Sydney & Mike || Embassy RiverCenter

The Proposal

of

Sydney & Mike

Mike and I first met at the Bonefish Grill. He was a manager there, and I obtained a job as a server there. I was the only one who laughed at his jokes, and I worked for him for about 4 months until I had to quit so that we could date.
We dated for nearly 5 years before he proposed to me in our apartment the night before my birthday. He had picked up the ring that day, and it was burning a hole in his pocket, and he knew I didn’t want a public engagement, so he did it right in our apartment. I believed he was joking since he had forgotten to take the ring out of his pocket. I couldn’t tell if he was serious because I couldn’t see the ring. “Where’s the ring?” I queried. And he has NEVER let me forget that. He enjoys telling people that tale, which makes me sound nasty, but until I saw the ring, I couldn’t tell whether the engagement was genuine until I saw the ring.
It was lovely and perfect, and I obviously said yes!

The Wedding

of

Sydney & Mike

Our wedding was on a Saturday, and like any other outdoor wedding bride, I monitored the weather 10 days in advance. The forecast was for a 70% chance of storms. I never mentioned it to anyone since I was afraid it would jeopardize my chances of the weather clearing up. Every day I checked, the opportunity of rain was reduced somewhat. I checked the forecast the night before, and it appeared the storms would arrive in the morning and leave by the afternoon, just in time for the outdoor ceremony. I woke up the day of the wedding so calmly and looked outside my hotel window at the entire Cincinnati skyline, and the weather was beautiful and sunny. It didn’t rain the whole day; the sun was out, and it was a perfect 70-degree day.

The event was slated for 4:30 pm. My parents and bridesmaids proceeded to the first floor to form a line to walk down the aisle. My MOH received a phone call telling her we needed to go downstairs since Mike was already at the altar waiting for me. We looked at the time and saw that it was 4:20 pm…We ran downstairs, and my shoe snapped just as I was about to walk the aisle. I didn’t care; I was eager to see Mike.
Since the ceremony started early (which I later learned was Mike’s fault, haha), there were still guests coming in, and they had to rush by and stand away in the back because they saw me coming, and the bridal party had already walked down the aisle. My father asked me whether I wanted to do this before we walked down the aisle. My grandfather asked my mother that question immediately before she walked down the aisle to marry my father, and it has since become a tradition. As I walked down the aisle, my father suggested we slow down. I had no idea how rapidly I was walking. We had a lovely ceremony where we individually wrote and uttered our vows and exchanged rings.
At our reception, two really noteworthy events occurred. Nate, Mike’s childhood closest buddy, performed our first dance song. “Makin Me Look Again – Drake White.” He nailed it, and having him sing was an honor.
We also followed the practice of having every married couple get up and slow dance to a song to determine which pair had been together the longest. The DJ stated he had never seen so many couples left on the dance floor for so long. We ended up with a three-way tie for the longest-married team. It was one-of-a-kind, and being surrounded by exceptional examples of happy marriages made us feel hopeful about our future.
We ate, drank, danced, and had the time of our lives! Everyone tells you that the day flies past, but it really does. It was the best day of our lives, and even though a few things didn’t happen as planned, it was flawless.

Sydney’s

Bridal & Formal

Experience

I had a fantastic day visiting Bridal and Formal. I brought my three sisters and mother with me. We had appointments that day at three different bridal boutiques. Bridal and Formal was both the first and last store we visited. The other appointments were canceled, and the fourth dress I put on was THE ONE!
My sales consultant was outstanding. She asked to see my wedding dress Pinterest board to get a sense of what I was looking for, and she nailed it with the options she presented me. She even sat me down and created an updo on my hair so that I could really appreciate the effect.