She thought she was going to Murder Mystery, not proposal
Kailyn Buckley and Anthony Kukulich
April 29, 2017
THE INTRODUCTION: Kailyn Buckley and Anthony Kukulich met in February 2014 at Catherine Rooney's in Trolley Square. She was 24, finishing her last clinical rotation in physical therapy at Drexel and living with her parents in Wilmington. He was 25, working at Wheelhouse Analytics in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, and living in Trolley Square. That night, Kailyn was headed to a celebration of her friend Meghan Wilson's 25th birthday with their friend Emily Larson. Emily had just started dating Will Raisis and everybody wanted to meet him, but Will didn't want to face a gaggle of girlfriends without backup. So he asked his roommate, Anthony, to come along. Emily and Will introduced Kailyn and Anthony. The two talked a bit and later Anthony asked Emily to set them up on a date. First, though, they all went out on a group date about three weeks later to Scratch McGoo's in Trolley Square. Kailyn and Anthony found they both liked soccer. She played in college and he liked watching the game. They had a lot of mutual friends and, because Delaware is Delaware, discovered that her brother Sean and his brother Patrick had played basketball together at St. Mary Magdalene's elementary school. After that group date, he asked for her number, texted her later and they agreed to a real date.
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THE FIRST DATE: About a week later, in March 2014, Kailyn and Anthony went to Iron Hill on the Wilmington Riverfront. She picked him up because they planned to return to Trolley Square that night. When they returned to his apartment, Emily and Will were there, so they talked for a while.
THE FIRST KISS: When Kailyn said she had to leave, Anthony walked her to the car and kissed her goodnight. "I wasn't sure if I would kiss him on the first date, but I did and it was great," Kailyn says. By the end of April, Anthony had asked her to be his girlfriend. She lived in Wilmington for another four months, then moved to Milford for her first job as a physical therapist. Kailyn and Anthony only saw each other on weekends for almost two years, but talked a lot through the week. Both are from close families and share the same values. She thinks he liked her positive nature. She liked his sense of humor and how caring he was. By early 2016, they had been talking about marriage and both assumed he would propose sometime soon. "I kind of slyly sent copies of ring pictures with 'Oh, I like this one,'" Kailyn says. Then she took a new job in Wilmington in February 2016 and moved back.
THE PROPOSAL: Kailyn sorta kinda expected a proposal over Easter weekend that year. But the week before, on March 19, 2016, they went to Philadelphia for a Murder Mystery they were supposed to be attending with their brothers, who had gotten back in touch since Kailyn and Anthony started dating. When Anthony came to pick her up, she noticed he was all dressed up and thought that was odd but didn't say anything. They went to his brother Patrick's apartment in Old City Philadelphia. Patrick suggested they start the outing with a toast on the roof deck, which they had done before. Anthony started the march upstairs, followed by the still completely clueless Kailyn. But as he helped her to the roof, she saw an amazing presentation of flowers, candy and champagne, complete with a stuffed animal in a chair. Obviously, it was for her to sit in while he proposed. "You're doing it NOW?' a shocked Kailyn said. Yes, Anthony told her. "You make me the happiest guy in the world and you can make me even happier by marrying me," he said. She said yes. The men had set up a Go Pro to capture the moment.
THE CEREMONY: They married April 29, 2017, at St. Ann’s Church in Wilmington. Both are Catholic and with Anthony living in Trolley Square, they attended Mass there when they were looking for a church, liked it and joined. They did their own decorations at the church, using Ball mason jars with silk flowers and lace. But for a short time, Kailyn didn't know how she was going to make it to the church. Her gown from David's Bridal included a corset-style back. Her mom had left early to go to the church, and Kailyn and her bridesmaids couldn't figure out how to tie the corset. Kailyn had gone to the last fitting by herself, and the store attendants had shown her, but she couldn't remember. The bride was starting to feel stressed, because she was already slightly late. Her sister, Meghan, who was also maid of honor, finally got on YouTube and looked up videos about how to tie corsets. "There's a funny picture of her looking pretty intense trying to make sure she did it the right way," Kailyn says. The couple had a full Catholic Mass. Kailyn did not want a first look, a new trend in which the bride and groom see each other all dressed up for the wedding before the ceremony. "I wanted him to see me for the first time going down the aisle," she says. They had braced themselves for problems, but said everything went off without a hitch, including her 3-year-old cousin Carrick Dillman as ringbearer and his 7-year-old cousin Kaelin Harmon as flower girl.
THE DRESS: The bride wore a strapless A line gown with a lace overlay and train by Jewel.
SOMETHING OLD: She carried in her bridal purse a compact that had belonged to her great-grandmother Rose Farrelly, who immigrated to America from Ireland when she was 19.
SOMETHING NEW: Her dress.
SOMETHING BORROWED: A silver bracelet from bridesmaid Talia Morikawa.
SOMETHING BLUE: Kailyn's aunt Ellen Wolcott gave her blue “I Do” stickers to put on the bottom of her wedding shoes.
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THE RECEPTION: The reception at Harry’s Savoy Grill in Wilmington started with a special cocktail named a Spring Champito, which was like a champagne mojito. They chose the site because of the restaurant's reputation for great food and service with a reasonable price, and because they loved the outdoor courtyard. Guests could choose from braised shortribs or a grilled salmon entree. Their four-tier wedding cake featured a row of rhinestones at the base of each tier and silk flowers. And their first dance, for which they took a few lessons and then practiced in their back yard, was to the Killers' "Shot at the Night."
MOST POPULAR GIFT: A lot of Home Depot gift cards. They bought a house in Deerhurst before they got married and it needed a lot of TLC, the bride says.
MOST SENTIMENTAL GIFT: The bride's brother and sister made them a personalized cornhole set, painting it with a Dogfish Head logo, because the newlyweds really like craft beer.
THE HONEYMOON: They went to Ireland, where both wanted to go. Both had family there. Kailyn met hers for the first time, but Anthony had met his relatives before when they had visited the States. Their self-guided tour of the coast included Dublin, Blarney, the Ring of Kerry, the Cliffs of Moher and Galway. They also went to London for two nights, where they explored the city's architecture and the Churchill war rooms.
THE FAMILY TREE: The bride is the daughter of Deirdre and John Buckley of Wilmington. The groom is the son of Barbara Martel and Mike Martel of Wilmington and Jennifer and Tony Kukulich of Brentwood, California.
WHAT'S NEXT: Anthony and Kailyn will continue working on their home in Deerhurst. Kailyn, who went to Brandywine High School and studied biology at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, works as a physical therapist at Nova Care in Wilmington. Anthony, who attended Salesianum School and studied finance at the University of Delaware, continues to work at Wheelhouse Analytics. They hope to have both pets and children in the future.
To have your ceremony considered for this feature, you must fill out a questionnaire and send us a photo. Please email Sundaylife@delaware online.com or call (302) 324-2884 for a form. This is a free service, and we cannot guarantee a specific ceremony will be chosen. Couples also may have their ceremonies appear in Celebrations, (844) 544-1619.
