Graphic by Penelope Taylor ’20
BY SABA FIAZUDDIN ’21
For members of the Mount Holyoke community, many of life’s most important moments happen on campus, from their first convocation to commencement, with years of beloved traditions in between. For some, this connection extends beyond their final walk through the amphitheater. In addition to more well-known events held in Abbey Chapel and the Willits-Hallowell Conference Center, people can also use these venues for their weddings. Many Mount Holyoke graduates chose to do just that.
About five years after falling in love during the sun-soaked spring of 1986, Marcia Brennan ’88 decided to return to her alma mater to marry her husband under the blossoming trees in the back garden of the Willits-Hallowell Conference Center. The months prior to the April wedding had been characteristically cold, with trees stripped and barren and the brick Gothic architecture of the College blanketed with snow. But two weeks before the nuptials, the weather grew suddenly warm and the campus trees were full of life, setting the scene for the perfect springtime wedding.
Professor John T. Grayson, now professor emeritus of religion and also an ordained minister, conducted the ceremony in the garden behind the Center and created what Brennan calls “the most beautiful moment,” when he asked the groom to kiss the bride. Brennan’s husband Scott lifted her in his arms and swung her in a circle in the sunny garden. Her white Laura Ashley dress twirled around in front of the guests beneath a great, blossoming tree, making it “the most memorable event of [her] life.” The reception began in the Center’s adjacent dining room where, at the request of the groom, ice cream was served along with the wedding cake.
When asked about her decision to have the wedding at Mount Holyoke, Brennan calls it not a choice but a dream that simply had to come true. “My husband and I first met there and it was our dream to be married there,” she said. “There was really no choice. The dream chose us.”
Other Mount Holyoke graduates who have had weddings on campus shared Brennan’s affection regarding the experience.
Jennifer Scardino ’10 grew up in South Hadley and had strong memories of coming to Blanchard with her parents as a child to get ice cream. The annual Vespers concert made her fall in love with Abbey Chapel. These lifelong connections with the town and Mount Holyoke made her ultimately choose the campus as her wedding location. “My greatest memory from the wedding was walking down the aisle with my husband and seeing all of our family and friends,” Scardino said. “It was a warm day but despite the heat, everyone seemed so happy for us.”
Michelle Droser ’11 also decided to return to Mount Holyoke in 2017 for her springtime wedding in the rose garden. Choosing Mount Holyoke as the location of her wedding was obvious for Droser. Both of her parents worked for Dining Services long before she was born, giving her the experience of growing up on campus. “Mount Holyoke is a part of me,” Droser said. “My sister is also an alum and she was married here in 2011. It was a wonderful experience to have a day that means so much to me in a place that is like a second home. An added benefit was also giving my Mount Holyoke friends a chance to visit campus.”