Saja: How did you meet?
Lindsay: We met on Match.com in February of 2009. We both lived in Durham-Chapel Hill area, and still live there today. I was in graduate school for Art History, and all my classmates were women. Jon worked at a local internet advertising firm. We were both at that point in our mid-20s where it is difficult to meet people outside of your work environment. I sent him a Match.com e-mail two days before his membership was set to expire; he hadn't had much luck with the site and had stopped checking it regularly, and wasn't planning on renewing his membership. I'm glad I timed it the way I did, or else we wouldn't have met! We had our first date a week before Valentine's Day and have been together ever since.
Saja: How did he propose?
Lindsay: Jon proposed in a very low-key, very "us" fashion on April 20, 2013. We'd picked out the ring together from Hamilton Hill Jewelry, a jewelry store I used to work at, and so I knew the proposal was coming. I also more or less knew the day because my work schedule had been hectic, and both sets of our parents were about to leave the country for a few weeks (and I wanted to be able to tell them as soon as we got engaged, no waiting!). What can I say, I don't like surprises. Jon cooked me a fancy breakfast and served it on our little outdoor patio. He ran inside to get some salt and pepper and came out carrying a Russian nesting doll. Jon had hand-painted each layer so that it represented some part of our relationship. The ring, and a message of proposal, was on the innermost layer. Even though we had talked it out and were fully on the same page regarding getting married (and I tend to be pretty jaded and cynical), I was still pretty fluttery when I looked up from inspecting the nesting doll to find Jon on his knee before me. We quickly called our parents before they got on their respective planes for vacation, and we spent the rest of the day doing our favorite Durham things: eating great food, seeing movies at the Carolina Theatre, and hanging with friends.
Saja: Which of the photos are your favorites? Why?
Lindsey: My father was really adamant about not knowing anything about my dress or what I would look like on the wedding day, and so we decided to do a First Look with him before I went off to do a First Look with Jon. If you look at the photos, you can see my mom, sister, and sister-in-law peeking around the corner to watch the First Look, which I think is cute!
Jon and I also high-fived during our First Look. It was very "us." I think the photo of us smiling right after really captures the joy and excitement we felt, and is probably my favorite of the bunch. This is part of our First Look, and I think this was right around the moment where we realized "EEEE we are getting married in two hours." I'm also partial to all the photos we took at sunset on the waterfront during the reception, because they really showcase the natural beauty of my hometown.
Saja: What was your favorite part of the day? Why?
Lindsay: The ceremony was our favorite part of the day, no question, especially when we read our vows. It was a traditional Jewish ceremony-I was never a little girl who envisioned her wedding day, but whenever I did think about getting married I saw my wedding as a Jewish one with a Rabbi, a Chuppah, the breaking of the glass, and the hora. Jon is not Jewish, but he knew that having a Jewish ceremony was important to me, and the Rabbi worked with us to build a ceremony that was comfortable for both of us. We also wrote and spoke our own vows during the ceremony. We wrote our vows separately, so the first time we heard them was at the ceremony. You could have heard a pin drop when we spoke our vows (well, aside from all the sniffling), and people are still telling me that we had the best wedding vows they had ever heard. Considering the vows are the most important part of the wedding, this is a pretty great compliment! Our videographer actually included the entirety of our vows in our wedding video; I'm so glad we decided to have a videographer, it is wonderful to have that moment captured.
Saja: Where did the wedding take place? What made you choose there?
Lindsay: The wedding took place at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center in Sarasota, Florida. Sarasota is my hometown, where I lived until I left for college at 18. My parents still live there. Sarasota is one of the most beautiful places int he world, and we wanted to share it with family and friends who had never visited. I really wanted a waterfront wedding, but I also did not want a cookie-cutter hotel affair, and the beach in the summer has a lot of noise restrictions and also event restrictions for time, due to sea turtle nesting season (really!). The Van Wezel is a beautiful, bright purple, modernist structure on Sarasota's bayfront that plays host to traveling Broadway shows and other performing arts events. I had my first dance recital there when I was five, and my high school graduation was also there, so the theater has a lot of memories for me. The theater has a beautiful reception space with one wall of windows overlooking gorgeous Sarasota bay. The Van Wezel is frequently booked because of theater or symphony performances, but we were able to score a June date, as summer is the off-season in Sarasota. We had a short (but hot!) outdoor ceremony on the waterfront, and then quickly moved inside to the air-conditioned reception space for the cocktail hour and the party.
Saja: Is there anything about the photos we might not have noticed?
Lindsay: I know that most people say "you won't remember the details," but my mother, who did a lot of the aesthetics of the wedding simply because she is in Sarasota and I am not, worked so hard to make the day beautiful and to set a special, elegant atmosphere. There were gorgeous, colorful flowers galore, and little individual, welcoming details, such as everyone's name being on their menus. Our invites, too, were really special. Even though these are minor details, and aren't necessary to create a wonderful wedding day, I really appreciated my mom working to provide a little "something extra" and to set a special tone for our guests. The hangers that the dresses are hanging from in the photos were also made by my mom, she's really proud of them and she should be!
Lindsey said, " The day goes by so fast, and I wasn't expecting to be as overwhelmed by emotion as I was. But everything was wonderful, and we were just thrilled that so many of our family and friends traveled to Florida to be with us on our wedding day."
"The dress I wore is the first Saja dress I ever saw online, and even when I looked at the other (beautiful!) dresses, I figured that would be the one. And it was! The dress made me feel lovely, ethereal, and Grecian, and I was also probably the most comfortable person at my hot, June, Florida summer wedding (how often does the bride get to be the most comfortable person at her wedding?!). I love clothes but it is really important for me to be comfortable, and to find a wedding dress that, well, wedded beauty and comfort was amazing. I'm very glad to have been a Saja bride!"
We are certainly glad to have Lindsay as a Saja bride too! Congratulations again and all the very best to this lovely couple~
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