It began with the brigadeiros.
Cocoa, condensed milk, and butter rolled into a ball and coated with chocolate sprinkles. The celebrated Brazilian confection was a first step toward Alladson Barreto and Josh Boehm realizing they were meant for each other. It would become one of several threads running through their relationship, threads that wove a distinctive pattern and eventually formed the fabric of their wedding, and of their marriage.
They had met on the dating app Hinge. “It’s definitely a modern-day romance,” said Josh, a Kansas City native, with a laugh. “I guess that’s the only way that our worlds would have collided.” After chatting for a day or so, they arranged to meet at Café Corazón. Alladson was in the middle of a production, Cinderella, but he found time to sip coffee and, afterward, take a stroll with Josh through the Crossroads District and eventually to the Kauffman Center.
There they stopped, in front of the Center. “And that’s where we decided to have our first kiss,” Josh said. “I wanted him to think about me every time he goes to the Kauffman Center.” Spontaneously, Alladson invited Josh to the Ballet that weekend. It didn’t matter that he was dancing one of the Ugly Stepsisters, and in drag. Or that it happened in the middle of an ice storm.
Josh loved Cinderella, so when Alladson asked him if he wanted to accompany him on a New York trip the following week, he said Why not. The spur-of-the-moment nature of it appealed to them both. “That was only 10 days after our first meeting,” Josh said. “If it were not for that spontaneous trip, I’m not sure we would be together today, because that really forced us to bond quickly.”
They met again at a rehearsal for the Ballet’s New Moves in March, after which they dined at Lidia’s. There they started a second thread: Two years later, their wedding rehearsal dinner would be at Lidia’s.
A third thread was in the works. After dinner Josh was supposed to take Alladson home but instead “ended up stopping at the Kauffman Center, again,” the dancer said. “And he turned on ‘our song’ and asked me to be his boyfriend.” (At their wedding, John Legend’s All of Me would accompany the couple’s First Dance.)
They were falling crazily in love. “I liked everything about him,” Alladson said. “He was very curious to know about me, about where I came from, about my family. And I liked the way he cares about his family, his friends, the people around him. He is very genuine and he likes to make everybody happy. … and he’s a very spontaneous person.”
Josh said it wasn’t clear yet that marriage was their goal. “But you could tell that there was a strong fire burning between us, and we just had to keep that flame alive. And we did.” Josh works in a field very different from Alladson’s: He is project manager for Sunflower Health Plan, a subsidiary of Centene Corporation, the nation’s largest supplier of Medicaid.
He is also an enthusiastic outdoorsman with a penchant for hiking in national parks: 39 so far. Thus while Alladson introduced Josh to dance, Josh drew Alladson into his passion for exploring parks.
An exhilarating courtship deserved a spectacular wedding proposal. It happened on a trip to Brazil in July 2024, where Josh got to meet Alladson’s family and friends for the first time. Josh found just the right place and time: Pipa Beach, near Natal. On bended knee he presented the Tiffany’s ring. Overcome with joy, Alladson said yes.
The next nine months were consumed with the daunting details involved in planning a high-end wedding. Fortunately Josh’s mother, Rosalind Boehm, a woman with a sharp eye and impeccable taste, agreed to assist. Jonathan Boehm, his father, lent moral support.
The happy couple has one bit of practical advice for anyone contemplating marriage: Hire a good wedding planner. “A big wedding has a lot of details,” Josh said.
One of their main goals was to make the Kauffman’s Brandmeyer Hall lobby “look completely different,” Alladson said. “Most of my guests were dancers who are there every week. … So I wanted them to walk in and not recognize the place.”
Thanks to their planner, Hannah Schumm, Studio Dan Meiners, a cake by Kay Benjamin (Take the Cake by Kay), Melissa & Beth Photography, and many other vendors, they were able to make the dream come true. Even Kauffman Center employees said they had never seen anything like it.
Another great thing about having a top-drawer planner is “if there are last-minute problems or craziness on the day of the wedding, you don’t ever hear about them,” Alladson said. One aspect of ancient tradition they did uphold. “We didn’t see each other after the rehearsal dinner, or the whole next day,” Alladson said. “He was with his wedding party, I was with mine … until we walked down the aisle.”
At the center of the proceedings was a fundamental sadness, however. Alladson’s mother, Aladjane Tercia Barreto, had died of cancer in 2020: Although her son was at home during her last months, Aladjane was not able to experience this latest new-found happiness. “She would have loved Josh so much,” Alladson said. Moreover, after three attempts none of the immediate family—neither his father, Marcilio Mariano, nor his four siblings—was unable to obtain visas to attend the wedding.
More threads from the couple’s lives emerged at the reception, during the dances. When John Legend’s All of Me played for their First Dance, it brought to mind the crucial moments it had already accompanied in their courtship: this time with fireworks, which went off outside the Kauffman’s expansive windows mid-song.
Josh danced the Mother-Son Dance with his Mom; for his dance, Alladson was joined by the only family member who could be present, his cousin Ana Claudia Barreto. Then agroup of Ballet dancers performed choreographed number that is customary at Brazilian weddings. Just as surprising was an appearance by a local celebrity, KC Wolf.
The future is bright for the couple: they both agree they want children, possibly soon. “We’re both ready for that next phase in our lives,” Josh said, “ready to hop into that life. It’s definitely something that we are researching, trying to decide what is the best path for us. Maybe a year after getting married.”
Their first anniversary is on May 24th, so anything could happen. Do they offer advice for couples who are thinking of marrying? “Find somebody you communicate well with,” Josh said. “Attraction matters, but trust and communication are the most important things.” Alladson agreed, adding: “Make sure you can be yourself, truly yourself, always. … Just be honest with yourself and with the other person.”
And to reiterate: “Hire a wedding planner,” he said. “Because this is hard.”
