Students will have the opportunity to vote online and impact the lives of two Hokie alumni who will be selected to participate in Crate & Barrel's annual Ultimate Wedding Contest.
Braden Field and Sarah Long are seeking votes from friends, family and fellow Hokies for a chance to receive a $100,000 dream wedding.
Field graduated from the architecture program in 2009, while Long completed his undergraduate program in 2008 and his master's degree in communications in 2010.
Mr. Long and Mr. Field had mutual friends at Tech, but they were not exactly friendly when they first met. As a member of the Sensations, Long was handing out flyers about upcoming performances on the drill field.
“This guy was walking toward me on the street and swerved into the grass to avoid me,” Long said. “He didn't want to take the flyer, and I'm such a type-A person, so I followed him into the lawn and said, 'Please just take one.' I have to give these away. Please pick up the flyer. ”
Field, who was already late for the group meeting, raised his hands to avoid Long.
“Every day I walk around the parade ground and people are trying to hand out flyers and I just don't have the time,” Field said.
As fate would have it, Long and Field ended up attending the same party that night. Mr. Long immediately approached the field and criticized him for refusing to accept the flyer.
“It was a really bad feeling, but it was a really good conversation starter,” Field said. “There's no better way to break the ice than to be like, 'Oh, you're an idiot for not taking the flyer from me on the parade ground.'”
Field and Long remained friends and were able to empathize with each other as they had both been in difficult long-distance relationships.
“I had been dating this guy for about six or seven months and he broke up with me and I was very distraught,” Long said. “For some reason, he (Field) had become one of my good friends, so he was the first person I called about it.”
Their relationship flourished once they both became single. Field began leaving paper airplane notes on his car and taking coffee to Math Emporium.
“I've never been to Empo for work, but I've probably been there about 80 times to see my girlfriend. I hate that place,” Field said.
Their friends considered them stubborn because they refused to admit that they were dating. Field was a frequent visitor to Long's sorority house, which led to much speculation.
“I feel like a lot of other people started calling us girlfriends and boyfriends before we even admitted it,” Field said. “I don't know if it was because we were both fresh out of relationships or what, but we just wanted to keep going.”
Field sprung into action after Alpha Delta Pi's annual safari hunt and asked Long to join him at a date party at the GERMAN club.
After Field graduated in 2009, he spent a year in Williamsburg, Virginia, while Long continued pursuing his master's degree. He spent every other weekend visiting Long in Blacksburg, and their relationship continued despite the challenges of long distance.
After Long earned her master's degree in 2010, the two found jobs and moved separately to Arlington, Virginia. Currently, Ms. Field works at her architecture firm, Esokov Associates, in Washington, D.C., and Ms. Long works in public relations at her O'Keefe & Co. office in suburban D.C.
When the two arrived in the same city, Field was calm and ready to propose to Long. He spent six weeks buying a wedding ring. As an architect, Field considered himself very detail-oriented and was determined to perfect his plans.
In mid-February, Field and Long were preparing for a Valentine's Day-themed 5K race in Washington, D.C. On February 12th, they had to pick up their race packets. The weather was bad as it was February, but Field insisted on walking around the area.
monument.
“I was like, 'Are you crazy?' Have you ever been outside? I hate it,” Long said. But he eventually convinced her.
They walked for three hours in the cold wind, tears streaming down Long's eyes. After seeing the Lincoln Memorial, Field insisted on going to the Jefferson Memorial, which was located further down the river.
Mr. Long, who was about to cross the bridge at dusk, asked him to stop because his legs were hurting from walking around for so long.
“I looked over the bridge and saw this guy taking a picture and realized it was my friend Roy, who also went to Virginia Tech,” Long said. So they headed there to meet an old friend.
Most of their friends had moved back to the Washington, D.C., area after graduation, so Long didn't suspect anything. Roy explained that he was taking pictures for his photography blog and he offered to take the pictures.
“So I went back to where Braden was standing on the bridge and tried to put my arm around him and he was down on one knee,” Long said.
Tears filled Mr. Long's eyes when he realized that Roy's appearance was not just a coincidence and that he was there to take photos of the entire proposal.
“It was worth being out in the miserable cold,” Long said. “I finally realized that he needed to plan for a while and that's why he was so adamant about going out that day.”
Field's friend had dropped her off near the Lincoln Memorial so she wouldn't have to walk all the way home in the freezing weather. Ms. Field was waiting in her car with champagne and a stack of bridal magazines.
Field and Long were excited about the engagement, but weren't so happy when they found out the wedding was really expensive. But an email from Long's mother presented an opportunity.
Long's mother informed her about Crate & Barrel's annual Ultimate Wedding contest. Couples post photos and answer questions to convince citizens to vote. Once voting closes on April 30th, the panel will rank the top 100 couples who received the most votes. From there, Crate & Barrel will choose one winner who will receive her $100,000 dream wedding by celebrity wedding planner Yifat Oren.
“Within a week of registering, I managed to get 1,000 votes and now I’m in the top 30, which is crazy,” Long said.
Winning $100,000 will allow Long and Field to expand their venue options and find the unique space they've been looking for. However, couples are more concerned about having all their desired guests attend their wedding.
“Today is a big day for us and it's about ourselves, but in a way it's nice for other people to be able to share it and be a part of it,” Field said.
While the wedding will remain traditional, Field and Long plan to host a special guest, the Hokie bird, during the reception. The bride and groom also enter the reception and “enter the Sandman” to show their Hokie pride. Within the bridal party, 10 out of 12 are tech graduates.
“Being Hokies is a huge part of who we are,” Field said. “I couldn't date someone who didn't go to Tech because they don't understand tradition or understand football.”
Although they have graduated and moved on with their lives, Field and Long will never forget their time at Tech, both good and bad.
“Obviously, this is a very sad memory, but I was on campus on April 16th and I'll never forget how proud I was to be a Hokie after something like that happened. “Hmm,” Long said. “A lot of the media came and tried to find out if the students felt unsafe or unhappy where they were.No matter what happened, we all wanted to show everyone that we love them. It was very impressive to see them coming together with such a positive attitude at their university. ”
Field and Long are asking for votes from the Hokie nation to share the biggest day of their lives with their loved ones.
“One of the reasons we titled our entry 'Virginia (Tech) is for lovers' was because we felt this would be a rallying point to support Hokie nation,” Field said. .
Field and Long have received numerous Facebook messages and emails from Hokies who voted for them, even though they don't know them personally.
Mr. Long and Mr. Field remained active on campus during their time at Polytechnic University. Field was a member of his German club, Omicron Delta Kappa, and was also an ambassador for the university. During her six years in Blacksburg, Long was a member of Kappa Her Delta, the Sensations A Cappella group, Order of Omega, SAA, and the Communication Graduate Student Association. She was also Sigma Chi's lover.
Since they have been very active on campus, Long and Field hope to gain support from current students on campus.
“We did everything we could to live up to Ut Prosim’s motto of service,” Long said. “It would be great if Hokie nation could come together and help us on the other side.”
Their entry, “Virginia (Tech) is for Lovers,” can be viewed at www.ultimateweddingcontest.com. To vote, click “Vote” and confirm by logging in via Facebook or entering your email account. Each person can only vote her once and each vote must be confirmed.
Winners will be announced in June.
