Tanner & Kitty – October 18, 2025

What was the main theme of your wedding? How did it all work together?
The wedding was designed to blend fall themes with tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons. Fall is our favorite season, and gaming has been a shared hobby since we met, so bringing the two together felt natural. The décor incorporated red, orange, yellow, and green leaves, along with pumpkins and other festive fall elements.

For the event, the groom wore a D20-style tie and cufflinks, while the groomsmen and bridal attendants—since the wedding party was mixed gender—wore D20 cufflinks, necklaces, and earrings. The bride wore a white pantsuit and carried a bouquet of red and black roses and lilies, along with a sword she held during the ceremony.

The entrance table featured a wooden D20-shaped sign-in “guest book,” where guests wrote messages on small wooden pieces and placed them into the display. The table also included a blue dragon scale made by one of the bridal attendants, originally used when the bride proposed to the groom, a blue dragon miniature from that same game, and the character sheets. The cake was purple and red, topped with figurines used during the event and a collection of dragons.

Our venue of choice was the Meyer Ballroom at Paramount Theatre, with the ceremony held in the Atrium and the reception in the Meyer Ballroom. Kaitlin and I moved to Aurora while I was finishing my PhD, and over the six years we lived there, we fell in love with the Paramount. We attended plays regularly and eventually became season ticket holders because we didn’t want to miss a single production. When it came time to choose a wedding venue, the Paramount was an easy first choice, and we secured our date as quickly as possible. It remains one of our favorite places, and we were so happy to celebrate our special day there.

Tell us a bit about you!
Robert Tanner Bivens, PhD (who goes by his middle name, Tanner), is a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University. Kaitlin McClendon (who goes by the nickname Kitty) is a Certified Medical Assistant preparing to return to college to pursue her medical doctorate.

Tanner was born in West Virginia and spent most of his life in Virginia before moving to Ohio for undergraduate studies and to Illinois for graduate school. Kitty is from Boardman, Ohio.

The two met during undergrad while playing a cross-campus game called Humans vs. Zombies, a form of tag that incorporates bandannas and Nerf blasters. From that moment on, they formed a bond that would eventually blossom into their wedding on October 18th.

Both Kitty and Tanner share a love of games in all forms, including video games, board games, and tabletop roleplaying games. They also have a long-standing appreciation for theater, which ultimately drew them to Paramount Theatre after moving to Aurora together.

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