Caitlin Skye Reichel did handstands at a corporate party in Orlando, Florida, the first time Kristy Marie Graziano saw her.
It was not unusual for Ms. Graziano to see circus professionals balancing upside down on their hands or forearms – after all, she is one herself and on that night in November 2016 she provided the entertainment for the event. But somehow Mrs. Reichel stood out.
“I didn’t know anything about her, but I wanted to be her friend,” said Mrs. Graziano.
The two had a brief conversation that night, and Mrs. Graziano even entered her numbers into Mrs. Reichel’s phone. Mrs. Reichel was dating someone at the time, so the phone number remained unused.
Fast forward three years. In December 2019, their mutual friend and fellow acrobat, Joshua Johnson, thought they might be a good match.
“They are both phenomenal performers,” Mr. Johnson said. “It’s hard for performers to match with non-performers because even when we’re not working, we still have to train, and few understand how much that imposes on our social lives.”
Plus, he added, “Kristy tends to be more serious and Caitlin more whimsical. I thought they could balance each other out and grow together.”
When he told each other about each other, including the fact that they are both strange, Ms. Graziano wasted no time and sent Ms. Reichel a friend request on Facebook. But Ms. Reichel barely uses the social media platform. Mr. Johnson had to tell her to check her bill.
Ms. Reichel, 29, spent the early years of her life traveling across the country and in Canada with the circus until her Dominican-American mother, Mary Reichel, and Jewish father, Steven Reichel, established a home base in Orlando. ninth birthday. They were clowns in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. (Her mother still performs independently with fire; her father retired from performing and now works in construction.)
Mrs. Reichel began training acrobatics as a child and studied classical ballet as a teenager. Her specialty is spinning up to 30 hula hoops at a time on different body parts, or less while pointe, juggling different hoops while doing splits and more. Her stage name is Caitlin Skye, and in addition to performing, she coaches and teaches circus arts independently, and she just started working with Cirque du Soleil in Orlando on the prop crew.
Ms. Graziano, 35, is an aerial artist, specializing in airside and duo trapeze, most often performed with a partner such as Duo Dames. Originally from Paducah, Kentucky, she has an associate degree in graphic design and commercial art from Nossi College of Art in Nashville.
She was introduced to circus arts while working in the costume department at the Walt Disney World Resort. A colleague there had invited her to join a class, and she immediately accepted. She also coaches and works in Cirque du Soleil’s rigging department.
Their Facebook messenger chats quickly turned into phone calls. When Mrs. Graziano gave her phone number to Mrs. Reichel, she realized she already had it in her phone.
Before going on a date, Ms. Reichel took Ms. Graziano’s aerial lesson in February 2020. While Mrs. Graziano invited Mrs. Reichel to stay afterwards to watch her and her partner rehearse, neither of them knew it would be another two hours before she finished, around 11:30 p.m.
When they walked to their car afterwards, they saw that the other was driving a Mini Cooper, which Mrs. Graziano took as a sign.
“She stayed alone all that time to have a few minutes with me,” Ms. Graziano said. “Later I called my trapeze partner and said, ‘That was really big. I like her so much.'”
Although their training and performance schedules didn’t allow for a real date for a bit longer, they visited each other during practice. It was during one of those visits that they shared their first kiss.
They went to a horror movie for their first date: “Gretel & Hansel.”
Consecutive dates took place at Universal CityWalk, part of Universal Orlando, and picnicking at a local cemetery. Mrs. Reichel especially likes cemeteries because they are peaceful, well-kept places; in Orlando, few places are free of tourists. Also, she said, “because people are there to be with their loved ones.”
By the time everything stops Covid in early 2020, including their work, they considered themselves a couple.
Dates now consisted of elaborate meals at home in Orlando and craft nights. One evening, Mrs. Graziano brought soup to a sick Mrs. Reichel. They put on their favorite movie, “It”, and Mrs. Reichel fell asleep on Mrs. Graziano. She had never felt so comfortable falling asleep on someone, she said.
Ms. Graziano said she “just wanted to keep holding her” even though she had a cramp in her arm.
Although they spent much of their free time together, they did not want to rush their relationship.
There was their age difference and the fact that Mrs. Reichel had less relationship experience. But at this point they all knew she was in love.
“I wasn’t overly emotional or sensitive before. I was a little cold,” Mrs. Reichel said. “Kristy warmed my heart and showed me how to truly love. She taught me how to love her, but also how to love my family and friends better.”
“In my previous relationships, I had lost the ability to laugh and have fun, and I laugh with Caitlin every day,” said Ms. Graziano. “Caitlin is so talented and I really admire her dedication, and I do the same for her.”
Although combining a ground act with an air act is not easy, the couple thinks about it a duo act that they can perform together. (Mrs. Reichel often does rotate point with her mother.)
In August 2021, Ms. Graziano moved into Ms. Reichel’s home in Orlando, where she lived with her terrier mutt, Samantha.
In October 2021, both women were hired to dress as fairies at a “Pirates of the Caribbean” themed wedding at Paradise Cove, and to interact with the guests and be part of the bridal party, even though they knew the couple does not. They both realized they could envision their own wedding at the venue, largely because it met one of their requirements: there was room for a trapeze installation.
Mrs. Graziano then got the Reichels’ blessing to marry their daughter. She then planned a trip to Las Vegas in November 2021. Ms. Reichel had her nails done while waiting.
But despite Ms. Reichel’s mother’s regular texts to Ms. Graziano asking if it had happened yet, the proposal would have to wait, since Vegas wasn’t exactly the romantic setting that Ms. Graziano was hoping for.
“Someone was throwing up in a corner, men were handing out leaflets with naked women,” Ms Graziano said. “It was dirty.” They shortened their stay there and headed for the Grand Canyon. Days after they returned, at the Reichels’ house, Mrs. Graziano put the aquamarine ring in a net bag tied to Samantha’s collar. When Mrs. Reichel saw it, Mrs. Graziano got down on one knee.
“I had that ring for a year and a half before I asked for it,” Ms. Graziano said. “I waited until I knew Caitlin wanted this.”
Mrs. Reichel also wanted to propose. She bought a ring similar to the one Mrs. Graziano had chosen, but with an alexandrite stone, and also proposed at her parents’ house, on her own birthday in March 2022.
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They were married on February 16 in front of 92 guests at Paradise Cove in Orlando by Mrs. Reichel’s sister, Amy Wright, who was ordained for the occasion by Universal Life Church. Both wore wedding dresses with a long train. Mrs. Reichel was walked down the aisle by her father, while Mrs. Graziano, who takes Mrs. Reichel’s name, was escorted by her older sister, Bobbi Billow.
“Seeing my sister not only loved overwhelmingly by her bride, but also embraced in a family that loves and accepts her, brought tears to tears,” said Ms Billow.
Both women wrote their own vows, which, unbeknownst to them, referred to “The Addams Family.”
“I promise to love you fiercely and irrationally like the most romantic couple ever portrayed, Gomez and Morticia,” Mrs. Graziano said, while Mrs. Reichel said, “You are the Morticia to my Gomez, but with better arms.”
At the reception there were performances by the trapeze act Duo Rose, who are close friends of the couple, as well as Mrs. Graziano’s trainers.
And then, in the “Don’t Say Gay” state, not only did their queer community show up with pride flags and other gear to bring a queer club vibe to the dance floor, but so did two drag queens, Chavela Belleza and Mr Ms Adrien, performed.
Mrs. Reichel told their guests, “When you are at our wedding, you show that you choose love in a world full of hate; you prove that you have love in your heart.
On this day
When February 16, 2023
Where Paradise Cove, Orlando, Fla.
The Rings The brides exchanged rings made from the wedding band of Mrs. Reichel’s paternal grandmother, Hilda Reichel. It was split in half to make two.
Piece of tradition Each bride broke a glass underfoot in a Jewish ritual at the end of the ceremony. Theirs were in custom bags with rainbow cords, put in place by Mr. Johnson, playing matchmaker.
The bartender A retired circus burro named Jenny carried beer bottles in her saddle bag.
Table Toppers Mrs. Graziano created four-sided illuminated boxes as the centerpiece. Each side had a silhouette of a bride performing, or them performing together.