Date: Ceremony on Sept. 5; reception on Nov. 12

Her story: Carrie Lancos, 37, was born and raised in Columbia. She is a publications specialist at AstraZeneca in Gaithersburg. Her parents, Steve and Joan Lancos, live in Columbia.

His story: Sean O'Quinn, 34, grew up in Pickaway, W.Va. He works as a scientist at a pharmaceutical company. His parents, Dale and Karen O'Quinn, live in Pickaway.

Their story: The two met in July 2007 at work. Carrie had just started a job as an editorial and production assistant at a pharmaceutical consulting company, United Biosource Corp. in Bethesda.

“Sean was one of the scientific staff that I was supporting, and he was the first scientist to come to my desk and introduce himself,” Carrie recalled. “He ended up giving me my first production assignment.”

The two quickly became friends and “excellent working partners,” she said.

Carrie was surprised that Sean wasn't an “older academic type” with whom she wouldn't have much in common.

“Instead he was a guy my age with a similar sense of humor who was great to talk to,” she said.

They started dating in 2011.

The two live in Columbia.

The proposal: Sean proposed to Carrie on March 10. The two were in Fairbanks on the last stop of a two-week Alaskan vacation, where they went on an aurora borealis photography workshop tour.

Unbeknownst to Carrie, Sean had been communicating with the tour guides to set up the surprise proposal.

That night — during near-zero-degree temperatures — Sean signaled to the tour guides that he was ready to propose while the group was packing up camera gear.

The tour guides got into position to photograph the proposal. Carrie thought that they were taking a regular picture as a memento. She had no idea that when Sean said the secret code phrase — “Could you take one more?” — that he was about to ask her to marry him.

Sean got down on his knee in the snow as the photographer captured the moment.

“Are you doing what I think you're doing?” Carrie asked.

Venue: The two eloped and held a wedding ceremony on Matanuska Glacier in Glacier View, Alaska, on Sept. 5.

“We're kind of private people,” Carrie said. “We wanted it to be very special. Alaska is so important for us. We couldn't imagine uprooting two families, have them fly up and have them get married on a glacier.”

They held a reception for 55 guests about two months later at Historic Oakland in Columbia.

Flowers and decor: Reception flowers were provided by Clarksville Flower Station. Flowers for the ceremony and reception were green and purple — a nod to the colors of the northern lights.

Her dress: Carrie wore a Sottero and Midgley dress made of ivory tulle with an illusion back and neckline from Betsy Robinson's Bridal Collection. She wore Pajar Riga 2 snow boots.

Men's attire: Sean wore a three-piece Joseph Abboud suit purchased at Men's Wearhouse. He completed the outfit with Pajar Alex-G snow boots.

Music: David Bach Trio provided the music for the reception.

Food and dessert: Putting on the Ritz provided the food for the reception. Dinner and appetizers consisted of a grilled cheese sandwich station, an antipasto station, mini Maryland crab cakes, Cuban sandwiches and sliders, Belgian endive with hummus, and coconut chicken bites.

Desserts, provided by Kupcakes & Co., included cake truffles, brownie bites and cookie bites.

Instead of a wedding cake, Carrie and Sean served three flavors of mini cupcakes, also from Kupcakes & Co.