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Emily is no stranger to wedding planning—after all,
she’s the associate editor of Real Weddings Magazine—but
that didn’t mean that planning her own wedding
was a breeze. “Wedding planning was hard,” she
says. “It probably didn’t help that I looked at weddings
all day only to come home and look at more.”
Emily and Mikey met in the “normal” way, at least
for modern daters: on an app. But what’s not as normal
is the fact that their first date lasted 11 hours. “My best
friend and dad highly suspected I was kidnapped,”
jokes Emily. The two dated for three years before Mikey
popped the question casually one weekday morning
over coffee and donuts. “I started crying before I even
said anything, and just asked her,” Mikey says. “It was
pretty pathetic, but she said yes, so joke’s on her!”
The two got to work planning an elegant but laidback
celebration at their venue, which they customized
with touches special to the two of them. A bridesmaid
designed the signage, Emily’s parents made the table
numbers and dessert stands, and they made a custom
“Mr. & Mrs.” sign that harkened back to the proposal: a
cup of coffee for Mikey and a donut for Emily. They also
included signage bearing quotes from “The Office,”
one of their favorite shows. “Our welcome sign had a
quote from Dwight Schrute,” says Emily. “He says to
Angela, ’I just want to be friends. Plus a little extra. Also,
I love you.’ It may sound silly to some, but that show
means a lot to me and it’s something that I’ve been able
to share with Mikey, so it was important to incorporate
into our wedding day.”
The couple skipped traditions like the garter toss
and bouquet toss to avoid interrupting the party. It was
the right decision, as Emily says her favorite part of
the reception was having plenty of time to dance with
everyone in attendance. But Mikey’s favorite part of the
reception was all about dancing with Emily, especially
when one of her favorite songs came on and everyone
watched as the two of them tore it up together on the
dance floor.
Overall, Emily and Mikey were surprised at how
low-stress the day was, especially since Emily says
she was indecisive and overthinking every wedding
planning decision. She expected to be overwhelmed
with anxiety and nerves on the big day, but says she felt
calm and comfortable from the vows to the speeches
to the dancing. But in retrospect, Emily thinks she
knows why that was. “I committed myself to Mikey a
long time ago, so choosing to spend my life with him
was easy. When you love a person so endlessly, there’s
nothing to it when you choose them to marry.”OO
—Suzie Dundas
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