There’s nothing in the world quite like a Blue Band wedding. Penn State alumni Mark Poblete and Carol Nelson got married this past weekend in State College with a reception at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, and there was no shortage of pride for the Blue-and-White.
Mark and Carol’s romance has always been tied to Penn State. They met back in their undergrad days when Mark, a 2007 IST graduate, played the trumpet and Carol, a 2008 music education graduate, played the piccolo, although they didn’t start dating until 2011.
At their wedding reception on Saturday night, even the Nittany Lion made an appearance:
Wouldn’t be a @penn_state wedding without the Nittany Lion and @PSUBlueBand showing up! #pobleteeverafter pic.twitter.com/2oupHpEyWQ
— Becky Elliott (@AccuWxBeck) July 31, 2016
Of course, he stole a dance:
On top of the Nittany Lion and blue band appearances, Mark and Carol had dozens of Penn Staters at the wedding. Six trumpets played Carol’s bridal processional before their ceremony and also played during photo ops throughout College Ave.
Check out the cake:
And of course, where else would two alumni have breakfast the next morning
I’m at Original Waffle Shop in State College, PA w/ @psumatt2005 @shortstuffcarol @psusteiny https://t.co/q6LK2JxZzN pic.twitter.com/2IjF2BSvdQ
— Mark P. (@map408psu) July 31, 2016
The couple’s loyalty to Penn State runs as deep as their love — Carol is the current president of the College of Arts and Architecture School of Music affiliate program’s alumni society and Mark has been the past president of the IST Alumni Society, the past president of the Alumni Blue Band, and is a current appointed member on the Alumni Council.
If you were planning the perfect Penn State wedding and could only pick one place to get engaged, what would it be? Surrounded by ducks at the Hintz-Alumni Center, of course, and that’s exactly what the Pobletes did on April 11, 2015. From then on they were quite busy with a wedding to plan and an Alumni Blue Band Homecoming Committee to co-chair. Clearly they pulled it off, and they’re reprising their roles as co-chairs this year.
