Local Wedding: Elizabeth and Robbie in Edgewater

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The proposal. Robbie won a trip through work to Orlando, Florida, the weekend before Thanksgiving. We stayed at the luxurious Portofino Italy resort, which was only a few miles from Universal Studios.  On the second day that we were there, after a long day of riding rides, Robbie proposed to me. We were in our  hotel room looking out at the beautiful view of the water and Universal, when Robbie dropped down on one knee and popped the question. I, of course, said yes and began to cry once Robbie told me that the week before he had driven 4 hours to her dad's store in Parksley, Virginia, and had asked for his permission. He then stopped at her grandparent's house in Salisbury and asked my Grandfather (*Poppy) if he had his permission to marry his first grandchild. The evening after the proposal,we had a romantic, very fancy dinner at The Palms and celebrated with a bunch of our friends that were also there. It was PERFECT!

The venue. We had a Catholic Ceremony at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in West River, Maryland (approxinately 10 miles outside of Annapolis).  The reception was held at Historic London Town and Gardens. Cocktail hour from 4:30-5:30 and reception, which included buffet dinner, traditional dances, toasts, cake, garter, and bouquet followed.  We knew that we wanted to have our reception somewhere on the water. We went to look at it and knew right away that this was the perfect spot. It had everything we wanted. Located right on the Scenic South River and trails and gardens to walk through -- it's beautiful.  

We really liked the fact that we knew we could get so many great wedding pictures there and a great variety of different shots, which we did. We walked around all over for over an hour when we first got there taking pictures by the water, on the docks, walking through the gardens and trails, in a gazebo, and so much more. The place is so pretty that we didn't even have to do much decorating. It almost seems as if decorating too much would take away from its natural beauty. We also wanted to have our guests stay in downtown Annapolis for the weekend as a mini vacation, so it was close to there (only 6 miles).

What was your favorite part of the day? The whole day was just absolutely perfect and special. Everything went smoothly and I could not have asked for a better day. The weather was perfect, 80 degrees and mix of sun and clouds.  My favorite part about the day would have to be the special moments in both our ceremony and reception that we included my daughter Bethany. Bethany is 8 years old and was my flower girl. Robbie is not her birth father, but he came into her life when she was 3 and she calls him "dad."  They share a very special connection that I can't even begin to explain. He loves her truly unconditionally as if she was his own and that to me is everything i was looking for. For us, the wedding day was more of a joining and becoming a family, not just us becoming married.  During the ceremony after we said our vows, Bethany and Robbie had special vows to each other, where Robbie dropped to one knee and after the vows were said, he presented her with a birthstone and engraved necklace that he then placed around her neck.  She then hugged him (which was totally spontaneous) which made it even more special. They both had tears in their eyes( as well as the entire church) and you could just feel how special that moment between them really was.