“Well, we met in North Carolina…”

And so begins Megan Guidi’s version of how she and Caleb Kadrmas met in September of 2018. While there is much more to the story than that, those first words are how Meg likes to describe the meeting. “Caleb always laughs at me for starting the story like that because, without context, it’s a really odd way to start a story,” she says, explaining that neither of them would normally have been in that particular place at that particular time. Meg just moved to North Carolina from California for grad school that summer, and Caleb had just gotten home from time overseas to return to his duty station along the coast of North Carolina. “I think fate was really working some magic getting the two of us together.”

A couple years of dating and a move to Virginia later, Caleb knew it was time to ask Meg the question that would change their lives forever. “As the moving truck pulled off, Caleb asked me to come out into our backyard with him and to pick a spot that would be ‘our spot’ in the yard,” says Meg, a career counselor at George Mason University, while Caleb serves in the Marine Corps. “I pointed to a spot under an apple tree, and he placed two chairs under there and we reflected on what this next chapter would bring. Moments later, he was on his knee and saying something very clever about how he felt this was the right time/place/moment as the boxes being delivered symbolized the unpacking of the rest of our lives together.”

Two years and 363 days after their first date, on October 18, 2021, Meg walked down the aisle at River Farm in Alexandria wearing a simple and elegant fitted off-the-shoulder white gown with a cathedral-length veil adorned with pearls. After exchanging vows, the couple joined their guests for a reception at Cedar Knoll Restaurant, where they dined on a delicious meal before cutting into their cake. As the celebration came to a close, the newly married Kadrmases were sent off to start honeymooning across New England.

Story by -Liesel Schmidt