Marisa & Jeff - Late Summer Celebration

GK - Where and when did you meet?

M&J - In a pretty cliché way - we met on Halloween night way back in 2006. We were underclassmen at Ithaca College in upstate NY. Marisa was a hippy (laziest costume ever) and Jeff returned from work to find his friends had left him behind (we were the Jamaican bobsled team). Wandering around, Jeff ran into Marisa in a friend’s apartment - and that was that.

GK - What was it that made you realize that this person was the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?

M&J - We were separated by a few years in college, and both of us planned to pursue graduate school as well. What convinced me (Jeff) that Marisa was the one for me was how hard she fought for our relationship during the years apart. She spent a good amount of that time in a 1990's era Plymouth Breeze with no air conditioning, driving to see me. She made countless late-night phone calls, talking until we both fell asleep. She stubbornly refused to let us grow apart - and that kept us together.

GK - What characteristics do you love most about each other?

Jeff: Marisa is the biggest closet nerd I know. She loves comic books, Harry Potter, young adult fiction, and cosmic science. I love the way that she is comfortable to be her true nerd around me - and how she gets me involved too :) Keeps me young at heart.

Marisa: I love how passionate Jeff is. He puts 100% into everything he touches, from his work, to his family, and to our daily life. There is nothing in his life that is "good enough” - he is always looking to improve everything he values. He also has an amazing smile. It is how he spreads his outlook on life, and it's infectious.

GK - What was the proposal like? Was there lots of thought and preparation put into it...or was it done in the spur of the moment?

Jeff: There was a good amount of preparation that went into it - but no definite plan (which is pretty classic me). While on a vacation for my 30th birthday, I carried the ring up the ski lift at Homewood Resort at Lake Tahoe, and proposed at the top of the hill. Our friends documented the event (you can see it here: http://jeffvincent.me/were-getting-married). Marisa might have passed out a few times before finally saying "yes”.

GK - How do your personal styles compliment each other?

M&J - Our personal styles are all about simple, comfortable, and quality. We prefer having a few things we really like to having an over-abundance of stuff we don't use. Our apartment reinforces that approach - our tiny closets can only hold clothes if we're constantly curating them. We spend weekends at home shuffling around in our pajamas, drinking coffee and reading. We don't need much fuss.

GK - Aside from your custom ties, what other elements of your wedding were really unique and memorable to you?

Marisa: Our ceremony. We were fortunate to have our good friend Scotty perform the wedding, which brought a really personal touch to it. Jeff and I also wrote a letter to each other and wrote our own vows that were very individual to us. Mine included, "I promise not to be tired or hungry before I get upset". It made our guests break out into laughter, which eased my nerves and made the ceremony feel more like us.