FAMILY & HOME
Wedded Bliss
Grooms: Joe Gfaller, director of marketing and public relations, Opera
Theatre of Saint Louis. He is a graduate of Harvard University.
Kraig Turner, assistant vice president - hardware asset management,
Citi; chorus manager, Gateway Men’s Chorus. He attended ITT
Technical Institute and University of Missouri.
Wedding Date: Feb. 11, 2017
Wedding Location: Grand Hall at St. Louis Union Station
How They Met
Joe and Kraig met on Feb. 11, 2012 through mutual friends with the
Gateway Men’s Chorus at a wine tasting in a private home near Tower
Grove Park. Joe had moved to St. Louis the previous year, and began
singing with the chorus in January. Kraig had been involved with GMC
for a number of years, and was volunteering as part of the production
crew. They found themselves as volunteers on several of the same
committees after Joe joined the GMC board of directors. In October
2012, Joe asked Kraig to join him for an Arturo Sandoval concert at The
Sheldon, and they eventually started dating.
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GAZELLE STL
The Proposa l
An annual meeting of opera marketing directors brought Joe to New
York City in October 2015. Kraig had joined Joe for the trip, and on a
Sunday afternoon, Joe suggested that they go rowing on Central Park
Lake (on the anniversary of their first date).
Kraig didn’t realize that Joe had arranged for his friend, Phoebe, to be
at the lake to capture his planned proposal. Apparently, Kraig was more
interested in rowing the boat in a different direction than where Joe’s
friend was stationed. While no photo was captured of the proposal,
Joe asked Kraig to marry him, and Kraig said, “Yes.” Kraig, Joe and
Phoebe (whose camera battery had almost died while waiting) had a
glass of Champagne at the boathouse (and yes, Joe got Kraig’s mother’s
approval to propose before they left for the trip).
The Wedding
Friends traveled from California, Florida and Massachusetts to
celebrate the February wedding, and the Rev. Laura Everett (a friend of
Joe’s) officiated. The couple has so many favorite memories of the day,
but a few stand out.