A romantic vineyard set the stage for Leah’s marriage to Matt. A classic and elegant day complete with personal touches – like handwritten vows and a friend as the officiant – this celebration was all-around perfection. Cheers to this sweet couple!
The Proposal
Just shy of two years of being together, Matt planned a weekend for us in Dewey Beach, Delaware, a favorite and special place. Matt didn’t want me to suspect the beach trip might lead to a proposal, so he tried to make sure I didn’t expect a thing. A few weeks before, Matt “canceled” the trip, but then changed his mind. Just a week before, he invited friends along to make it seem like it was nothing special. He did a great job keeping me in the dark throughout the weeks leading up to the trip.
Once the weekend finally came, we spent a wonderful day together on the beach and we had planned on going out to dinner later that night. The weather couldn’t be more perfect, so Matt suggested having a picnic on the beach to have some wine and cheese before dinner. I had been begging him to go on a picnic all summer so I was all for the idea and was completely unaware what was in store that night. We shared a bottle of wine and just as the sun was setting they went over to the shore to enjoy the alone time on the beach. We were appreciating the moment and each other, then Matt got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of our lives together, right by the ocean! I was so shocked and excited I couldn’t stop screaming and jumping up and down. When I embraced Matt, I held him so tightly that he struggled for air. Once I got over the shock of what just happened, I said yes and yelled out, “Can I have it?!” pointing to the ring. Matt coordinated for his brother Mike to be there to capture the moment. He was hiding in the dunes and caught the whole thing in pictures and on video.
We were ecstatic, but the night didn’t end there. Matt organized for a dinner in Rehoboth Beach. As I walked in, my mom, dad, and grandma were there to greet me, along with Matt’s mom, stepdad, and brother. Dinner was full of celebration, love, and excitement. Everyone was happy for us to start this next chapter of our life together!
Finding the Perfect Martina Liana Wedding Dress
I wanted a classic, romantic, and feminine look on my wedding day. Matt and I had a year and 10-month engagement, so I had a lot of time to shop for the “perfect dress”. I searched everywhere, four states, over eight dress shops, to find “the one”. After the second trip, I fell in love with all the Martina Liana styles and I knew I wanted to be a Martina Liana bride. I was between two dresses and saw that there was going to be a trunk show in a nearby bridal shop near me. My mom planned to take the trip down with my maid of honor for the trunk show and we would decide between the two dresses. The first dress I tried on during the trunk show was one I had never tried on before, style 905. As soon as my mom and maid of honor saw me I had a HUGE smile on my face. It just felt “right”. I tried on the other two, which I originally thought were the ones I had wanted, and I just kept going back to style 905. I just knew it was the one meant for me. I finally said yes to the dress and couldn’t be happier!
All About the Wedding Details
Our wedding was a romantic, classic, vineyard wedding surrounded by the love of close family and friends. Our colors were blush and gold, with accents of green. Our close friend was our officiant for our wedding and made our ceremony very personal. We wrote our own personalized vows to each other that made us both laugh and cry. Spending time at the beach is very special to both of us as a couple, but also to our childhoods. I grew up close to the beach in Long Island, and Matt grew up close to the beach in Delaware. Many of our favorite memories growing up with our families and friends were at the beach, and some of our most memorable moments as a couple, including our engagement, have been at the beach. We also hope to one day have a beach house of our own to bring our family. For one of my birthdays, Matt gave me a large apothecary jar where we collect sand from every beach we go to together and we put the sand in the jar. During our ceremony we each poured sand from Long Island and Delaware into one jar, to symbolize the union of our lives together. It was very special to both of us, and have now added that sand to our apothecary jar in our home!
Our wedding day was so magical. Some of the most memorable moments were sharing our personalized vows to each other during our ceremony, performing a choreographed dance with our wedding party, and dancing our first dance as husband and wife to one of our favorite songs. But my favorite memory of the whole day was the very end of the night. All of our friends and family left and it was the first time Matt and I were finally alone. We laid on the floor in our hotel room, still in my wedding dress and Matt still in his tux, and we just recounted all of the amazing parts of the day and laughed and laughed. All of the excitement and stress of the day was over and we could finally enjoy just being husband and wife.
