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PrintMark Dekanich & Elizabeth Smith
Tommy Brown Photography
Mark Dekanich, a goalie for the Columbus Blue Jackets, had a busy start to July. Not only did he sign with the team, but he also married his college sweetheart, Elizabeth Smith, on July 2. The couple exchanged vows in the campus chapel of Colgate University, their alma mater. (Smith graduated in 2007 and Dekanich the next year.) “It was cool to go back there,” he says. “It’s obviously a special place for both of us.”
Smith says a girlfriend from college was dating a guy on the school’s hockey team and suggested she introduce Smith to Dekanich. “I was a little hesitant because he is an athlete and I’m more of a nerd,” she says, laughing. It seems opposites do attract, however, because once they met, it just fit, says the bride. “It was pretty nerve-racking, because he was pretty high profile on our campus, but you get to know someone and realize they are a genuine person,” she explains.
After college, the couple settled in Wisconsin, where Dekanich played for the Nashville Predators’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. In December 2010, he came up with a clever plan to propose, which involved the couple’s black pug, Romeo. Dekanich tied an engagement ring to the dog’s collar and Smith discovered it while petting the dog when he greeted her at the door. “I’m so glad he incorporated Romeo,” she says. “He’s my baby. He keeps me company while Mark is on the road.”
Wedding planning proved difficult when it came time to choose a location. Dekanich is from Vancouver, while Smith hails from Washington, D.C., so they chose a place they both love. “So many of our friends went to school with us. It was kind of a big reunion, and I think everyone enjoyed that . . . probably too much,” Smith says with a laugh.
One of the bride’s favorite moments from the day happened right after the ceremony, when she learned she made her groom sweat a bit. Smith was
15 minutes late to the chapel because
of a delay with her hair and makeup preparation, and Dekanich confessed as they walked down the aisle he had gotten a little nervous.
And instead of having the traditional maid or matron of honor, Smith had a “man of honor.” “He was so great for me on my day. He kept it light and kept me laughing,” she says. “We’ve been best friends for 13 years. I couldn’t imagine having anyone else.”
The couple agrees they are a good fit for many reasons. While Smith believes it’s because they have a strong friendship, Dekanich says, “Her father always says we work well together in the kitchen, so if we can do that, we can do anything.”
Taylor Swope
