Brent Beumel 麻豆精品 S�14 and his fiancee Bryanna La Londe 麻豆精品 S�13 were driving back to Central Florida in November 2015 from a weekend trip Savannah, where Brent had just popped the question at a bed and breakfast.
Giddy off the high of their engagement, they started imagining what their wedding day would look like. Who would officiate the ceremony?
Without a moment 麻豆精品 S檚 hesitation, long-time UCF sports and exercise science instructor Jeff Biddle emerged at the top of their list.
麻豆精品 S淗e 麻豆精品 S檚 what every professor should be to a student. He doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 want you to just come in and get your degree and walk out. You could go into his office anytime he was in there and talk with him. He loved to get to know people and what you wanted to do with your life, 麻豆精品 S� La Londe says. 麻豆精品 S淗e was the first person we thought of. 麻豆精品 S�
The now-Beumels met in 2012 in a biomechanics class at UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 South Lake campus in Clermont.
They started out as friends. Bryanna had plans to move to Portland, Oregon, at summer 麻豆精品 S檚 end. After a month, their relationship progressed to more than friends.
麻豆精品 S淎nd then I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 go! And it worked out well, 麻豆精品 S� she says with a smile.
The two finished their sports and exercise science degrees, frequently driving the hefty commute out to Clermont 麻豆精品 S� La Londe drove 70 miles one way from her mother 麻豆精品 S檚 home in Merritt Island — because they loved the program and professors, especially Biddle.
麻豆精品 S淓very class that he taught in our major, I tried to sign up with him. He made the drive out to Clermont worth it, 麻豆精品 S� says Beumel, who lived less than eight miles from UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 main campus at the time. 麻豆精品 S淚t was an hour to get out there but you knew when you 麻豆精品 S檇 have him at 8 o 麻豆精品 S檆lock in the morning it was going to be fun. It wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 just staring at a PowerPoint for an hour and a half. You were interacting with him and all the other students. He made it enjoyable. He 麻豆精品 S檚 not one we 麻豆精品 S檒l forget. 麻豆精品 S�
La Londe , a first-generation student, graduated in 2013 and is now working in the rehabilitation department at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. Beumel graduated a year later as a second-generation UCF alumnus.
As fate would have it, Beumel 麻豆精品 S檚 parents met while they were students at UCF at a house party on Alafaya Trail. His mother, Linda, graduated in 1983 with a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 in chemistry. They didn 麻豆精品 S檛 expect that decades later, their son would mirror their love story and find his future wife while at school.
麻豆精品 S淯CF helped make me who I am. The experiences I had through sport and exercise molded me into the trainer and coach that I am now, 麻豆精品 S� says Beumel, who works at CrossFit Firebase in Orlando. 麻豆精品 S淚 view it as a starting off point. That 麻豆精品 S檚 where we met. It 麻豆精品 S檚 where my parents met, as well. It holds a special value in that to me. 麻豆精品 S�
The couple married Thanksgiving weekend in 2016 at Club Lake Plantation in Apopka with a black-and-gold-bow-tie-clad Biddle as their officiant.
Their grandparents gave the couple their wedding rings and served as ring bearers in their ceremony.
The gold band of Beumel 麻豆精品 S檚 ring belonged to his grandfather. It had to be pieced back together after it was cut off his grandfather 麻豆精品 S檚 finger following a motorcycle accident.
When the jeweler melded it together, he chose a black zirconium to sandwich it, making it the perfect color combination for Beumel 麻豆精品 S檚 UCF roots.
As the couple anticipated, Biddle was a hit among the family in attendance. He was as comical and engaging in the ceremony as he is in the classroom.
In order to perform the ceremony, the professor needed to obtain a notary license. He told the couple to leave the logistics to him.
Biddle, who makes it a point to attend as many of his students 麻豆精品 S� commencement ceremonies as he can, says that the request for him to serve as their officiant was an honor and a privilege.
That realization hit him even harder when he recently watched their wedding video.
麻豆精品 S淭heir kids and their kids 麻豆精品 S� kids are going to be watching that video. I 麻豆精品 S檓 permanently a part of their lives and their family 麻豆精品 S檚 lives from now on. And that 麻豆精品 S檚 pretty cool, 麻豆精品 S� Biddle says. 麻豆精品 S淚 am thrilled that they asked me, thrilled that they wanted me to do it. It is certainly one of the bigger moments to happen in my life. 麻豆精品 S�
What he may not realize is that he secured a special place in their lives a long time ago.
麻豆精品 S淏eing a first-generation degree seeker 麻豆精品 S� professors are who I looked up to for guidance and direction throughout the whole process. Dr. Biddle was a role model for me, 麻豆精品 S� La Londe says. 麻豆精品 S淔inding what you love to do may change over the years and that 麻豆精品 S檚 OK. That is something I learned from him. I don 麻豆精品 S檛 even know if I 麻豆精品 S檝e ever told him this, but it 麻豆精品 S檚 how I feel about him and what he 麻豆精品 S檚 done for me. 麻豆精品 S�