I Do, I Do: Renée Robinette and Scott O’Neal

“Our wedding was fairly traditional except for our Zombie wedding cake,” said newlyweds Renée Robinette and Scott O’Neal.

Decorated with tombstones, corpses and other spooky things, the towering confection from Jean-Jacques Bakery was topped with a vintage bride and groom rendered glamorously ghoulish by talented Renée.

“Everyone was saying, ‘Oh, that’s so Scott and Renée!’” she said with a smile.

Bringing new meaning to the phrase, “Our love will never die,” the couple bonded partly through their mutual attraction to the playful and macabre—horror movies on television and in particular the annual Carytown “Zombie Walk” in which wildly costumed un-dead stagger through the streets.

“Actually, it’s not totally grotesque—it’s a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society,” pointed out Scott, a VCU graduate with a master’s degree in Forensics Science and a position in VCU’s Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.

The former Columbus, Ind., resident, who grew up on a farm with parents Dick and Carolyn and siblings Kevin and Kelly, readily confessed his initial interest in the stylish Renée Robinette was more lively than zombie-like.

It was September 2006. “I had taken ballet for 14 years and I missed dancing. There was a void,” explained Renée, who had settled in Carytown after growing up with parents Gary and Janie and older brother Darren in Florida and then earning an associate’s degree at Tallahassee Community College.

An office administrator for Cornerstone Architects and a business administration student at VCU, Renée recalled constantly seeing a flyer for fencing lessons at the Richmond Fencing Club. Who turned out to be the coach for the beginners’ class but Scott O’Neal?

“Scott started fencing in college and ultimately became highly rated, competing at national and international levels,” said Renée proudly.

Scott explained, “Renée went to my next tournament and then I asked her out. On Dec. 15 we went to the Penny Lane Pub and then walked around the James Center enjoying the holiday lights.”

“Actually Scott and I had our first three dates in 24 hours,” said Renée. “The next afternoon we went to The Nutcracker Suite and later attended his office holiday party at The Science Museum.”

By the following October, the two had moved in together.

“I tested the waters for a long time,” recalled Scott. “I had subjected Renée to a lot—the zombie movies for one thing…we were both thinking about marriage.”
“I was quietly hoping,” was more like Renée remembered it.

Having made up his mind in the fall of ’08, Scott went in research mode—looking up rings, getting tips on making a proposal. So for their two-year anniversary, as the holidays were in full swing, he suggested a Dec. 12 dinner date at Penny Lane, the site of date number one.

Renée couldn’t stop thinking about proposal possibilities: “This would be the perfect night—this is storybook right here. But all through dinner, nothing was happening. I began to wonder…”

Toward the end of the meal, Renée left for the ladies room. Scott grabbed her cell phone and headed outside, quickly dialing Renée’s father.

Could he have cut it any closer?

“I worried if Renée’s mother knew beforehand that the news would be on Facebook before I even proposed,” he joked. Then he turned off Renée’s phone and returned inside.

“We went to Café Gutenberg for dessert and wine,” said Scott. After that, the couple strolled through the festive downtown streets bright with holiday lights.
“We were enjoying watching people and happy couples going by,” said Scott. “We came upon a display of wicker reindeer, and once we had privacy, I went down on my knees and proposed.”

Startled and thrilled, Renée said yes.

“A proposal next to wicker reindeer? It was a dream come true,” said Renée. “And the next morning when I called my parents, my father said ‘It’s about time!’”