Interview with the wonderful Erin + Mike:
HOW DID YOU MEET? We met on eHarmony! We were matched in May 2012, chatted through email and phone for a month, and then had our first date at a Mexican restaurant. We got married exactly two years later!
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU THE MOST TO YOUR HUSBAND/WIFE?
Erin– What attracted me most to Mike was his sense of humor and his kind personality. His laugh is contagious, and he is happy ALL THE TIME. I had never met someone who was so happy and who could make me so happy.
Mike– Besides being drop dead gorgeous, Erin is one of the most considerate and genuine individuals that I have ever met, even in the smallest instances. For example, not only did she offer me the last strawberry in our frozen yogurt on our second date, but she also made sure that I had a napkin at dinner on our third date.
HOW DID HE PROPOSE? Mike proposed on Valentine’s Day February 14, 2013. He originally planned on proposing on a private sunset cruise around Miami Beach, but the guy with the yacht canceled on him about an hour before he was supposed to pick me up. He quickly booked a couples’ massage at the Ritz Carlton in Miami Beach. Before the massage, he gave me a teddy bear holding a lottery ticket. When I scratched off the ticket, it read, “Will you marry me?” After much squealing and crying with joy, I said yes, and we enjoyed our massage. He then took me to Texas de Brazil for a romantic dinner, and that weekend he had a final surprise of taking me on a cruise to the Bahamas.
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR VISION FOR YOUR WEDDING? Erin grew up in Melbourne Beach, Florida, which is where the wedding took place. We took advantage of the beautiful beach surroundings and added our own style with our favorite shades of blue, types flowers, and gorgeous starfish and seashells (using helpful pictures from Pinterest to give to our vendors).
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR VENUE: After looking at many different venues, we decided on the Crowne Plaza Melbourne Oceanfront. We wanted a place that had a nice deck with a beautiful beach view, and the Crown definitely had that! We also wanted a place that would meet our vision regarding the food and reception style (by the way, the food was delicious!), and it also helped to have a venue close to the church because almost everyone was coming from out of town.
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST PLANNING CHALLENGE? We live in Miami, so planning a wedding from a different city was a bit challenging. We had to travel many weekends to Melbourne as well as do a lot of the planning through email and phone calls. However, thanks to Erin’s parents and our wedding planner Susan Coggins, we were able to plan the best wedding imaginable!
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE DESIGN ELEMENT OF YOUR WEDDING? The overall colors and theme were our favorite design elements. Our colors were a blue/azure as the main color and fuchsia/pink as the secondary color. We had a beach theme which incorporated many different types of starfish and seashells. Starfish were used as boutonnieres, and they were also in my hair and in my bouquet. Little shells were on all of the place cards, and there were tropical flowers and shells as centerpieces. Even our wedding cake had beautiful blue ribbon, stargaze lilies, and seashells, all surrounded by edible sand that had our names drawn in it.
DID YOU HAVE ANY DIY DETAILS? The place cards were all made by my Erin and her friend Magda. Magda wrote the names in calligraphy while Erin glued the shells. Magda is also the one who made Erin’s personalized garter that was adorned with lace and had a starfish charm with a blue jewel in it. Erin typed up and printed out all of the church programs, and our wedding planner did the menus for the reception. Erin’s parents also created a tribute to us using pictures from our childhood and displayed it during the reception.
WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF YOUR WEDDING DAY? While we would love to say that the vows were the most memorable moment of our wedding day, it was actually the cutting of the cake. Erin specifically reminded Mike that this was to be classy and that no smearing of the cake was to ruin her makeup. When Erin went to cut a slice of cake, she did not realize that she was trying to cut through the blue ribbon (she thought it was fondant). Mike then tried to scoop up the piece, but the cake server got caught in the ribbon, and the piece of cake flew into Erin’s wedding dress– right between “the girls”. Embarrassed, Erin did not know what to do, but after much egging on, Mike went after the cake not with his fingers but with his mouth. So much for classy, but at least it didn’t ruin Erin’s makeup!
DESCRIBE YOUR CAKE: We had two cakes at the wedding- the groom’s cake and the wedding cake. The groom’s cake was a tribute to us meeting on eHarmony. It was in the shape of Mike’s laptop and was designed to look like the exact model. The sugar screen depicted a picture of us wearing Chip and Dale hats (because we both love goofy hats) and had a message thanking eHarmony for bringing us together. The laptop portion was made of chocolate cake with raspberry filling and chocolate fudge frosting, covered by black fondant to match the color of Mike’s actual laptop.
The wedding cake was a four-tiered square cake that was beach themed. The layers alternated between almond cake with vanilla buttercream frosting and raspberry chambord cake with fudge frosting. The outside was white fondant with azure blue ribbon outlining each layer. It was also decorated with white and pink stargazer lilies and blue orchids made of sugar, and white seashells and starfish made out of white chocolate. Instead of being on a cake stand, the cake was surrounded by edible sand that had our names written in it. It was the perfect touch to our beach wedding, and the cake tasted absolutely heavenly! It was the best cake that we had ever tasted, and it certainly was the most beautiful cake that we had ever seen!
HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER? Our photographers Sara and Jason were great! Their communication and willingness to help adjust to our needs made everything a lot less stressful for us. They were so nice and patient, and they really helped us to relax and have fun. They were really creative, too. We felt like supermodels! Our sneak peak photos are fantastic! Everyone has said that they look like they could be on the cover of a magazine. Sara and Jason made the process an easy one, and they kept in contact with us throughout our planning process. Thank you Sara and Jason! Concept Photography is the best!
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND AS A COUPLE? We are currently looking for a house.
CAN YOU PLEASE LIST YOUR VENDORS:
Photography: Concept Photography
Videography: CC Video
Reception: Crowne Plaza Melbourne Oceanfront
Wedding planner: Susan Coggins with Wedding Belles
Cake: Creative Cakes by Dawn
Flowers: Petals Florist
Lighting/Draping: FabEvents
Band: Uptown Music
Photo booth: Provo Photo Booths
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We have been so excited to share Robin + Jeff’s engagement pics! Exploring the Rollins College campus with them was a ton of fun. Such a gorgeous couple (inside + out), and we can’t wait for their April wedding in Savannah, GA!

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Interview with the awesome Elizabeth + RJ:
HOW DID YOU MEET?
At a jags game, in September 2010, in the beer line, we then figured out we’d met in college 10 years prior!
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU THE MOST TO YOUR HUSBAND/WIFE?
To my husband: his smile and positivity, his animated character and of course his good looks
To my wife: her energy, her curly hair and her commitment to family
HOW DID HE PROPOSE? During the live version of ‘our song’ (Home by Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) at Gentlemen of the Road, a concert that was a big 2 day music festival in Saint Augustine. He arranged for a few of my best buds to be there! They all found out what was happening at the concert. It was the best. We were dancing away and all the sudden he was on one knee and I was kneeling down with him, surrounded by our friends.
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR VISION FOR YOUR WEDDING? Our love of local foods and drinks, history and vintage things, my love of lace and my dress
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR VENUE: With the Rustic Altar, Rj heard about it from the Deacon at the basilica and asked me to check it out – it was so peaceful and so gorgeous, and so us – I knew I wanted to get married there immediately. The Boating Club was also right up our alley. He and I have gone to several oyster roasts there. We loved the causal space with the gorgeous intracoastal backdrop 🙂
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST PLANNING CHALLENGE? Guest list – we have large families and amazing friends…we wanted it small, but wanted all of the ppl we love there!!
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE DESIGN ELEMENT OF YOUR WEDDING? The wedding party boat ride from ceremony to reception. It was so nice to relax in the breeze with our favorite people before the big party started! I also loved my veil, which was handmade from the lace from my mothers wedding dress from 1971
DID YOU HAVE ANY DIY DETAILS? We received all of the mason jars as a gift, they are the prototype of a product coming to market. All of the centerpieces were either from local thrift stores or from friends who collect the vintage mason jars or medicine bottles. I especially love the jenga guest book and a friend sewed all of my burlap runners. I love how all of the moving pieces were sewn together by people and things we both love.
WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF YOUR WEDDING DAY?
For Elizabeth – Seeing Rjs face as I turned to walk down the aisle
For RJ – seeing Elizabeth so happy
DESCRIBE YOUR CAKE: small, simple and delicious!!
HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER? Amazing. I had so much fun with all my girls and Sara that morning and early afternoon! The best energy I’ve ever seen from a photographer!! It was so fun!! I also loved the sesh with just Rj and I!! We couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Rj also had a blast with Jason and all the guys. Team Martin is the best!!
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND AS A COUPLE? New beginnings, more travel and somewhere down the road maybe a baby!!!
CAN YOU PLEASE LIST YOUR VENDORS:
Dawn Walker – The wedding authority
The Floridian – food
Bar – bartenders from the Ice Plant
Luxe rentals – for the tents, chairs, table cloths
Lois Pollaci – flowers
Sidewalk65 – band
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