Simple Inspirational Real Wedding stories

A Simple, Modern Wedding at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Ian Shin (30 and a graduate student) and Peter Hill (28 and a project manager) had their wedding in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a city that held many of their firsts: their first Christmas tree, their first time cooking a lobster, even their first weeklong SimCity binge! The couple wanted to keep t...

A Simple Wedding at Ballard Bay Club in Seattle, Washington

Hailey Hays (30 and a marketing executive) and James Padilla (29 and a financial advisor) both performed onstage within the Seattle theater community, but they'd never met until Hailey approached James at a restaurant. Shortly after, the two of them went on a date and stayed together from that po...

A Simple Rustic Wedding at Marsh Landing Restaurant in Fellsmere, Florida

About four years after Tessa Rey (24 and a dental hygienist) and Daniel Rey (30 and a real estate agent) met while working at a local bar, he popped the question on a boat ride along the Wakulla River. “I turned around in a spot where all the trees canopied over the crystal clear river and there ...

An Elegant Fall Wedding at the St. Paul Athletic Club in St. Paul, Minnesota

Angela Arnold (26 and a Catholic middle school teacher) had known Mike Vinkemeier (25 and a chiropractic student) for 8 years before they began dating, having spent some time living in the same town on and off as their families moved around. One weekend in September, Angela had been finishing up ...

A Simple, Romantic Wedding at Silvan Ridge Winery in Eugene, Oregon

Katherine Leatherman (21 and a birth doula) and Tyler Gordon (25 and a HVAC installer/screenwriter) met while they were hanging out with mutual friends and ended up having a great time getting to know each other. They decided to spend the next day together, and Katherine instantly knew that Tyler...

A Vintage Southern Wedding at The Oaks Plantation in Montgomery, Alabama

Joshua Saxon (25 and a Staff Sergeant in the US Army) and Sara Saxon (22 and a registered nurse) met through a mutual friend on a night out. They clicked instantly and just five months later were engaged when Josh proposed at their family Memorial Day barbecue. Josh and Sara were both born and ra...

An Intimate Forest Wedding at Wallace Falls State Park in Gold Bar, Washington

Veronica Miles (25 and in employment screening) and Eric Miles (26 and a spec writer) worked together while they were attending college. What began as a friendship eventually turned into much more, and four years later, Eric proposed. Veronica came home from work to find a suitcase on her bed wit...

A Simple, Elegant Wedding at Park Place in Shafter, California

Lacey Meeks (30 and a Well Analyst) and Jeff James (28 and a Well Analyst) met while they were working at the same company and got to know each other more during a work social event. Lacey and Jeffrey eventually started hanging out on the weekends, going on dates and developing both a friendship ...

A Simple Black and White Wedding at Wetherington Golf and Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio

Brett Bergman (24 and in retirement plan administration) and Andy Koenig (25 and an engineer) went to the same high school but didn’t get to know each other until they were students attending Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. They were set up through mutual friends and went on a double date, whic...

A Simple, Shabby Chic Wedding at Exploration Place in Wichita, Kansas

Abby Briggs (22 and a teacher) and Will Briggs (24 and an engineer) wanted their wedding to reflect their personalities: simple and easy. They used a neutral black, white and gray color palette with rustic details such as the baby’s breath floral arrangements from Magnolia Floral Studio. Everythi...

A Simple Wedding at Holland Gardens in Holland, Ohio

Jaycie Bradshaw (26 and human resources) and Andy Bradshaw (27 and sales) met while they were undergraduates attending college at Ohio University. The couple was about to head out for dinner reservations, but before they left, Andy handed Jaycie a necklace box. Completely unaware that a proposal ...

A Classic, Simple Clock Tower Wedding at The Daniels and Fisher Tower in Denver, Colorado

Marie Pierce (civil engineer) and Kim Vagher (manager of city facilities) chose to get married at The Daniels and Fisher Tower—a clock tower—in Denver, Colorado. Loving the old-world charm and historic space, they decided it, along with the city of Denver and the mountains, were the perfect backd...

A Timeless Mansion Wedding at Gale Mansion in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Jessica Mahr (37 and a teacher) and Matthew Padget (32 and an engineer) were introduced to each other by Matthew's brother, Ryan, after running into each other at a Minnesota Twin's baseball game. After messaging back and forth on Facebook, a friendship began to form between Jessica and Matthew. ...

A Traditional Church Wedding at New Life Presbyterian Church in La Mesa, California

Micaela Clough (21 and a registered nurse) met Charles Jones (26 and a navy fighter pilot) when he moved to San Diego for training and started to attend her church. A month and a half later, Charles finally took Micaela out on a lunch date Three months into their relationship, Micaela and Charles...

A Simple, Natural Wedding at Aspen Hall in Bend, Oregon

Natalie Canon (29 and an operations manager at Green Sports Alliance) and Tyler Nishitani (29 and an architect) were in the same group of friends when they attended the University of Oregon. They were close friends by the time of graduation and started to date shortly after they discovered a deep...

A Simple, Traditional Wedding at Elements Conference and Event Centre in Cincinnati, Ohio

Liz Hook (26 and an administrative assistant) and Matt Voto (23 and a manager) met when their church choir director asked them to assist with his choir practice. The two of them were the youngest people there, so they started up a conversation that led to so much more. Throughout their relationsh...

A Simple, Traditional Wedding at Colonnade Banquet Facility in Norwalk, Ohio

Stephanie Lenneman (26 and a human resources representative) and Kurt Lenneman (27 and a construction laborer) met over the summer at a country concert in Fort Lorraine, Ohio. Kurt was from Michigan while Stephanie lived in Ohio, so the couple had to do long distance for months before mover close...

A Simple Hotel Wedding at The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii

Katherine Ward (25 and a registered nurse) and Adam Keck (34 and an account executive) found each other online, and one movie night and another taco date later, they knew it was meant to be. Adam told Katherine they were going to meet his sister for wine tasting at JM Cellars, Katherine’s favorit...

A Teal and White Classic Vineyard Wedding at Novelty Hill Januik Winery in Woodinville, Washington

Lian Garton (27 and a software development manager for Amazon) and Itay Neeman (a software development manager at Splunk) started talking through Facebook before they both attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was by coincidence they lived in the same dorm building once school...

A Simple Barn Wedding at Lord Hill Farms in Snohomish, Washington

Kim Pang (26 and a grad student) and Hendra Pandiangan (26 and a social worker) first got to know each other when they participated in a play production together. A couple of years later, Hendra reached out to Kim to see how she had been doing. They started to spend time together when they could,...

A Simple Classic Wedding at Dennis and Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center in St. Louis, Missouri

Samantha Craven, 27, works in public relations, and John Kosash Jr, 27, a media analyst, met in graduate school at the University of Missouri. The couple wanted to keep their wedding simple and classic to just focus on throwing a great party. They stuck to a black and white color palette with pin...

A Simple Wedding at Breakers West Country Club in West Palm Beach, Florida

Sara Taylor (24) and Shawn Malanaphy (27) met soon after he was in a motorcycle accident and became engaged about five years later. Shawn came into their home with a bouquet of flowers, asked Sara to close her eyes and popped the question with a solitaire round-cut diamond ring. “It was the ring ...

A Simple Orange and Blue Wedding at Merriman's Kapalua Restaurant in Maui, Hawaii

Jill Arnold (30 and a television camera operator) and Dan Ackerman (31 and a television editor) met while they were working on the set of CBS’s “Big Brother” series. They met in the break room during their usual shifts, and started to date while filming season 12 of the show. While they were film...