On Love: Katie Norton weds Matt Waite

Katie Norton & Matt Waite

Katie Norton, 29, teaches English at West Springfield High School. Matt Waite, 31, works for Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) and is a captain in the Army Reserves They live in Alexandria.

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Wedding date: March 31

Location: Fort Myer Officers Club, Arlington

Guests: 155

How they met: As teens, Norton and Waite were neighbors. Their mothers convinced them to start carpooling together on their way to Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria. Ten years later, she spotted him in a friend’s Facebook network and added him to her own. He sent her a message saying he had just returned from a tour in Iraq and was eager to reconnect with people. He picked her up in the same car he’d used to drive them to school a decade earlier. Norton was nervous, but once they arrived at Clyde’s in Alexandria, conversation flowed.

The proposal: Waite and his roommates threw a Christmas party in 2010. Underneath the tree was a three-foot-tall package for Norton. Inside was a series of nested boxes that ended with a yellow plastic ring and a note that said, “If you want it, you have to work for it.” A scavenger hunt ensued, leading her to a real ring hanging from the Christmas tree.

The wedding: They were married at St. Michael’s Church in Annandale. The theme of the reception was “love is a journey,” a nod to their carpool days. Place cards showed the outline of a car, and each table was named for a neighborhood street, a school or a place they had traveled. They surprised Norton’s Irish mom by hiring her favorite group, the Sean Fleming Band, who played Irish music as well as Springsteen covers.

The honeymoon: On their visit to Iceland, they went snowmobiling on a glacier and admired the country’s waterfalls.

Janet Bennett Kelly