I know who you are, but what about this person you married?

Kate Wightman grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she nursed a fondness for horses, sculpture, and technical theatre. After a year at Drew University in New Jersey, she transferred to Grinnell College in Iowa and got a degree in psychology, all the while working in the theatre department's scene shop. She moved to Austin in 2002 to pursue an MFA in theatre technology, which she received in 2006. After a brief stint on the staff of Beloit College in Wisconsin, Kate is now working for the University of Texas at Austin as a master carpenter. She teaches college students about technical theatre and scenic carpentry while making sure they don't cut off their fingers. Kate has nerves of steel.

Lowell Vaughn was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he was involved with Boy Scouts, the local Unitarian church, and technical theater (although, unlike Kate, his involvement with it ended after high school). He then went to Grinnell, where he got a degree in math, but did a lot more with computers. In 1994 he moved to Bloomington, Indiana to get a M.S. in Computer Science from Indiana University. Attending IU is something his Boilermaker father has almost forgiven him for. In 1996 he moved to Houston where he spent three years writing software for an oil company. In 1999 he decided that he'd rather be working for a software company and living in Austin, so he quit his job, took a vow to only work for software companies, and packed up his dog Lizzy and moved to Austin. Since then he's worked for a series of small software companies (sometimes writing software for oil companies, in one of life's little ironies), ending up with Vaughn Research Inc, which he founded in 2006, shortly after meeting Kate.

How did you meet?

We are both alumni of Grinnell College, though we were not at Grinnell at the same time. We got to know each other at a series of alumni functions here in Austin. After years of seeing him at quarterly brunches, Kate asked Lowell out in March of 2006 (though she thought she was being a little more suave than that). The rest, as they say, is history.

What was the proposal like?

As Lowell wrote shortly afterwards: "We were sitting on the deck [that Kate built] watching the sun set and having a glass of wine. I told her that I really liked watching the sun set with her, and wanted to see a lot more of them together. Then I got down on one knee, pulled a ring out of my pocket, and asked her to marry me. She said 'Of course.' Wonders never cease."

Who stood with you during the ceremony?

Kate's man of honor was her big brother, Malcolm Wightman, a law student and police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her bridesmaid was Nita Daniel, Lowell's friend from Grinnell College. Nita is a technical writer who lives in Little Rock with her dog Howard. Lowell's best man was Chris Doemel, whom he met at Grinnell, and shares half a brain with. Chris is responsible for the one all-nighter that Lowell pulled at Grinnell. Chris is a salesman for Apple and lives in Lansing, Michigan. His groomsman was Andrew Derksen, Kate's friend from Grinnell College. Andrew is in grad school and is currently doing his thesis research outside of Homestead, Florida.

What did you do for your honeymoon?

Due to a lack of vacation time, after the wedding we just took a couple of days off to stay in a cabin near Fredericksburg. It was a homestead from 1865 that's been updated several times, sitting on 50 acres, complete with deer, cattle, cats and a peahen. We spent a couple of days hiking in state parks, watching deer from the front porch as we enjoyed our wine and cheese, and otherwise recovering from our wedding.

We're in the process of planning our honeymoon now (to be taken in December). We're looking at Patagonia or New Zealand, but haven't made a firm decision yet.

Are there any vendors that you would recommend?

There are a few that we were really impressed with:

• Our photographer, Keith Wright at Classic Portraits (who has some great tips on his web site)
• Our baker, Shary Evans (she of the amazing spice cake)
• Our florists, Petal Pushers