Wedding Date on Jan 2, 2020

Denée Benton and Carl Lundstedt were in the same graduating class at Carnegie Mellon University, where they both studied acting. “It was a very small program, so you get to know each other very quickly and well,” Carl says. Since then, Denée has been nominated for a Tony for her portrayal of Natasha in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, appeared in the Lifetime series Unreal, and played Eliza Hamilton on Broadway; Carl was in Joker and the TV shows Cloak & Dagger and Manifest. They had been dating for five-and-a-half years when, on a very regular Friday, Carl proposed. Denée, coming home from a voice lesson, was focused on getting home to chill out before performing later that night. “I was getting over a serious cold and a little hangry at the moment, looking extra busted, might I add,” she jokes. “I get a phone call from Carl saying that he ‘lost his wallet’ on a run, and he tricked me into meeting him at the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park to help him look for it.” After she arrived to help, Carl told her “security had found it at the Cloisters,” so under the guise of taking them to the lost and found, a curator escorted them on a tour through the museum. “At this point, I’m a little confused as to why we’re getting such special treatment just to look for a lost wallet,” Denée says. “We arrived at this gorgeous light-filled room and the curator left to ‘get the wallet,’ and as I turned to find a seat, I hear ‘Denée, you’re the love of my life,’ and I see Carl getting down on one knee. I thought he was joking, so I kept walking to my seat and then was struck by the reality that this was real and turned to him shocked saying, ‘Wait, now…? This is happening now?’ and all I’m thinking is, ‘My hands are ashy and I have on a headwrap!’ and then I heard, ‘Will you marry me?’ and then I short-circuited because I’m a control freak and wasn’t expecting it. Eventually, I woke up and said yes immediately and started crying once I caught my breath and realized the dream was coming true. The joke’s on me because my one requirement for our proposal was that he surprise me—even though I’m a controlling Capricorn and don’t really love surprises. He succeeded, and it’s one of the reasons I’m so happy we’re married, because spontaneity comes so naturally to him that our balance makes it beautiful.” the rest of their story, featured here: https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/denee-benton-carl-lundstedt-orlando-florida-wedding