When Tim and Dory Doyle made their grand entrance into their wedding reception three months ago, one honored guest almost stole the spotlight. “You can actually rent the Hokie bird for $200,” says Dory, who managed every aspect of the big day. The feathered Virginia Tech mascot preceded them into the Farmington ballroom to the tune of “Enter Sandman,” the same song that inspires the Tech football team before games. Even Dory’s father, a UVA fan, wanted a picture with the bird. Dory also surprised her new husband with his own cake replica of the Tech football stadium.
Although the bride still opted to wear traditional white instead of maroon and orange, the reception was rich in sports symbolism. That day, in front of hundreds of cheering fans, Tim and Dory began their marriage like a game they were about to play forever, hard knocks and all.
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Tim Doyle and Dory Tucker |
Tim and Dory were born months apart at Martha Jefferson Hospital, but they didn’t meet until they were both seniors at Albemarle High School. “I was a drama nerd and he was a jock,” she says. They started dating right before prom and never looked back. Dory spent her freshman year at Vanderbilt and then transferred to Tim’s Virginia Tech, where they both graduated in 2007.
When the two returned for a weekend in Blacksburg, Tim drove Dory to a duck pond on campus where the two used to walk together in the evenings. “We were both ready [to get engaged], but I had to do something a little bit special,” says Tim. Dory was surprised that her occasional searches hadn’t turned up the ring. “I had the ring for a month and a half,” says her husband proudly.
When the two were engaged, Dory’s parents presented them with a fixed amount of money, saying “We challenge you to make your dream wedding on this budget.” Tim and Dory were up to the task. They made their own invitations, designed save-the-dates for free online, and incorporated a candy buffet in their reception (which some young cousins discovered before the ceremony).
“It was neat trying to be thrifty,” says Dory. “When we have kids that’s how we’re going to do it.” In fact Dory did such a professional and creative job that her friend chose her to help plan her April 2010 wedding. But Tim was also involved in the planning sessions: “I provided some of the muscle,” he says. “Although it doesn’t take much to fold invitations.”
It rained every day during the week leading up to the wedding, which took place on the couple’s sixth anniversary. It was still cold and windy at their rehearsal dinner. “Some of our family almost got blown over,” says Tim. But the day of the wedding was sunny and exquisite, making the couple happy they’d chosen just a week before to hold the ceremony outside.
And in keeping with what Dory says makes their marriage work—“Every day we laugh together”—it’s been sunny days ever since.
