Nisi Sturgis & Jordan Coughtry
Sept. 21, 2013 • Thorncrown Chapel, Eureka Springs

Here is their beautiful story:

The relationship of Conway native and "Boardwalk Empire" actress Nisi Sturgis and actor Jordan Coughtry is something out of a Shakespearean play, literally. The two met briefly back in 2006 at a Shakespeare Theatre they were both acting at, but then didn't meet again for two years. "After two years of our separate lives' rollercoaster rides, we bumped into each other randomly in New York City and learned that we were going to be working at the theatre again later that month," Jordan says. Nisi was going to play Stella in a "A Streetcar Named Desire" and Jordan was going to play Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet." This is Jordan's account of their reunion:

"When I arrived at the actor house, I dropped my bags and went to the theatre to see her in the most stunning performance I’d seen in a long, long time. Afterward, back at the house, I was about to climb the stairs to my room when I caught Nisi at the top of the staircase.  She was on the phone, so I mouthed to her how wonderful she was.  She asked her friends to hang on, came downstairs, gave me a big hug and whispered, 'Welcome home,' in my ear. We’ve been together ever since."

The couple dated for more than four years, acting together in "Trelawney of the Wells" where they played a young couple, engaged to be married. Jordan recalls how early on in their relationship, Nisi had mentioned she had always had a fantasy of being proposed to during what they call "talkbacks"-- where the actors come back out on stage and the audience can ask them questions about the play. That quickly became Jordan's fantasy, too, and it's just what happened.

During the last talkback for "Trelawny," Jordan's mom and dad secretly drove down from upstate New York, and his brother and sweetheart secretly drove up from Washington, DC. The artistic director talked to the managing director of the theater, and she set up her daughter as a plant in the audience to ask the last question at the talkback, “What is it like to be sweethearts in real life and to play sweethearts on stage?” Nobody else knew about it. When the question came, Jordan told the audience that they had met here at that particular theatre years ago, and said, “Since then, I’ve wanted to do this” and he got on one knee and proposed.

THE DETAILS

Photographer: Melissa Brawner Photography

Cakes: Meridienne, Bentonville

Bride's attire: Time After Time Vintage Clothing, Madison, N.J.

Guest accommodations: Laughlin House Bed & Breakfast, Bentonville