A Boilermaker wedding
When Brooke and Marc Conner were planning their wedding, Purdue quickly became their top choice as a venue. “Most of our time dating had been spent at Purdue. It was a home for us for so long. We just wanted to be able to share that place with everyone,” Brooke says.
The location served as more than just a reunion for their families. It also became a trip down memory lane for their extended family. Both Brooke and Marc come from families rich in Boilermaker spirit.
Marc says, “It’s always an experience for the whole family. When I was at Purdue, it wasn’t just parents coming to a college to visit their son, but it’s for a football game, and they’re going to tailgate with their college friends.”
Brooke, Marc and the rest of the wedding party hitched a ride from the ceremony to the reception on the world’s fastest collegiate mascot, the Boilermaker Special. The ride from the St. Thomas Aquinas chapel to the Purdue Memorial Union wasn’t long, but they won’t soon forget it.
Brooke and Marc had a Purdue love story for the history books. They met through Purdue Greek life and spent their early dating years involved in everything Purdue — Brooke was on the Golduster Dance Team and Marc was part of the Old Masters program.
According to Brooke, it’s a tradition at Golduster weddings for all current and former Goldusters in attendance to perform the Purdue fight song. “That was really fun, and it’s definitely a memory I cherish,” she says.
After graduating in 2016 and moving to Chicago, they still do their best to come to two or three football games per year at their alma mater. Marc says, “I knew coming to Purdue was something bigger than just those four years for me. It was definitely more of a tradition than just another stop along the educational journey.”
Brooke says, “I’m grateful to Purdue because I met Marc there, obviously. The building of events of our parents going to Purdue and then us going to Purdue led to us meeting. So, I’m grateful for that. And now I get to have this wonderful marriage because of Purdue.”
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