Grace + Trae

STORY BY LIESEL SCHMIDT PHOTOGRAPHY BY EMILY, BEAUTY OF THE SOUL STUDIO WEDDING BY GUNSTON HALL

When Grace Sovine and Trae Mazza met as high schoolers in 2010, the two immediately had a connection—but timing wasn’t on their side. “I was hanging out with a few friends when Trae ran past with one of his family’s dogs, Luna,” Grace recalls of their first meeting. “Luna caught my attention first, followed quickly by Trae’s blue eyes. It wasn’t until two years later, when we were seniors, that we finally got together.”

A couple of years of dating came to an end when the distance between their two colleges became an obstacle, though love won out in the end and brought them back together in 2016. Two years later, Trae asked Grace to be his bride. “I had planned to go to a concert with a friend the day he actually planned to propose, but Trae was adamant that we needed to go on a hike in Shenandoah National Park that Saturday,” recalls Grace, who owns her own company consulting on virtual events, while Trae works in offensive cyber security. “Halfway through the hike, we paused for a snack and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!”

Two years later, on October 10, 2020, they married in a small backyard ceremony at Grace’s mother’s home in Woodbridge, VA. A year following, the couple held a wedding celebration, including a vow renewal and reception, on October 23, 2021, at Gunston Hall. Wearing a long-sleeved, off-the-shoulder lace gown with a removable tulle overskirt, Grace exchanged vows for the second time with Trae—this time in front of their loved ones. After being pronounced married, they joined their guests for a buffet catered by Teatime Catering before cutting into a carrot cake and indulging in donuts from Duck Donuts. After being sent off, the couple honeymooned in Kauai, Hawaii, and are now back home, expecting a new Mazza.