Bits and pieces of what makes Olney Friends School unique added a special touch to a wedding that united two members of the faculty in June.
Humanities teachers Emily Carton and Eric Lundblade were married on June 13, 2015, in a ceremony held at a home owned by Emily’s parents on Cape Cod, Mass. It was an ideal location for the wedding of two Humanities teachers/history buffs since the original portion of the house was built in 1691.
Emily hails from the New York metro area while Eric is from Portland, Ore., so their wedding drew guests from coast to coast. And although the couple met in a class on Religion in American Politics at Haverford College, much of their time together has been spent at Olney. In fact, they even taught a high school version of the class where they met for the students at Olney.
The couple came to Olney in August 2013 after they both had spent time working in Philadelphia. Because they both developed a deep love for the school – even as their love for one another was growing – Eric and Emily announced their engagement with photos taken on the Olney campus. Guests to their wedding were greeted with welcome bags featuring snacks made with maple syrup produced by Olney students.
“We have been together for seven years, and we probably started talking about marriage three or four years ago,” Emily said. “But after a year of working at Olney and acting as pseudo-parents to 40-plus teenagers, we realized we were meant to be together.”
Following the wedding ceremony, the couple departed for a honeymoon that began in Bejing, China. There they spent five days at the Happy Trees Gallery with the family of Yi Zhang `15. They next traveled to Suzhou, China, where Tony Tang `15 met them for lunch. Tony later served as a guest lecturer for an English Language Learning program Eric was teaching at Shenzhen Senior High School.
To express appreciation to their wedding guests and well-wishers, Emily and Eric designed a thank-you card that features an illustration of the two of them drawn by Kefan Bai `15. So, despite the fact that they were married in Massachusetts and honeymooned in China, the couple carried Olney with them throughout the entire celebration of their love.
“Even though we were far away from our wedding location, it was really fun planning a wedding while at Olney,” Emily added. “The students wanted to be involved every step of the way, and they offered some really great – and some not so great but entertaining – ideas.”
Emily returned to Olney in late July while Eric remained in China to complete the instruction of the ELL program. Once both are back on the Olney campus, they plan to share an office in the Main. Emily serves not only as a Humanities teacher, but also as academic coordinator. Eric will again teach Humanities and a variety of electives.
