream,” Parks wrote. “All this comes with a hefty price tag and the average cost for a wedding both nationally and regionally is $28,000 to $30,000.”
The overall cost of using the Chapel as a ceremony space is $2,100. In an email to The Chronicle, Sara Clark—event and wedding coordinator for the Chapel—wrote that the Chapel welcomes same-sex weddings and weddings of any faith. Full-time staff, faculty, students, alumni and members of the Chapel’s congregation can book the space for themselves, their children or their grandchildren.
Clark wrote that 65 to 80 couples get married in the chapel each year. In 2013, Duke Today estimated that 6,000 couples had been married in the Chapel since the first Chapel nuptials of Marion Noell Lyon, grandniece of James B. Duke, on April 8, 1933.
One couple eagerly anticipating their Chapel wedding is Matt Giegerich and Chelsea Mize, who both attended Duke from 2005 to 2009. The two met during their freshman Orientation Week and have been together “pretty much ever since.” Now screenwriting partners in Los Angeles, Giegerich and Mize said they wanted to get married in a location somewhere between their respective hometowns in New York and Florida.
The couple was already engaged when the Chapel renovations began in 2015. However, after they decided that the Chapel was the right location for their ceremony, they chose to wait an extra year and use the time for more wedding planning.
In order to get married in the Chapel, couples must secure their wedding date a year in advance. According to a document from Chapel staff, a wedding coordinator is available starting at 8:30 a.m. on the first business day of each month to book weddings for that month in the following year. Because of this stringent application process, many couples tent in front of the Chapel leading up to this day in order to ensure that they can book their ideal date.
“I didn’t know exactly how it worked, but we knew that it was a thing,” Mize said “I think some people are terrified of tenting, but it just felt very Duke to us.”
Because of their busy careers, Giegerich and Mize said that it would have been difficult for them both to tent. However, according to Chapel rules, the bride and groom do not have to be present to sign-up for their wedding date—anyone can do so in their stead.
Giegerich and Mize utilized three student proxies who waited outside of the Chapel from a Friday morning to a Wednesday morning. Giegerich described the willingness of students’ to help them out as “clear indicator of the Duke support.”
One of the couple’s student helpers was junior Carly Bandt, who saw their request on the All Duke Facebook page. Bandt noted the sense of community that emerged between the group tenting for wedding dates.
“The core group of tenters were all very supportive and grew quite close by the end,” Bandt wrote in an email. “That was probably the best thing about the experience—that the couples were just so passionate about Duke and their marriage that the tenting itself did not require strict enforcement by ‘line monitors’ or a handbook; everyone was in it together.”
Giegerich and Mize will wed in the Chapel July 30.
“We love Duke and we’re excited to get married there,” Giegrich said.
Bandt noted that marrying in the Chapel is a special experience for many couples who have connections to Duke.
“Not only is the Chapel beautiful, but it is also such an iconic symbol of Duke,” Bandt wrote. “Many of the couples tenting had met at Duke, so perhaps marrying at the heart of campus is a way of solidifying the relationship at its roots.”
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