OCCUPATIONS Mia owns the popular bridesmaid shop Garnish Boutique and Christian is a sales engineer for Econochill. NUMBER OF ATTENDEES 185 NUMBER OF ATTENDANTS 6 HOW THEY MET Christian was living in Philadelphia at the time, but kept his boat in a marina in Federal Hill. He made a regular routine of driving down to Baltimore during the middle of his work- week to check on his boat. I was in grad school and had just finished with a big exam and decided to grab a bite and drink at the local marina bar with a friend. Christian had come over to order a drink and was standing behind me. As I turned to go to the bathroom, I accidentally bumped into him. I said, “Excuse me” and apologized. Later on he made his way back over to me and said “Oww”… the rest is history. THE ENGAGEMENT After a long day at work, I was eager to get home. Christian had made me dinner and afterwards he asked if I wanted to go sit in the backyard. When he opened the patio door, I could see that he had arranged little lanterns all around. I walked outside and heard him ask, “would you like some wine”, when I turned to answer yes, he was there with the ring. He asked, “ Will you be my wifey for lifey?” Of course, I said yes—again. A DATE THEY’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER The first New Years we spent together. Christian had been dying to get me out on his boat, but because of the time of year, sailing was pretty difficult. Determined to get me out on the water, he decided to turn his boat into a New Years destination. It was perfectly decorated, with dinner and wine and we even got to watch the fireworks from the deck of the boat. WEDDING DESIGN INSPIRATION From our china pattern, we had chosen a pattern that had a dragonfly motif. While having our engagement pictures taken a lil dragonfly kept flying around us—so quickly we saw a theme developing. We included the dragonfly as well as other fun summer insects in our décor to complete our garden themed event. WEDDING COLORS Cream, khaki, orange WHAT WAS UNIQUE ABOUT THEIR WEDDING We tried to incorporate all our favorite things in the celebration, both personal and creative, from the jumping of the broom to having gold fish in our centerpieces. FAVORITE DETAILS The gospel choir, our favorite children’s book, which served as our reading and our favors, the confetti poppers at the end of our wedding—a surprise to all the guests. MOST UNEXPECTED EVENT ON THEIR WEDDING DAY Christian being called up on stage to play drums with the band. Apparently, he had traveled to practice with them and arranged a special set for the wedding reception. It was so a surprise to us all and completely unexpected. Our guests loved it! WORDS TO DESCRIBE THEIR WEDDING Colorful, playful, charming. ONE THING THEY LEARNED Not to stress! The morning of our wedding we woke up to tons of rain with few backup options for our outdoor wedding and reception. Most would consider this to be a bride and groom’s nightmare, but we are still convinced that it was all the positive energy that broke the clouds and blessed us with beautiful blue skies. At least now we can say it rained on our wedding day, we heard it is good luck. PIECE OF ADVICE For all the time and energy you put into your wedding as a couple, take time to enjoy the day and each other. Most importantly enjoy your friends and family. Our thought was, how many times in your life would you ever get to hand pick all you favorite people to share a special moment with? Cherish that day. HONEYMOON DESTINATION A cross-country trip, something we both have always wanted to do.