He kept talking; she kept walking on elliptical machine
THE INTRODUCTION: Alyson Gauthier and Warren Cox met in the fall of 2010 at the Central YMCA in Wilmington. Warren, 40, worked part-time there, and when Aly, 30, would come in with her sister, Lindsay, to work out, Warren would always say hi. A graduate of Padua Academy and York College of Pennsylvania with a degree in criminal justice, Aly was working for Nationwide as a paralegal and was living with her sister in a house they owned in Little Italy. Warren had graduated from Mount Pleasant and was living in his townhouse in Bear. After a few months of hellos, Aly was working on an elliptical machine when Warren came over and started talking. She was a little unnerved by some of his questions: Do you want to get married one day? Do you want to have kids? What religion do you practice? He asked questions for more than an hour. Her time on the elliptical had expired 30 minutes before he stopped, but she didn't want the conversation to end so she kept walking. One of Warren's friends, Rich Lin, came up and Warren introduced her, which she thought was odd. He never asked her out or for her phone number. She found out later that he had already started talking about her to friends as "this cute girl that works out at the Y."
THE FIRST DATE: She friended him on Facebook and sent him her phone number. They texted and talked. About a week after they met, he finally asked her out to dinner and a movie, while she was on one of the rowing machines. This time it was her sister, Lindsay, who got stuck on the elliptical for an extended time, waiting for them to stop talking. On Dec. 10, Aly and Warren went to the Macaroni Grill on U.S. 202 and then to see "Love and Other Drugs."
THE FIRST KISS: After the movie, they went back to Aly's house, where they sat and talked for two hours. Because Warren is 6-foot-2 and Aly is 5-foot-1, when Warren was leaving, she made it a point to stand on her top step, so they'd be closer to eye level and he might kiss her good night. She got her wish. They dated steadily from that point. By April of 2013, their relationship had gotten serious. They had gone ring shopping and decided Aly would move into Warren's place in July. But when Aly was able to get a truck, and her cousin Denny Rushton to help, she moved in a few weeks earlier. Warren still talks about how she "took him by surprise." Aly just shakes her head and rolls her eyes.
THE PROPOSAL: In September 2013, Aly and Warren took their first week-long vacation together to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Aly suspected he might propose, but they arrived on a Saturday, and by Wednesday it hadn't happened. Because Warren isn't good at keeping surprises or hiding his emotions, Aly was beginning to think she was wrong about the proposal. That night, Sept. 25, they went to a luau on the beach. Aly and Warren were sitting to the side of the crowd, on a big rock under a crooked palm tree, listening to the music, when all of a sudden, Aly looked up and Warren was down on one knee in front of her proposing. She was stunned and surprised, but managed to regain her composure and say yes.
TELLING THE PARENTS: Because Aly's father had died in 2002, Warren had asked her mom for her blessing before he proposed. She was sworn to secrecy. Warren decided it would be great to surprise everyone else by announcing their engagement on Facebook. He is still apologizing to his mom.
THE CEREMONY: Aly and Warren were married Aug. 15 at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Little Italy in Wilmington. The church holds a lot of sentimental memories because Aly is a member there, she and her sister graduated from Padua Academy and Aly remembers it being the last church she was in with her father before he died. Warren's nephew, Josh Cox, was one of the vocalists as well as Kelly Curtin, an opera singer. Aly's mom walked her down the aisle, and Warren got very emotional when he saw her coming. Aly's sister, Lindsay, was her maid of honor. Her bridesmaids were her best friend from Padua Academy, Jaime Ford Phelan; her best friend from York College, Hattie McClintock Gable; and her cousin, Kelsey Jusczak. Warren's best friend from childhood, Kevin Wilkes, was his best man. His groomsmen were his friends from childhood, Rick Skiles and Jorge Echavarria, and his friends from volleyball, Brian Novellino, Chris Paris and Richard Lin. When presenting the flowers to the Blessed Mother, Warren stepped on Aly's train and started slipping around, trying to get off of it, almost falling. He said loudly, "Oh God, honey! I'm sorry!" Aly was supposed to be kneeling in solemn in reverie. Instead, her shoulders were shaking with laughter.
THE DRESS: Aly booked an appointment at Allure Bridal's trunk show at Claire's on Philadelphia Pike. She brought her mom, her sister, her Aunt Helene Burke and her future mother-in-law with her to try on dresses and bingo – the one appeared about seven or eight gowns in. The fit and flare dress featured a drop waist and a sweetheart neckline. She tried gowns at one other shop to be sure, but couldn't find anything she remotely liked as much.
SOMETHING OLD: Her shoes, which she had worn to another wedding.
SOMETHING NEW: A bracelet featuring her dad's signature that her mother had made for her.
SOMETHING BORROWED: A pair of diamond earrings from her sister, at the last minute.
SOMETHING BLUE: A lacy thing made by bridesmaid Jaime Phelan and a big old blue dress shirt of Aly's dad, sewn into her dress.
THE RECEPTION: Guests at the Gold Ballroom at Mendenhall Inn were treated to Filet Oscar, Chicken Marsala or Garden Vegetable Wellington. Aly and Warren had been to a bridal show there and loved it from the moment they walked in. They had a memory table with pictures of all their loved ones who had died, including Aly's dad. Aly gave a small speech about her dad for the guests who hadn't known him and dedicated "Shout" by the Isley Brothers to him. Their DJ was Billy Logue, and while Aly and Warren were having pictures made on the grounds, another couple having dinner at Mendenhall told them that Billy had been the DJ at their wedding 32 years prior. Aly and Warren saw that as a sign of good luck. The couple kept their cake topper a secret from everyone: It was a bobblehead bride and groom custom-made to look like them. For fun, Warren re-enacted a pyramid with his groomsmen on the dance floor that he had done with the same guys for his 40th birthday
MOST AMUSING IMAGES: There are two. First, when the groomsmen arrived at the church, the guys all jumped out of the limo and ran into the liquor store across the street. Videographer Debbie Mulvena followed them in, got some footage and then stood outside. The guys all came running out with a wad of cash, pretending to have robbed the liquor store, a great episode in the wedding video. During photos in the church, all the groomsmen picked up Warren, holding him horizontally, as is typically done with the blushing bride. The bride and groom plan to hang that photo in their living room.
MOST SENTIMENTAL GIFT: Lindsay surprised Aly and Warren at the rehearsal dinner with a slide show Aly & Lindsay's cousins, Jeneane and William Johnson.
THE HONEYMOON: Aly and Warren honeymooned for a week at Excellence in Playa Mujeres near Cancun, Mexico. They snorkeled, swam in a 150-foot deep cenote and visited Chichen Itza and walked among the Mayan ruins. Warren played lots of beach and water volleyball, and Aly relaxed and read some books.
THE FAMILY TREE: The bride is the daughter of Kathleen Gauthier of Newark and the late Henry Gauthier. The groom is the son of David and Sandra Cox of Wilmington.
WHAT'S NEXT: Aly and Warren live in Warren's townhouse in Bear. Aly is a now a senior litigation paralegal with Delmarva Power. Warren works for the Division of Motor Vehicles and the Delaware Department of Transportation. They are busy making home improvements, but hope to one day start a family. Aly is also helping her sister, Lindsay, plan her May 2015 wedding.
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