• Easter is fast approaching which makes it a great time to start the story of our amazing couple, Mary and Ethan. Ethan proposed to Mary on “Greek Easter” at Mary’s parent’s house. Just imagine, your whole family is participating in your yearly “easter egg hunt”…the prize is always a $50.00 bill so everyone is invested in finding the special egg with the reward. But Mary’s prize was a total surprise! Luckily (and I’m sure her family held back a bit) she found the golden egg and inside was an engagement ring. Ethan rushed over and proposed right then and there. What a fantastic start to our wonderful time with these incredible two people!  

    Photos by Paige Ryan Photography

    They met at Christopher Newport University in 2014. They shared a class together. It didn’t take them long to get to know each other and to take the next step which was going on their first date to The Crab Shack in Newport News! The meal was great and Mary tried Key Lime Pie for the first time and that date started her love of that famous dessert. She shares with us that she “didn’t know what she was more thankful for”…her first date with Ethan or her discovery of that delish dessert!

    They had a wonderfully long engagement and they both strongly agree that getting engaged in April of 2018 and married in October of 2019 gave them lots of time to plan and help reduce stress levels quite a bit. (plus they had the added benefit of being able to add another fun memory for their “engagement anniversary” in April of 2019)

    Photos by Paige Ryan Photography

    Mary and Ethan shared lots of fun memories of their wedding day with us after we reached out to them. Mary says that overall just sharing the day with Ethan and her friends and family enjoying the conversation, food, drinks, and dancing was her favorite part. We LOVE when “the whole day” is the couples favorite part. What a wonderful way to put it and a wonderful sentiment from her to us.

    Photos by Paige Ryan Photography

    It’s hard to chat with Mary without her gushing all over us and her time planning with The Renaissance right up until her big day. We share that sentiment as we had just as much fun working with her.  She goes on to mention Tommy in planning, Chef Jon’s wonderful food, Emmett’s (our amazing wedding planner) guidance, and even our floor supervisor Precious’s attentiveness throughout the reception. It’s always wonderful to hear from a couple but it’s even that much better when they remember everyone’s name and that makes us love them even more!! 

    Photos by Paige Ryan Photography

    Take a peek at a few awesome pictures from their big day and please don’t hesitate to head over to our YouTube Channel to see their video.  It’s just as wonderful as they are and we suggest having a tissue while watching.