Wedding Winners in Charm City | Baltimore Weddings

When the Hyatt Regency Baltimore decided last year to revamp their sixth floor outdoor space, switching out the love-worn basketball and tennis courts in favor of a luxurious pool, the staff knew this space would be a beautiful location to host Charm City weddings. To celebrate the launch of the sixth floor venue, the Hyatt organized a wedding giveaway aptly dubbed, “The Ultimate Baltimore Wedding Contest” and the giveaway prize was major: a two-night stay at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore; complimentary rehearsal dinner at the hotel for up to 50 guests, plus a wedding ceremony and reception for up to 120 people; and finally, a three-night stay at any Hyatt-branded hotel in the US. Only advertised on Hyatt’s social media pages, brides and grooms were asked to submit their personal love story and why Baltimore was the best place to get married. The contest launched on Valentine’s Day and by the cut-off date of April 30th more than 100 Baltimore couples had submitted in hopes of winning the grand-prize. After two panel rounds made up of Hyatt staff, the winners were announced: Cortney Johnstone and George Mosle had won the free wedding giveaway!

All photos by Kathleen Hertel Photography

Cortney and George were immediately hooked up with Hyatt Director of Events, Lindsey Barton, who then hopped right into planning mode with the couple. Barton remembers, “Cortney and George were really excited and shocked! They had looked at the hotel before and heard we were running the promo . . . they waited it out in hopes that they would win!” After choosing their wedding date, Saturday, June 20th, the couple with Lindsey’s help, began building the ultimate wedding vendor team completely of their choosing. And although the prize did not include complimentary vendor services, a handful of vendors joined in the spirit of the giveaway and waived their service fees while others offered discounts to the bride and groom.

Barton’s favorite aspect of the whole experience so far has been seeing Cortney and George’s engagement video shot by the couple’s videographer Tim Barker Motion + Stills. Barton says in addition to showcasing all of Baltimore’s best, the video really “shows a different side of the couple, they were having a great time! [Cortney and George] were meant to be together … they really play well off of each other.” (to see the adorable video, click here:

With the couple’s and Hyatt’s permission, Baltimore Bride is able to share George’s entry and why he can’t wait until Cortney becomes his wife. Congratulations you two!

George’s Entry:

It was Orioles opening day of 2012 and my lifetime best friend since kindergarten Grant asked me if I wanted to tag along with him to the game, he was heading into Baltimore with his girlfriend (now fiancée) and her University of Maryland cheerleading teammate Cortney. At the time I was a single 24 year old Orioles fan living in Otterbein with my friends, saying yes was pretty much a no brainer. The three of them came to my house to get started, and when Cortney walked in I was floored by her beauty, fun personality, and contagious laugh. We had an unbelievable time, it has been 724 days since and Cortney and I haven’t gone an hour without talking. We started dating right away and since then we have been through wild ups and downs, our connection has grown stronger through a wealth of experiences in Baltimore.

One of the key “light bulb” moments which made me realize that we had something special going was late in the magical Ravens 2012 season. I am an absolute die hard Ravens fan, I was born in Baltimore city, I was lucky enough to play in the Maryland 4A state championship football game at M&T Bank, and I even wear those ridiculous purple camouflage pants. One Sunday Cortney surprised me with Ravens tickets and we went right away, I was pumped and hoping for the best as the team was sitting around .500 win percentage and they needed a big game. We got to our seats, had the time of our lives, and I didn’t witness a single play. We sat there the whole time joking around, laughing and telling stories, we may as well have been at a romantic dinner. I think about Cortney all day, every day; I can’t get her off of my mind. She is my first call when I am proud, when I am upset, when I have a great story, she is truly my partner. My life is filled with joy now that we are together. From dinners at our favorite restaurants Matsuri and Regis, to summer days on our Federal Hill rooftop deck with friends, to jogs around Fort McHenry, we really are lucky and have an amazing life together in Baltimore. Cortney grew up in Bel Air, MD, went to the University of Maryland and graduate school at Towson, and has been living in Baltimore City ever since. She has always been driven by the desire to help people, and she feels a strong tie to the Baltimore community through her work as an occupational therapist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Hearing her stories of disabled children working for day to day victories such as independently tying their shoes and typing their schoolwork to utilizing technology to be able to communicate is inspiring and humbling. I love coming home from work each day and getting the “scoop” on how all of her kids are doing, she is truly passionate about them. I knew for a very long time that I wanted to propose to Cortney, and I knew that I wanted it to be a great representation of what we are all about, all in all it took me about 2 months to plan. On March 1st of this year, I asked if she would come with me on a private tour of M&T Bank Stadium, and told her that my uncle had won the tour through his season tickets. The tour was scheduled for 3 PM, and that morning she had to go for a bridesmaids dress fitting in Bel Air at 9 AM. As soon as she left the house, I drove to M&T Bank where I met the stadium security staff who was generous enough to assist me. I placed notes to Cortney describing how I felt and reminiscing on all of our time together over the past 2 years throughout the stadium, in the press box, in a suite, in the locker room, and on the field. When Cortney got back from dress shopping she almost wanted to join St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Canton, she had no idea! I successfully dragged her over to the stadium and we got started. We went from room to room, after the first letter she had a pretty good idea of what was happening, but I tried my best to play it cool. When we got down to the locker room and the field was out of sight I had my friend Ismael run out of the tunnel and set up a table and chairs with a white tablecloth, champagne, the final note, and a candle. The feeling on our way out of the locker room and onto the field was surreal. We had been there so many times during huge games when the stadium was sold out and Ray Lewis was running out onto the field with fireworks going off, and now it was just the two of us and all of those purple seats. I was shaking so bad from nerves I could barely pull the ring out of my pocket, but somehow I gathered myself and got down on one knee to propose. She said yes! That day was hands down the best day of my life, I couldn’t be more lucky than to be getting married to Cortney, and can’t wait to see what the future brings!