Nicholas and Mia's Wedding in Davie, Florida

The story of our wedding

Nick and I met in 2016, we have something of a love at first sight story that we love to share at every opportunity. We were both students at the University of Miami, I a freshman and he a senior. He had just flunked an exam and I was miraculously early to my next class so I was sitting on a bench scrolling through a Kate Spade Surprise Sale(I'll never know why that detail has always stuck with me) and listening to music. I noticed a bunch of students heading down the stairs in front of me and glanced up. That's when we first saw each other. You could say the rest is history. We've been together ever since. We started shopping for rings together in 2018. He proposed to me on that very bench where we first met four years later in August of 2020. Planning through COVID was definitely not what I had imagined growing up as a little girl but I am grateful and blessed to say it was an overall lovely experience thanks to the team we built for the big day. Many family members could not make it to our engagement party and wedding and they were deeply missed. We picked and chose the traditions we wanted to stick to and which we didn't. Two things we did that surprised people the most were that we stayed together the night before(we had already been living together for two years) and we opted out of the garter and bouquet tosses. I am so grateful that we chose to stay together. I slept like a baby and we were able to enjoy the honeymoon suite together at the Seminole Hard Rock Guitar Hotel(which was AH-MAZING) one extra night. Our big day went so smoothly thanks to our incredible planning team at Creativa & Co. When my bridesmaids began arriving, my husband(then fiance of course), headed out so I wouldn't be sitting around alone. We all got into cute satin PJs and slippers and slapped on some under eye masks. The groom and groomsmen were hanging out in custom Dolphins jerseys I ordered for them with their high school football numbers and their last names which were a hit. My hair and makeup team did a beautiful job and ensured I wasn't stressed or anxious. I had done a trial with both of them prior to the big day so there were thankfully no surprises there! I also did a first look with my dad at the hotel since he would be taking me to the venue. I knew he would cry because he's a cryer but I didn't think I would get as emotional as I did! In the car on our way to the venue is when I read the note Nick had written for me(we wrote notes to each other and to each of our bridesmaids, groomsmen, and parents). It was so calming, reassuring, and exactly what I needed at that moment. Upon arriving at the venue is when the nerves began to kick in. I sat in the car as my dad and Natasha(my day-of) ensured that Nick wouldn’t be able to sneak a peek while I made my way to the bridal suite and really had to focus on my breathing before I had a full on breakdown. I took the time to say a prayer and thank God for the special moment. We took more pictures there at the venue in anticipation of the ceremony and before I knew it, I was standing behind a bush along the path to the ceremony and could not believe it was time. When I finally turned the final corner where my groom was straight ahead, I lost it and began bawling. We(my dad and I) stood there for an extra moment as I regained my composure and my dad said “don’t cry, you’re gonna make me cry!” but he was already crying too. The ceremony was officiated by my grandmother which made it all the more special. We exchanged rings and read the vows we had written for each other. A special moment we added which is typical of Catholic weddings was the tradition of the veil being placed over the bride and groom by two people chosen to be the “wedding sponsors.” We both chose our mothers and surprised them with something special which was our last kiss as single people. The script read something like “as mothers, you gave them their first kiss as they came into this world, and now they’d like to share their last kiss as single people with you before they wed.” It was really beautiful and was a nice surprise for the both of them. I had been to a few weddings where the officiant didn’t clearly say “you may now kiss the bride” so I ensured my grandma nailed that part and we were pronounced husband and wife! I could not believe it honestly. Thankfully, we had planned to scurry off to the bridal suite and share a quiet solitary moment together to take it all in. We said another prayer together and couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the fact that we were really married! Fast forward through the family photos and we were getting the party started! We started with our first dance after the bridal party entrance then sat down for dinner. My sister and brother in law, our maid of honor and best man, shared speeches which were both beautiful and hilarious and my dad also gave a heartfelt speech. We also took a moment then to thank everyone for joining us. We had a kickass violinist play during dinner, did the mother son, father daughter, and stepfather stepdaughter dance and then everyone joined us on the dance floor to party! The most fun moment was when the LED drummer we hired arrived right on time as the DJ handed us two CO2 guns which sprayed fog everywhere as our Bachelor/Bachelorette party theme song Pepas played and that was a blast! I don’t think I left the dance floor for anything other than the reveal of the beautiful painting by Canvas and Confetti that was painted live during our reception, a quick cake cutting photo op(the cake deserves a storytime of its own), and to snap some pictures at the photo booth. Everything was truly perfect in my eyes and in the eyes of my husband and we could not be more grateful for our beautiful big day.