Many Ohio graduates have come to treasure Galbreath Chapel since John Galbreath first kissed his wife there 54 years ago.
Emily Burnette, a graduate student studying medicine, and her mother were both married at the chapel, where her grandmother also worked.
Burnette, who married Ohio University alumnus David Burnette 30 years after her parents’ marriage, chose the spot in part because of her family’s connection to it.
“I liked the idea of being in the same space that they were in. There is some history there,” she said. “I felt more connected to that place than any other when making the decision.”
Nancy Cooper, Burnette’s mother, said seeing her daughter get married in Galbreath brought back memories of her own wedding day.
“It was almost like being able to relive the experience all over, to see her get married in the very same place where our family got its start. … We both started a huge new part of our lives in the same place,” Cooper said.
Cooper and Burnette are not the only members of their family with a connection to Galbreath, though. Cooper’s mother-in-law, Rosemary Cooper-Huntsman, worked at the chapel from 1977 to 1980.
Cooper-Hunstman said even though the location of a wedding is important, it’s not as crucial as the couple’s motivations.
“When young people make a commitment, I don’t think the place is as important as how committed they really are,” Cooper-Huntsman said.
Burnette, who is an Athens County native, said she never thought she would care where she was married and seriously considered her parents’ backyard as an option.
“We decided on Galbreath,” Burnette said. “The area of campus that it’s on couldn’t be more beautiful.”
On her wedding day, Burnette found herself unconsciously mirroring her mother’s actions.
“I was leaning my head against the wall and my mom said, ‘That is the same exact spot I was standing, leaning my head against the wall trying not to throw up.’ We were both so nervous,” Burnette said.
Cooper, who has worked at OU for 25 years, said she values the commitment of family more than anything else and witnessing her daughter make that commitment was important.
“Family is the core in my life. So to see the continuity of her following in the tradition that (my husband) Randy and I set was just a great feeling,” Cooper said.
cd234008@ohiou.edu
