Tying the Knot, Scarlet Style
Many alumni return to Rutgers–New Brunswick to exchange vows at Kirkpatrick and Voorhees chapels.
Each year, about two dozen alumni couples return to campus to celebrate one of the biggest milestones of their lives: their wedding.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, alumni Bernadette (Burke) Peters and Bobby Peters have agreed to share the story of their Rutgers romance and wedding at the Kirkpatrick Chapel on the College Avenue campus. When Bernadette and Bobby met at a party their senior year at Rutgers, the couple never imagined that they would someday reconnect, fall in love, and return to their favorite campus to marry.
As a student, Bernadette sang in the Kirkpatrick Choir and always thought Kirkpatrick Chapel would be the perfect venue for her marriage, as it was where she performed in the Christmas in Carol and Song concert every December. “We have always talked about getting married on campus because Rutgers was such a big part of who we are as individuals,” Bernadette says. “It also became a big part of our love story.”
The couple, who live in Union County, New Jersey, were married this past November in front of family and friends, with more than 50 Rutgers alumni in attendance, including half of the wedding party. Bernadette is a middle school music teacher in Summit, New Jersey, and was thrilled to invite a choir of former students to perform at the ceremony, under the direction of Summit High School choir director, Mary-Lynn Rhodes. Bobby, a CPA, works in accounting and financial reporting at Merck & Co.
The couple met when Bernadette hosted a party at Rutgers that Bobby attended. The two continued to cross paths but never had the chance to connect one-on-one. In 2021, five years after graduating, the couple reconnected and went out to dinner in Cranford, New Jersey.
Rutgers Romance
They fell in love while attending Rutgers football and basketball games together, cooking, traveling, and spending time at the Jersey Shore. On August 11, 2024, Bobby scheduled a “family photoshoot” at the North Wildwood Sea Wall and proposed to Bernadette in front of both their families, who hid in the bushes in anxious anticipation of the big surprise.
They said they had an incredible Rutgers experience and having their wedding ceremony at Kirkpatrick “was a no-brainer.” They took their formal wedding portraits in the November sunset in the grassy area behind the chapel grounds by Old Queens.
“It worked out better than we could have imagined,” Bernadette says, adding she recalls a moment in 2022 when they were dating and discussed having their wedding ceremony at Rutgers. “We knew we were serious about each other, and I said, ‘If the rumors are true and there's a five-year wait list for Kirkpatrick Chapel, I don’t want to presume anything, but should I put our name in?’”
So, Bernadette reached out to J.J. Cooper, the facility and event coordinator at Kirkpatrick Chapel, who told her that it was not necessary to put their names five years in advance.
Booking a Rutgers Wedding
Kirkpatrick Chapel hosts about 15-20 weddings each year, many for alumni, Cooper says. On the Douglass Campus, Voorhees Chapel hosts three to five weddings a year, says Mandy Jones, administrative assistant.
It is wonderful that many alumni families feel a special connection to Rutgers and return to get married and have other special occasions on campus, Cooper says.
“I think getting married at Kirkpatrick Chapel is special, especially for couples who met during their time at RU or have family connections to the school,” Cooper says. “Many have families who have had many generations married at Kirkpatrick Chapel who come back for baptisms, memorial services, and other major life events.”
Reservations are accepted for Kirkpatrick up to two years in advance, but almost every weekend has availability throughout the year, so people can book their wedding reservation at any time, Cooper says.
At Voorhees, a popular venue for Douglass Residential College graduates, Jones says it is preferred that guests make reservations at least six months in advance.
Rutgers Business School Provides ‘Strong Foundation’
Bobby, who grew up in West Caldwell, New Jersey, and graduated from James Caldwell High School in Caldwell, New Jersey, is a first-generation college student. He says he was fortunate to be among the first group of students to study in the new business school building when it opened on the Livingston campus in 2013, and commends the investments the university made to ensure students have the best opportunity for success.
“The kind of facility and technology Rutgers was able to provide students was absolutely incredible, honestly,” Bobby says. “The guidance of the talented and experienced faculty helped me differentiate myself when entering the job market and made me realize that a degree from Rutgers holds a lot of weight. I attribute any success I have had in my career to the strong foundation the business school provided.”
Bernadette, who is a member of the Cap and Skull Class of 2016, grew up in Sicklerville, New Jersey, and graduated from Washington Township High School in Sewell, she says. She also plays the piano, guitar, and ukulele and dabbles in the tuba.
“Mason Gross gave me so many of the technical skills that I use every day, like the discipline to really hone my craft of being a singer, musician, and performer,” she says.
“Rutgers is really a microcosm of the world,” Bernadette says. “It is just the number of diverse people with different ideas whom you cross paths with, and whom you get to learn from every day.”
When she is teaching, Bernadette says she talks to her middle school students about college. “Rutgers feels like Disney World,” she says. “There is a bus to everywhere. You can ride to the Livingston campus, which feels like a college vibe, or the Busch campus with sports and sciences. College Avenue is like a city, and Cook-Douglass is spread out and has a farm. Rutgers offers a great transition from high school to the real world because it feels as close to the real world that you can get.”
Bernadette recently took her student choir, Bel Canto, to a Rutgers women’s basketball game in January to perform the national anthem. The group performed last year as well. “I wanted to give my students the opportunity to be exposed to the amazing things that Rutgers has to offer,” she says.
Looking back, the couple credits Rutgers for bringing them together and giving them a great start. “Being at Rutgers, I really feel like I came into my own,” Bernadette says. “I feel like Rutgers made me who I am and who he is, and that led us to each other, and then that's just how we are building our lives together.”
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