Corey Rae, a transgender model and activist, has become a married woman!
The date of June 15 was picked for its importance since it comes with Corey’s birth month and Pride. Rae, who is 31 years old, sealed the knot with her fiancé Lyle Seebeck, who is 29 years old and works as a senior technical account manager.
“We are two very different individuals that come from two very different backgrounds each and every day. I am a Jewish transgender woman who was born in Los Angeles and raised in New Jersey by a mother who was sometimes a single parent. Financial stability was not a constant in our home,” Rae says in an interview with PEOPLE.
“Lyle is a midwestern boy with strong southern roots, born into a more wealthy family, and had never knowingly met a trans person before me,” Rae goes on to add. “We are a ‘unlikely’ pairing, but we fell in love because of the differences and similarities that we share, as well as all of the highs and lows that we have both experienced in our lives that have contributed to both of us becoming the people that we are today….” The harmony that exists between our yin and yang is what makes us the ideal couple.
Her attendance at the 2019 Golden Globe Awards, which she shared with her close friend Amber Heard, brought Rae to the attention of the whole country.
Rae had a significant turning point in her life during her middle school years. This occurred after she read a story in People magazine about a transgender adolescent who felt as if they were “trapped in the wrong body.”
“Working towards changing the way people perceive and treat trans people,” she says, she is now working as an activist, model, speaker, and writer. Today, she represents transgender individuals.
At a performance by Rufus du Sol in November 2021, the two individuals ran across one other by happenstance. They were traveling on a party bus with a group of pals. “At the end of the night Lyle kissed me goodnight, and I told him he could take me out on a date if he wanted to see me again,” recalls Rae in response. We went on our first date a few days later, and it didn’t take us long to know that this was the person we had been looking forward to and had been waiting for. Both of us fell in love.
With Rae adding, “located across the way from the concert venue where we first met,” Seebeck made his proposal in April of 2023 in the Exposition Park Rose Garden.
There were 175 friends and family members of the couple who gathered at Seebeck’s family home in the north suburbs of Chicago for the couple’s wedding in June. The couple’s love for one another was on full show during the wedding, which took place in June.
“When it came time to start planning, there was no decision but for us to host our wedding at Lyle’s family estate,” Rae says in an interview with PEOPLE. “The location for the ceremony was an easy one to choose.” On the very same weekend that we announced our engagement, we went ahead and asked Lyle’s grandma.
“It’s a magical property that’s been the setting of many of Lyle’s most precious memories, especially those with his late mother, Elizabeth,” she explains further. “Planning at a family home came with its complications, and while other venues such as Millennium Park did cross our mind, we stuck to our vision that ‘the farm,’ as the family calls it, was the perfect place for us.”
The personal vows that Rae and Seebeck made were said to have taken place under two trees that had leaves that connected to one another, which Rae describes as “our chuppah’canopy.”
It was apparent that the “Fairytale Garden Party” motif was present throughout the whole wedding and reception, from the baby pink vinyl dance floor and bar to the expansive tent with a glass top. At each of the cocktail tables, there were little white vases that were brimming with roses in shades of hot pink and brilliant melon. In addition, a little butterfly with a vivid pattern was included into each arrangement.
The reception was decorated with transparent chiavari chairs, glass candle stick holders, and pink glass goblets, all of which symbolized the ageless nature of love tales. Gold was used to provide a touch of sophistication to the rimmed plates, rimmed glasses, and gold-brushed silverware, all of which contributed to the overall atmosphere.
However, the process of organizing the wedding was not devoid of both positive and negative aspects. Initially, the couple chose to employ an event planning company; but, in the end, they made the decision to take a more hands-on approach and design the multi-day event in collaboration with Jaclyn Duffield of JDetailed Events, a local wedding planner.
Due to the fact that they were actively engaged in the planning process, the couple was able to make certain that the wedding and reception were exactly what they want.
The two individuals not only added their own unique touches to the wedding, but they also included a number of Jewish customs there. During the ceremony, the bride walked down the aisle by herself as a “statement that she was giving herself to Lyle on her own.”
According to Rae, she sought inspiration for her wedding weekend clothes from “fashion icons including Blake Lively, Victoria Beckham, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, and Princess Diana,” with a hint to the glitter of old Hollywood.
During the process of shopping for her gown, Rae tried on “more than one hundred dresses from seven different boutiques” before settling on “the one” from NWLA by Nadia Williamson. The dress was a Pronovias princess organza gown with a sweetheart neckline, and she took it off the rack and had Nano, of Tailored by Ted, make the necessary adjustments. Her Pronovias “royal length” pearl adorned veil was another item that she purchased from NWLA.
The simplicity of the gown appealed to me, and once I put it on, I knew it was the one. Initially, I wanted something that was tight and sensual, but the simplicity of the gown spoke to me. According to Rae, it was refined, elegant, and an enduring classic.
Seebeck, on the other hand, was dressed in a dark blue tuxedo outfit from The Black Tux, which had black lapels, and patent leather shoes by Calvin Klein.
Guests were served a variety of appetizers during the reception, including hearts of palm ceviche, crispy pakora battered cauliflower, fresh pear, and vegan goat cheese bruschetta. Following the reception, they were served a dinner consisting of vegetarian nigiri and seafood maki, ginger braised chicken and grilled shrimp, salmon kabobs with sweet peppers and onions, Greek marinated chicken with lemon and oregano, and mini cheeseburgers and tater tots of the Au Cheval style.
A vintage Barbie and Ken cake topper that Corey acquired from Etsy sat atop the cake, which was a two-tiered cake with a Lambeth-inspired design and a vintage-inspired design. “As guests were filing into the tent, a wedding guest bumped into the cake table and it toppled over and onto the ground,” Rae said in her testimony. “The caterers did what they could to salvage the rest so we could have something to cut and feed one another!”
Following the conclusion of the ceremony, Rae changed into two distinct garments: a halter-top dress designed by Victoria Beckham for Mango and a silk jumpsuit purchased from Nasty Gal Boutique.
There were also personal details, such as Rae’s engagement ring, Seebeck’s wedding band, and Seebeck’s wedding band, all of which were crafted by Seebeck’s late mother, Judy, who had a company called Judabud Jewelry and specialized in the production of exquisite jewelry.
Guests were brought to tears throughout the ceremony, which included string players playing Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” as Seebeck and the bridal party made their way to the ceremony, as well as the Kacey Musgraves rendition of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” as Rae came down the aisle.
Rae recalls, “For the recessional, as we walked out together, they played ‘You Belong with Me.'” She goes on to claim that this was the same song that was played when she became the first transgender person to be announced as the prom queen.
As the couple reflected on their special day, they came to the conclusion that the ending outcome was “magical.”
“It was felt by everyone. For Rae, it was the epitome of perfection. “Even the imperfections like the cake falling over, a blackout happening an hour before the party ended (so we kept it going a bit longer), all those things that ‘went wrong’ helped the wedding feel real.”
Her next statement is as follows: “If it’s too perfect, it doesn’t feel right.” The whole of the weekend was our idea of perfection, and we do not have any regrets about it.
The couple’s decision to say “I do” is a precious moment in their relationship.
“It means committing to the person who makes me feel my best and that I want to be the best for,” according to Rae while discussing marriage. “It means always keeping other people in mind and carrying on a heritage that began with your family. It is a sign of success. It entails bringing our families together. It entails joining together as one and bringing it to light. It implies developing and progressing together, as a single entity.
Following in Rae’s footsteps, Seebeck continues by saying, “[Marriage] means being solemnly dedicated to one another, regardless of what happens.” The marriage of my parents served as a model for me to follow in terms of how adults can collaborate and construct a life together at the same time. My father was the ultimate caregiver when my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and my mother was the consummate nurturer throughout her life. “This is my opportunity to model my family-building endeavors after theirs.”
As the pair anticipates what is ahead, they express their excitement about what lies ahead and how much they can’t wait for it.
“My goal is to prove that trans women can be and do anything,” says Rae in response. Together, we demonstrate that the overused adage “love is love” is, in fact, accurate. We were both raised by moms who were willing to go to any lengths for us, who strived to provide us with the finest education and home life possible, and who instilled in us the values of being open-minded and compassionate.
The model continues by saying, “Neither one of us would be where we are today if it weren’t for them.” “We hope to continue the love we felt from our parents and our ability to see the other side of the coin and different perspectives and bring that into our future family.”
