During a 2018 production of “Ragtime” for AfterWork Theater in Manhattan, Molly Antoinette Shoemaker and Cody James Wymore were determined to keep things professional. She was the show director and he, the music director.
However, their interaction went beyond the professional for Mr. Wymore. He brought Mrs. Shoemaker leftovers like Dijon chicken and cheeseburgers—except they weren’t really leftovers. He purposely prepared them just for him.
When eight weeks into production ended in March 2018, Ms. Shoemaker wrote to Mr. Wymore in her end-of-show notes that she wanted to take him out to dinner to pay for all the meals she had cooked. In his note, Mr. Weimer admits that he likes her.
By their first date, two weeks later, they shared a kiss on a bench in Washington Square Park before a wrap party for the cast.
“I think I got there first and then Cody got there and we talked a bit, and that’s when we kissed for the first time,” Ms Shoemaker said. “From then on, at least for me, it felt like this was good.”
The two seemed to have something solid in their relationship when they went out on that first date to see the movie “Isle of Dogs” in Union Square, followed by dinner at a now-closed restaurant nearby.
Ms. Shoemaker, 34, who grew up in Greensboro, NC, works as director of people management and recruiting at Capacity Interactive, a digital marketing firm based in New York City. She holds a bachelor’s degree in drama from Vassar College.
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Mr. Wymore, 37, who was raised in Spokane, Wash., works as senior client solutions director at Innovid, an advertising technology company also in New York. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College and an MFA in Musical Theater Writing from NYU.
Mr. Wymore didn’t always plan to get married, but he felt it was a natural next step in his relationship with Ms. Shoemaker. One thing he knew for sure was that he didn’t want a traditional proposal.
So the couple, who live in Forest Hills, Queens, hatched a plan together: They chose September 3, 2022 as their engagement date, went to dinner at Balthazar’s and exchanged love letters.
“I had a pretty good feeling what the outcome would be,” Ms Shoemaker said. “I was still very nervous.”
For their Aug. 24 wedding, they decided that being in nature was a priority and chose Camp Timber Tops, a summer camp in Greeley, Pa., as their venue.
His celebration began on Friday night with a piano party for all his theater friends to perform. Mr. Wymore surprised Ms. Shoemaker by singing “The Luckiest” by Ben Folds.
“Like I said to Molly, ‘I tried to write a song for you, and it never worked out because the whole song was already written, and Ben Folds wrote it,'” Mr. Wymore said with a laugh.
Ms. Shoemaker, inspired by the American Girl doll with whom she shares a first name, found an adult-sized Molly McIntyre Birthday Dress Wear to Friday night festivities.
Hours before the start of the ceremony, Ms. Shoemaker, Mr. Wymore and some of their friends decided to take a deep dive in nearby Lake Selma.
“If you have access to a 42-degree lake, you should use it to wake up in the morning,” Mr. Wymore said.
Since notes have been a theme throughout their relationship, the couple hand-wrote a card to each of their 160 or so guests that they placed on reception seats in the camp’s dining hall.
Ms. Shoemaker and Mr. Wymore married in a private ceremony officiated by their friend Amanda Chin.
Mr. Wymore noted that, given that they chose a self-union marriage license that allows couples to marry each other, the wedding “felt very similar to our proposal.”
Mrs Shoemaker added: “There’s a nice symmetry to it.”
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