Emily and Michael started their journey to forever at the Grande Oaks Country Club in Davie, Florida. They met at a social hosted by Michael’s Christian fraternity and dated for 4 years before Michael proposed. Read on as Emily shares all of the details.
From The Coordinated Bride, Emily
I was definitely not interested… he seemed like a total tool! However, at the end of the night, he came up to me and introduced himself to start off on the right foot. Fast forward to the next day, Michael messaged me, asking me to go with him to a haunted corn maze (around Halloween) with a bunch of friends. After replying that I would “check my calendar and get back” to him, my sister convinced me to take a chance, and I’m glad I did. After a few months of getting to know each other as friends and hanging out EVERY SINGLE DAY, Michael took me on our official first date– hiking, a picnic at the park, and finally asking me to be his girlfriend. After two years together at UF (Go Gators), I graduated and we went long distance.
The Proposal
I had hinted a couple of times that I would love for our whole family to be able to celebrate our engagement together when it finally happened. So, Michael secretly made a trip to meet my mom and design a ring for me with our family jeweler and ask both my parents for their blessing. A few weeks after, my parents and I were taking a trip up to Cincinnati the day after Christmas to visit my sister and her husband. My family and Michael were scheming for weeks and agreed that there would be no better time to propose than Christmas time (my favorite holiday) in the wintery weather of Ohio. Michael and his parents flew to Cincinnati the morning of the 27th. The proposal happened at Alms Park, a beautiful park with a wooden arch overlooking the Ohio River. There were Christmas wreaths and candles to decorate the arch that created a Christmas proposal to rival the ones I squealed over on Hallmark Channel. My family brought me to the park around sunset to a lookout point near the arch where I found a letter telling me to meet Michael by the arch so he could give me one last Christmas gift. After walking down to meet him, Michael got down on a knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.
The Wedding
I dreamed of a natural and light-filled wedding. I wanted to incorporate winter and natural elements, so I chose to use light gray as a central color. I focused on using greenery and white flowers to accentuate the natural beauty of our venue, with lots of garland and candles inside. My focus was to create a joyful day, so I put a lot of thought into the small details: letters to the guests welcoming and thanking them, a hand-crafted arch built by my father, personally-calligraphied signs, and heartfelt ornaments guests could take home to remember the joy that was felt.
Congratulations Michael and Emily! Here are some of the stunning images from Kristy & Vic Photography!
Jeweler: Linardi’s Jewelers || Photographer: Kristy & Vic Photography || Videographer: 5801 Wedding Cinema
