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Bride and groom to say 'I do' twice this weekend

Couple’s ‘Miami merger’ to be part of a bid for world record

Staff photo by Nick Daggy Nick Hieber and Stephanie Reid re-enact their first kiss under the Upham Arch on Tuesday, June 9.

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By Dale Huffman, Staff Writer Updated 7:17 AM Thursday, June 18, 2009

On a day late in August 2005, the first day of class in her freshman year at Miami University, Stephanie Reid, 22, of Germantown was running late, and was the last student to arrive in the classroom for English 111.

One seat was left. She slid into it, right next to Navy Ensign Nick Hieber, 22, of Sugar Grove. The two began dating, and three years later Nick asked Stephanie to be his wife.

“It is one of those love stories where everything just fell into place,” Stephanie said. “The stars were aligned in just the right way.”

Stephanie and Nick will join the ranks of “Miami mergers” when they exchange wedding vows Friday, June 19, during a formal ceremony in the Sesquicentennial Chapel on the Miami campus in Oxford.

Then on Saturday, the couple will repeat their vows and sign their marriage certificate under the Upham Arch.

The arch has a special place in campus lore. Legend has it that a couple who kisses under the lantern there at midnight will marry.

Nick not only did that, he also brought Stephanie back to propose to her at that very location.

Stephanie said she soon became familiar with the term. “My parents are the result of a Miami merger,” she said. “My brother and his wife met at Miami and my sister and her husband are on the merger list too.”

According to Miami spokeswoman Linda Robertson, there are 26,330 Miami graduates married to other Miamians, or 13,165 couples.

“The number makes up about 14.25 percent of the alumni population, and Miami’s research shows this is a record number,” Robertson said. “We send Valentine’s Day cards to the Miami mergers every year.”

When Stephanie and Nick renew their vows 3:30 p.m. Saturday, June 20 under the Upham Arch, they will be the spotlight couple, and will be joined by, hopefully, close to 700 other couples who met at Miami and are returning to renew wedding vows.

Robertson hopes a Guinness World Record will be established. “The current record for the most couples simultaneously renewing their wedding vows stands at 624 couples. It was set in Pittsburgh in 2008,” she said. “This is Miami’s Bicentennial year and excitement is already building among Miami graduates who met here, were married, and now will renew wedding vows and have hopes of being a part of campus history.”

Couples can register for the event at www.MiamiAlum.org or just show up Saturday, and make sure officials know you are there.

Nick said he and Stephanie are pleased to become a Miami merger, and are excited to be on hand to help try to break the world record.

“Stephanie and I planned originally to be married in July, but on graduation I am being deployed to military duty in Jacksonville, Fla.,” Nick said. “Stephanie has been able to line up a job as a teacher in Jacksonville, so things are really looking good for us. We are pleased to be a part of this exciting event on campus.”

And Stephanie added, “It should give us lots of tremendous memories to add to our story book romance.”

Dale Huffman wants your suggestions and story ideas. He’d like to share a story about you, your family, or a friend. This column is for you. Send e-mail to dhuffman@DaytonDailyNews.com or write to Dale at 1611 S. Main St. Dayton, OH 45409. Fax: (937) 225-2489. Phone: (937) 225-2272.

A deal sealed with a kiss

A marriage between Miami graduates is called a “Miami merger.”

Miami mergers are fairly common. There are 13,165 mergers, according to the Miami Alumni Association. Those 26,330 grads represent 14.24 percent of the school’s living alumni.

When a MU graduate marries someone who did not attend the university, it is called a “Miami acquisition.”

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