Emily & Colin

Occupations: Emily is an immigration attorney; Colin is an energy attorney

Wedding date September 21, 2024

Number of Guests 150

Number of Attendants One attendant each

How You Met One crisp October evening, Emily wore a dragon mask (face visible) to a back patio Halloween party. Colin, who was sitting in one of the patio chairs, costumeless, shook her hand and introduced himself and admired her as she talked to the other guests. Unbeknownst to Emily, Colin had seen her for the first time at a café only weeks earlier. He left the party early for a dinner with friends and told them about her excitedly. He put his trust in the the “rule of threes” to see her again, and at the (in his mind) inevitable third meeting, he planned to ask her out. Weeks and months passed. That third meeting never came. Finally, Colin asked the host of the patio party for Emily’s number. She was busy painting her new house, but was available in a few weeks. Finally, after a dinner date over Thai food in Hampden and a snowball for dessert, both were smitten, and the rest is history.

The Engagement We drove to Pennsylvania for a hike along the Susquehanna River one weekend morning in early November. The hike was recommended by Colin’s best man. In Colin’s pocket was an engagement ring that belonged to Emily’s mom. As the car crossed the bridge over the river, a song came on the radio, “Marry Me, Archie.”  It was a sign to Colin that this was indeed proposal day. When we stopped near a bluff for a lunch of sandwiches, Colin asked Emily to come to a little clearing in the woods to admire the scintillating river. He proposed with Emily’s mom’s ring (featuring a star sapphire), and an acorn and an oak leaf to symbolize the promise of the future and the evanescence of life. Her own engagement ring from Brilliant Earth came later.

Wedding Design Inspiration Bold color! Marigolds and dahlias are at their peak in September, so we used those flowers in our bouquets and built our other color choices around the saturated hues.

What Was Unique and Special About Your Wedding Day We grew some of our wedding flowers throughout the summer before the wedding in the backyard of our Baltimore rowhome, and our florist incorporated them into beautiful bouquets (supplementing with more blooms from local farmers). We were married in Federal Hill Park, overlooking the harbor. We badly wanted the ceremony to be outside, but the forecast was threatening rain. Luckily, the clouds moved in during the ceremony, but the rain held off until we were leaving the afterparty. So we felt like we got both the fun of an outdoor wedding plus the good luck of rain on your wedding day.

Favorite Details
• We dried a bunch of the marigolds we grew earlier in the summer and used their petals for some of the flower confetti (our florist helped with the rest) that guests threw on us as we walked down the aisle at the end of the ceremony.
• We incorporated our loved ones in our ceremony in many ways. Our officiant was both a Methodist Bishop and a longtime family friend. Emily’s cousins played guitar and sang at the ceremonty. Our friends read a poem, “Te Quiero,” by Mario Benedetti, in Spanish (the poem’s original language) and in English translation.
• We named each of our tables after something everyone at the table had in common, like “Gen X” for folks of that generation, and “Aviatrixes and Co.” for our pilot-heavy table.
• We had a deconstructed guestbook with loose cards and papers that guests could decorate with colorful pens, stickers, and Polaroid pictures.
• We were married on September 21st, so we of course got the dance party started to the song “September” by Earth, Wind, and Fire. The dance floor was packed all night long and included some salsa dance and several dancers showcasing the “Worm.” We closed the night out with a conga line to “We Like to Party!” by the Venga Boys.

Most Unexpected Event On Your Wedding Day Emily arrived over 45 minutes late to the wedding ceremony, but meanwhile the guests enjoyed the temperate weather, the beautiful view of Baltimore harbor, and even glimpsed bald eagles soaring overhead. Another guest tried to find a flask amongst the crowd for Colin to get him to stop shaking, but none presented itself, so he just took a few deep breaths.

Piece of Advice
• Don’t be afraid to delegate or ask for help. This party is a lot of work and your loved ones may be eager to support you, but just aren’t sure how.
• Even though we knew exactly who would be in attendance, nothing could prepare us for the euphoria of seeing all of our favorite people in the same place celebrating our commitment and honoring our love. Let yourself surrender to the awe.

BEAUTY Yusra Shireen at M Salon (hair);  Sylvia Amaya (makeup) BRIDESMAIDS Reformation CAKE Lunaria Cakes CATERER Zeffert and Gold CEREMONY CHAIRS Party Plus FLORAL Local Color Flowers HONEYMOON Taiwan, Vietnam, and 24 hours in New Delhi INVITATIONS Minted LOCATION Federal Hill Park and American Visionary Art Museum MUSIC Mixing Maryland OFFICIANT Bishop Kristin Stoneking PHOTOGRAPHER Erika Layne VIDEOGRAPHER Love in Color WEDDING DRESS Laure de Sagazan WEDDING PLANNER Janelle Atkins