Tracy + Ryan | Cincinnati Cityscape Wedding

A white wedding on an August day. And inside the church, high domed ceilings, a checkered aisle, and a white marble altar painted the background of the liturgy. Bride and groom were married under grand columns of pale blue, before removing to an elegant high rise, where the Cincinnati skyline gleamed through glass windows.

Tracy and Ryan were married on the Solemnity of the Assumption, to honor their devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. She had helped them navigate the decisions and uncertainty of planning a wedding in a pandemic year. By the time they stood together at the altar, joy, peace, and grace abounded.

From the Bride

Ryan and I met while we were both working in finance at Macy’s, Inc. in downtown Cincinnati. After several years of being coworkers, our friendship slowly grew into something more, and Ryan finally decided to break his rule of “not dating a coworker.”

Even before we officially dated, Ryan and I had often attended Mass together on Sunday evenings. And we occasionally went to daily Mass during our lunch breaks. When asked what our favorite thing is about each other, we both answer “their Catholic faith” without hesitation.

One overcast and rainy Sunday morning after 9AM Mass, at the church where we would eventually be married, Ryan proposed. I thought we were going to visit a new chapel on the campus of Xavier University, but Ryan took me completely by surprise. Instead of going in, he got down on one knee outside the chapel, and the rest is history.

After that, we did not have the smooth engagement we probably envisioned on the day we were engaged.

For the past two years, Ryan traveled to Chicago every weekend to pursue an MBA at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. This left little quality time for us to spend together. And with the pandemic hitting in the spring this year, we were suddenly faced with more adversity than we could have imagined.

We were also faced with the decision of whether to delay our wedding. Ryan and I prayed the rosary together every day in the month leading up to our decision. With the help of Mary, Undoer of Knots, we ultimately decided to proceed with our nuptial Mass and push our reception to 2021. A small dinner for our family and wedding party was hosted after the liturgy instead.

Mary’s intercessory power during this time was so great, and we have felt her motherly love continue as we live married life together.

Our wedding was on a bright, sunny, and hot August day in Cincinnati, Ohio. We chose August 15th because it coincided with the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And we knew we wanted Mary to have a place of honor in the liturgy.

As we began to plan our wedding, we learned that getting married on a Holy Day of Obligation required us to use the Mass readings for the day, rather than selecting the readings ourselves. When we read the readings for the Assumption, however, we couldn’t have been happier. The Gospel story of the Visitation and Mary’s Magnificat were perfect reminders of the joy we were invited into on our wedding day.

The bridal party and families processed in to “O God Beyond All Praising,” which was the hymn Ryan and I had talked about since before we were even engaged. The lyrics have always been meaningful to us, but they resonated even more in a COVID era:

“And whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill,

We'll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still:

To marvel at your beauty and glory in your ways,

And make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.”

One special part of the nuptial Mass was the blessing of rosaries, which happened after communion and before our dedication to Mary. I had my grandmother’s crystal rosary blessed, and Ryan had a black beaded rosary. During the blessing, we held our rosaries in each other's hands, while our celebrant took off his stole and wrapped our hands in it.

After that, we brought flowers to Mary and knelt before her as “Magnificat (All That I Am)” played. It was a beautiful tribute to Our Lady, especially considering her intercession leading up to our day.

Ryan and I are in complete awe at how many of our prayers were answered leading up to our wedding day. From praying to find our spouse to deep anxieties over re-planning our wedding during the pandemic, prayers were answered all at once. It was overwhelming.

I was particularly anxious that I would feel a sense of nervousness my whole wedding day, but Mary wiped all of that away, and it was replaced with an incredible sense of peace. Instead of anxiety, the entire day was heavenly, and we are joyfully discovering the depth of God’s grace we received through the sacrament.

It’s the same depth and beauty of grace he offers to every couple who say their wedding vows with God as their witness and their support.