The Wedding Story of... Joey & Jules Ewing

A "Love" Marriage

According to South Korean tradition, marriages are family-arranged or established with the help of a match-making service. Over recent decades, however, families more readily accept their children falling in love with whomever they choose. In South Korean culture, this kind of union is called a "love" marriage, and for Jules Lee and Joey Ewing, "love," is certainly an appropriate word to describe their relationship.

As a sophomore, while conducting recruiting interviews for Purdue University's Student Engineering Foundation, Joey Ewing laid his eyes on freshman, Jules Lee. Little did he know at the time, but she would become the love of his life and future wife. They easily became friends, studied together, laughed together, and eventually began dating.

During the next five years, their relationship grew stronger, and in Joey's mind, it was time for the next step. In February 2009, he proposed and as Jules recalls, "I had no idea-I was totally in shock!"

Jules and Joey decided to plan two wedding celebrations, one in the United States on August 8, 2009 and another in South Korea in early 2010. For their stateside festivities, the couple chose to have their reception at the Blue Heron in South Bend, Indiana nearby Joey's hometown of Granger. However, with less than six months to plan their big day and living out of state, the planning process was at first challenging. True to Boilermaker form, Jules and Joey dove, "full throttle into the planning." Joey states, "Jules is good with mapping out the big picture, and I'm good with the details." And it was not just the bride and groom, "Joey's mom and sister helped out a lot," recalls Jules."As for Jenny from the Blue Heron, having her was like having a wedding planner."

After months of preparation, it was finally time for the big day. The morning of their wedding, Jules was in store for an unforgettable surprise. As an exchange student, Jules grew extremely close with her host family, especially her host mom, "Mama Lee," who passed away last October. Jules reminisces, "My host sister, also my Maid of Honor, gave me our Mom's engagement ring as "something old" for me to wear. She said, "I can't think of anyone else to wear this ring, and I know Mom would love you to wear it." I know Mama Lee was happy and laughing loud (as she always does) watching over me and Joey."

The flowers, the cake, and the atmosphere was perfect, but perhaps the most incredible sight of the night was an unlikely duet sung by the bride's father and the groom. As a little girl, Jules' father would sing Dream by the Everly Brothers because, as she explains, "it reminded him of my native name, 'Julim,'" which is pronounced similarly in Korean.

Joey took another turn in the spotlight before the first dance and sang to his beautiful bride an arrangement of songs blended together. Typically a more low-key guy, Joey's behavior surprised and thrilled every wedding guest, but Jules most of all.

And the fun did not stop there. The couple explains, "We were always doing the famous dance lift from the movie, Dirty Dancing, whenever the song Time of My Life was played during college dances." As expected, the bride and groom did not disappoint during their first dance as husband and wife, a combination of Superman and Time of My Life.

There is still one more celebration to enjoy overseas, but August 8, 2009 was an unforgettable day of surprises, fun, and indeed a beautiful "love" marriage.