Delaware couple met on first day as freshmen at Wilmington Charter, married 12 years later

Elizabeth Conner and Aaron Bevenour

April 6, 2019

THE INTRODUCTION: Elizabeth Conner and Aaron Bevenour met in August 2007, their first day of high school at The Charter School of Wilmington. Both were 14, about to turn 15. Because their last names are close alphabetically, they sat next to each other in Integrated Social Studies. Gregarious Elizabeth introduced herself to Aaron. Introverted Aaron responded, "Hi." Elizabeth thought Aaron was cute, but that he didn’t like her because he didn't talk back despite her many attempts to chat with him. Aaron liked her talking to him, but felt too timid to respond. Because the pair were in the top tier of classes, they sat next to each other in a lot of classes, but had different homerooms. However, one of Aaron's best friends was in Elizabeth's homeroom, and when Aaron dropped by to see the friend, he always made it a point to say hello to Elizabeth. Aaron claims he let Elizabeth win in gym games and races as a sign that he liked her. She disputes the "let her" part. In the spring of their sophomore year, Elizabeth had a Sweet 16 birthday party and invited boys and girls. Aaron came with David Biederman, a mutual friend. Her mom, who didn't know Aaron, noticed him because he was walking around with a huge grin. "Mom to this day says, 'That was the happiest I've ever seen Aaron,'" Elizabeth says. It was the first time Elizabeth and Aaron hung out together outside class. They started talking a bit more in school and texting. He thought she was easy to talk to. "And it took me a year and a half to work up the courage," Aaron says. He finally told her in a text that he liked her and when she responded that she liked him, too, he asked her to be his girlfriend. 

THE FIRST DATE: They are pretty sure their first date was Elizabeth's idea. They went to the Italian restaurant Bella Vista in Pike Creek on a double date with Aaron’s cousin John Hafycz and his then-girlfriend in late April of 2009. None of them had a car, so they walked, each couple holding hands, from the cousin's house. Aaron had chicken Parmesan, which Elizabeth would discover he always orders in Italian restaurants. She had chicken Alfredo. 

THE FIRST KISS: In May of 2009, they kissed on Elizabeth’s mother’s family room couch while watching the Brendan Frazier classic "Bedazzled." Aaron had picked the movie, and he's still unsure if Elizabeth enjoyed the movie or just the thrill of that kiss. They went on to date steadily. Both went to the University of Delaware, where she studied political science with a minor in legal studies, and he studied chemical engineering with a minor in biomedicine. After graduation, he took a job as a test engineer with Norfolk Naval Shipyard nuclear submarines in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He was one of 90 engineers they hired at the same time. Elizabeth was upset about his move at first. He and his parents had lived about 30 minutes away from her, and she thought that was far. Aaron promised to move back as soon as possible, and they dated long distance while she attended Widener University's Delaware Law School. They did enjoy going to the beach near his house and getting to know the people he worked with.

THE PROPOSAL: Elizabeth definitely expected a proposal any minute by Dec. 23, 2017. They had been talking about marriage and even looked at rings together. "She was not subtle with her hints about what she liked," Aaron said. He had devised what seemed like a simple proposal plan, but it all went bad. On the big day, he and Elizabeth ate breakfast at Newark Deli & Bagels, their favorite bagel place on Main Street there. Aaron intended to take Elizabeth on a walk around campus to revisit their best college memories and end up at the ‘"Kissing Arches." That's where students would meet when the boys’ and girls’ dorms were separate. But it was raining, and Elizabeth didn't want to walk in the rain. Realizing he couldn't force the issue, he gave up, and then had to covertly send her mom a text canceling a celebration they had planned at home. Later that day, they went to Aaron’s family's Christmas dinner at La Casa Pasta. Back at Elizabeth's home, she wanted to take pictures of just the two of them in front of her family Christmas tree. As Elizabeth was posing for the shot, she put her hand on Aaron's chest and could feel his heart pounding. "Are you OK?" she asked. "What's wrong?" Nothing, he assured her. They took a couple of shots and then Aaron stopped her. "The first couple of pictures we took were missing something," he said. He held out her ring. "It's missing this." He knelt down and told Elizabeth how much she meant to him, referenced the song "Always" by Andy Grammer and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. She said yes.

NEW JOBS: Elizabeth graduated from law school in May 2018. Around that time, just as Aaron felt like he had topped out in Norfolk, the engineers got a job notice saying the Philadelphia shipyard was looking for people with their precise skill sets to volunteer to move to Philly. Aaron was elated and applied immediately, telling his bosses he had been born in the area and wanted to come home. He moved back in August 2018. 

THE CEREMONY: They married at St. Mary of the Assumption in Hockessin, Delaware, on April 6, 2019. The church was part of Elizabeth's family's parish. The ceremony was performed by Monsignor John Hopkins, Aaron’s family priest from St. Margaret of Scotland in Glasgow, Delaware. David Biederman, who brought Aaron to Elizabeth's Sweet 16 party, was best man and fretted the whole time that he might lose the rings. Elizabeth Thurrell, Elizabeth's best friend since they had been in Corpus Christi Elementary School, was maid of honor. Elizabeth's cousin Andrew Duff did one of the readings and Emily Walker, who is a cousin-like friend of Aaron's family, did the second one. Their godmothers Teresa Kilburn and Becky Massa brought up the gifts of the Eucharist. Flower girls were Jill and Quinn Kilburn. The couple laid flowers at the feet of the Blessed Virgin statue in memory of Elizabeth's maternal grandmother Mary Williams, while the cantor sang "Ave Maria." Both Elizabeth and Aaron's rings had "Always" engraved in them, a nod to the proposal and to Grammer's music, which they both love.

THE DRESS: Elizabeth wore a romantic Maggie Sotero ball gown with a crystal belt from Brides and Grooms Inc. in Newark. 

SOMETHING OLD: The bride wore a necklace that her mother had made from Mary Williams' engagement ring.

SOMETHING NEW: The bride's gown and shoes.

More Delaware weddings

He asked her out for a drink, not dinner. She said no.

When she spotted St. Mark's on his profile, she swiped yes.

SOMETHING BORROWED: The engagement ring necklace.

SOMETHING BLUE: A blue Charter School of Wilmington emblem cut from a school polo shirt was sewn by her mom on the inside of Elizabeth’s gown.

THE RECEPTION: The reception was at Deerfield in Newark. Elizabeth had not been there, but Aaron had been to some chemical engineering events there during college. As soon as she saw it, Elizabeth loved the ballroom with its floor-to-ceiling windows. Aaron's father had warned them to play hard to get to get the best deal, but Elizabeth was all in from the second she saw it. During the reception, the DJ played the Philadelphia Eagles' fight song, because the bride and groom are big Eagles fans. He also asked everyone to come to the dance floor and stand in a circle for a special song for the couple. Then he played the Chicken Dance. 

THE MOST SENTIMENTAL GIFT: A hand-drawn portrait of the couple by Kayla Krenitsky, a college friend.

THE HONEYMOON: The couple went to Fort Lauderdale, Florida the day after the wedding and spent most of their time relaxing on the beach and trying new foods on the most popular street, Las Olas.

THE FAMILY TREE: The bride is the daughter of Mary Anne Conner of Hockessin. The groom is the son of Pamela and Roy Bevenour of Newark.

WHAT'S NEXT: The couple live in a northern Delaware apartment, but hope to buy their first house in Wilmington soon. Aaron is a nuclear test engineer for the Navy at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Elizabeth is a law clerk in family court in Wilmington, Delaware. They want to have children someday but are now talking about adopting a pet. Aaron likes cats. Elizabeth likes dogs. "We'll probably get a dog," Aaron says.

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