This very Wilmington wedding took place in a downpour

THE INTRODUCTION: Delaware musician Joe Trainor and actress Kerry Kristine McElrone don’t remember meeting. As with so many relationships in the arts, they agree that they “sort of just always knew one another.” always in this case beginning at the Grand Opera House sometime in 2003, where Joe taught at the School of Music and Kerry Kristine was appearing on stage in “Into the Woods” with City Theater Company. Joe remembers seeing her onstage; she remembers seeing him around the building. Out of this auspicious beginning grew a mutual admiration society for each other’s talents, and the two worked together on various projects over the next eight years: theater productions like 2005’s “The Rocky Horror Show,” the improv team The Basement and a benefit concert featuring The Beatles’ “Abbey Road.” As the years, and other relationships, went by, the two became good pals with no romantic interest.

THE FIRST DATE, A FAUX DATE: One weekend in the fall of 2010, Joe and Kerry Kristine went to see Rebirth Brass Band at Arden and the next night attended a play directed by and starring some friends in Pennsylvania. Neither outing was a date, but they sparked the idea that there might be something between them. Kerry Kristine planned to go to Joe’s solo show the next Friday, but had to cancel at the last minute. When she called to tell him, he had some news for her – he’d gotten back together with an old girlfriend. “That takes care of that,” Kerry Kristine remembers thinking. “Not meant to be!” But by early winter, they were both single again and spending lots of time together while rehearsing for Abbey Road and when they weren’t in rehearsals. Joe offered to help Kerry Kristine take down her Christmas tree Jan. 12, 2011. That simple task turned into an evening of ordering pizza, watching Mad Men and talking late into the night about their careers and relationships, and, eventually, their interest in each other. It turned out both had enjoyed their “faux date” weekend in the fall but a series of comic misunderstandings and mutual reticence had stymied progress, until now.

THE FIRST KISS: Both worried a romance could ruin their friendship and working relationships. They frequently collaborated and neither wanted to risk hurting projects down the road. Each also approached relationships differently – Joe was more of an all-in guy, whereas Kerry Kristine was a slow and steady kind of girl. They agreed to keep talking but not to act on any romantic impulses until their Abbey Road show ended at the end of the month. It would have been 12 weeks. They almost made their self-imposed deadline. Two days before the show, they were talked out. All the reasons to be together outweighed the reasons for staying apart. They threw caution to the wind, and kissed goodnight on the front porch of Kerry Kristine’s house.

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THE PROPOSAL: By December 2013, they were inseparable. They kept making art together, supported each other’s crazy schedules and had adopted a cat to complete their previously one-dog household. Their Christmas gift to each other was a day in New York City on Dec. 28. They stopped by Tiffany & Co., where Joe offered to take Kerry Kristine’s photo in front of the iconic store. She couldn’t stop laughing because every time he tried a horde of tourists would walk in front of her. She thought he’d given up when he said, “This is the perfect spot.” Still laughing, she said “For what?” and realized he was holding her engagement ring. The laughter turned to tears – “I kept saying, ‘Really??!!’” laughs Kerry Kristine – and she said yes. A mother and daughter nearby had caught the whole thing and offered to take their picture afterwards, but during the proposal “it was like the whole world melted away and it was only us, like in a movie. There we were on Fifth Avenue on a bright sunny morning, surrounded by strangers and noise. We didn’t see or hear any of it in that moment. Only each other,” Kerry says. “It was amazing.”

THE WEDDING: After a year-and-a-half of tossing around ideas that ranged from sublime to ridiculous, they decided to go with one of their original thoughts. Every year for the past decade, their street on Wilmington’s West side has thrown a summer block party to celebrate their close-knit community. We thought “Why not just get married during it?” says Joe. And so they did, on Sept. 12, 2015. The wedding was a “slightly fancier” take on the usual BBQ, water ice and camp chairs event. It was what Kerry Kristine calls “an old-fashioned backyard wedding – but we live in the city, so our ‘backyard’ is our street.” The only fear was rain. The forecast called for beautiful weather that day. Until that day. Guests began arriving at 5 p.m. to no precipitation, but when the couple returned from taking photos on the waterfront with photographer Joe del Tufo, they brought the rain with them. Umbrellas were handed out, slickers donned and everyone embraced the weather. “No one, including us, seemed to care that it was raining,” says Kerry Kristine. The ceremony took place on porch where they had their first kiss. The bridal party – Erin McElrone Brennan, Julie Snow Regan, Jill Knapp, and Jim Smith – and the bride and groom entered to April Smith’s “The Bells.” During the non-denominational service, Joe realized that he had forgotten the readings, prompting the best man to run into the house looking for them, to the delight of the audience. Dr. Michael Gray, a friend of the couple who became a Universal Life minister so he could marry them, saved the day with his copy. As Kerry Kristine was reading her vows, the rain started to pour down harder than ever. “Someone said to me, the more you got married, the harder it rained,” Joe says. Once pronounced husband and wife, they danced through their guests – and the raindrops – to Harry Connick Jr.’s “Come By Me” with everyone joining in, umbrellas waving. Kirk Avenue (on Wilmington’s West side) had been transformed into an urban fairy tale setting, with lights and lanterns strung over the block; candles, flowers and pearls in antique mason jars decorating the white-linen tablecloths; and a build-your-own taco bar for the self-catered main course. The rain stopped just in time for the toasts. Guests enjoyed gourmet cupcakes from Half Baked Patisserie in Middletown before dancing the night away to tunes provided by Wilmington’s DJ Zip.

DETAILS: The bride wore an ivory tulle gown of hand-appliqued petals and glass beads by Thalia Bridal from BHLDN; hair and make-up were created by Lisa Miller Challenger and Clayton Stacey of Sharif Zaki Salon. The groom wore a houndstooth sport jacket, vest and navy blue pants with an orange bow tie by Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. The sole usher also wore a Tommy Hilfiger jacket, vest and pants. The ladies wore dresses of orange, blue and yellow, respectively, by J. Crew. The bridal bouquet was of white hydrangeas, calla lilies, roses and forget-me-nots, courtesy of Bloomsbury Flowers in Wilmington.

WHAT’S NEXT: Joe Trainor and Kerry Kristine McElrone live in Wilmington with their beagle Phoebe and cat Sterling. Joe is a musician and a private piano teacher and Kerry Kristine is an actress and the marketing and creative director of City Theater Company. They plan to take a wedding trip next year when the busy 2015-16 arts season ends.

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