You might remember Marina & Bryan from Volume 4 – they were our cover story couple from their fun engagement session! Now they are married and we are sharing their wedding day story – so fun! They had a New England wedding with a classic look and a fun car! Ready below to see some of their thoughts on their day and what made it the most memorable for them …
If you’d like to see this feature in print in The White Wren Volume 5 – you can pick up your print copy here!
How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another?
We met in an Uber Pool! We were both heading home after a night out for Cinco de Mayo in D.C. and Uber intervened. We got in the car around midnight and had a starlit chat with the windows down on the way home. Before the ride was over, we had exchanged numbers and had plans to see each other again. Bryan thought she was easygoing and beautiful (and still does). Marina found him mysterious and was intrigued by their similarities.
Tell us a funny story relating to your wedding day or relationship!
We went camping on Cumberland Island for a weekend. At the end of a long bike ride down a never-ending road, we came across a feral horse stomping its hoof at us and preparing to attack. We ditched our bikes and had to dive into the woods to hide as it stalked us through the clearings for about 15 minutes. We found the situation so funny. Horses always seem to play a role in our story. That first night we met we talked about horses and had plans to see a polo match. We later got engaged during a trail ride through a vineyard in Virginia. After we got by the feral horse safely, we stumbled onto Plum Orchard Mansion and saw dolphins and egrets and found a giant conch shell that we still have. Truly a bizarre experience!
Describe a hurdle you had to overcome in your relationship or during your wedding planning.
Planning the wedding a few times during the pandemic was harder than it needed to be. As a bride, whether you have thought about getting married since you were a little girl or a couple months after getting engaged, you want to plan something that everyone will remember and enjoy and that is just plain stressful. To have your future husband willing to help you make decisions after coming from home a long shift at work is priceless. Yes, we had some disagreements, but it was a good way to practice communication. Luckily, we also had an amazing photographer who was willing to go wherever and whenever the wedding was going to be eased some of the stress. Get yourself a photographer who sticks with you through three different dates, three different states, and four different venues!
Any special ways you incorporated your family or family history into your wedding day?
We tried! We had pictures of family displayed on a table. We included pictures from our engagement session, Marina’s parents’ wedding, pictures of Bryan’s grandma who had passed away a few months before the wedding, and other loved ones. Marina’s grandfather was an integral part of her upbringing. While he never got to meet Bryan, she wore the same perfume he once gifted her. We also wanted to incorporate something from our story, so we had peanuts from Virginia, where we lived, blueberry jam from Connecticut, where we got married, and hot sauce from Texas, where we were moving to, in the gift bags for guests staying at hotels. We highly recommend tapping into your creative side to try to bring more personal moments to your day. It made planning more fun and the day-of more enjoyable.
What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you?
Besides each other and being surrounded by family and friends…. Our little getaway car! We rented a 1974 Triumph TR6 convertible that Bryan drove the day of the wedding. We drove ourselves from the church to family portraits and then to the reception. Having time just the two of us was grounding for an otherwise whirlwind of a day. It was the first of many times we would be in the car, just the two of us, as husband and wife. It reminded us of all of our road trips or just running errands but 1000 times better.
What is the best thing you’ve learned from one another?
Bryan is extra considerate of others. It’s the little things. You know when you are trying to claim your spot at an outdoor concert? Bryan will make sure the people around him have enough room and then will worry about whether he has any room.
Marina is enthusiastic and affectionate. She is ready to be friends with everyone, anywhere, any time. People respond to this in crazy ways, and we find ourselves being invited to everything from a rodeo director’s club to a burlesque mansion party.
We complement each other and try to learn from each other’s strengths!
What is your favorite thing about each other?
His laugh makes whatever is funny a million times more enjoyable. We’ve recently had the chance to see a few comedy shows and just hearing him laugh at these jokes made the evening euphoric. I smile just thinking about him being happy.
Her optimism and cheerfulness make everyday life a joy. Almost nothing can get her down and nothing dissuades her from finding the fun in the simple facts of life. It makes it easier to take the world a little less seriously.
What was your favorite part about planning your wedding?
Our favorite part about planning the wedding was when we were not actually planning the wedding. Our engagement session was about capturing what we would be doing in our free time, picnicking while enjoying some wine and cheese. He is Italian and French, and she is Greek and Italian. We were born to eat cheese and drink wine. We also took an introductory dance lesson to practice for our first dance. We didn’t have a choreographed dance (and still don’t) but it was just a chance to have someone give us some pointers on what to do and break in our dancing shoes after a long hiatus during the pandemic. While both were still things on our to-do list leading up to the wedding, neither felt like a chore, rather just some quality time together where we could focus on each other.
If you had one piece of advice for other couples, what would it be?
Find the humor and the silver lining in everything, especially when things go wrong. It is so easy to let inconsequential annoyances spiral. By practicing keeping your cool and learning to rely on one another rather than turning on each other, you are more prepared for when something significant does challenge you.
What is the most honest thing you can say about love?
Sometimes love isn’t patient or kind and sometimes it is proud or easily angered but all that shouldn’t last more than 5 minutes. Love is about holding each other accountable to being the best version of yourself possible. And through that, you present a united front that is all the things love should be.
Photographer: Greg Lewis
Venue: Roger Sherman Inn | New Canaan CT
Stylist / Planner / Designer: Bride
Floral Designer: Earth Garden | New Canaan CT
Dress Boutique: Ellie’s Bridal Boutique | Old Town Alexandria, Virginia
Dress Designer: Justin Alexander
Cake Designer: Oasis Cafe | Queens NY
Makeup Artist: The Beauty Bar | Southington CT
Hair Stylist: Salon 5 East | New Canaan CT
Men’s Formalwear: Suit Supply
Rentals: Roger Sherman
Accessories / Decor: Roger Sherman
Film Lab: The Find Lab
Car Rental: 1974 Triumph TR6 (Hargety Drive Share)
Rings/Jewelry: Dejan Studio Jewelry STIO Coin Jewelry
DJ: Power Station Events
Publisher at The White Wren and Bajan Wed, Award Winning Photography + Videographer at Live View Studios, Dad, 80s music lover, crunchy health advocate
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