Peace, Love, and All That
Not long ago, I helped a customer, Melissa, create a custom tie clip for her husband, Josh, to celebrate their second anniversary. Later on, I asked Melissa about her choice of wording for the tie clip customization. She described how in their first years together, she and Josh would head to a casual bar together and hear artist, Kaleigh Baker, play. Lines from Kaleigh Baker's song, Peace, Love, and All That, stayed with them all these years, and are now imprinted on Josh's custom tie clip. This adorable explanation is just a glimpse into their charming relationship.
From Interns to Newlyweds
Melissa and Josh were together for years before they got married. This is their story in Melissa’s own words: “We're both civil engineers, and I actually met Josh when I started interning at a company he worked at (he was also an intern at the time)!"
"Now it's been over seven years together, two of them married, and it's been a wonderful adventure."
"We started seeing each other a few months later and the rest is history. He proposed 4 years later, at the same bed and breakfast in St. Augustine, Florida that we took our first vacation to together. Now it's been over seven years together, two of them married, and it's been a wonderful adventure.”
A Stylish Winterpark Wedding
Their wedding, Melissa explained, was “just a giant party with our close friends and family of love.” Their intimate celebration honored their five years as a couple, and brought together their family and dearest friends. They were married in July of 2015 at Winter Park Farmers Market, located in Winter Park, Florida. Melissa enthused, “It's a historic train station!”
From their wedding photos, by Vine and Light Photography it is clear that Melissa and Josh have style. The pallet of sea-foam blue, peach, and apricot combine to create a funky, yet sophisticated atmosphere. They reveal the joy and charm of the day, and highlight the gorgeous details of the wedding: from the succulent table settings, to the bride and groom’s color-synched footwear!
Newlywed Notions
Melissa told me what it’s like to be married to Josh, and what she loves most about him: “Our families have already become one, and it's great! I love that Josh is truly my other half, as cliché as that may sound. We have a wonderful balance of close friends, us, home, and our two puppies. He is thoughtful, truly cares, values my thoughts and opinions, is hilarious and not at all humble, and one of the most supportive people I have ever met. I thank my lucky stars and do not take for granted the wonderful relationship we have.”
A Custom Tie Clip for a Cotton Anniversary
For their second wedding anniversary, the couple traveled to Savannah, Georgia for a long weekend. Melissa reminisced: “This was actually a combined anniversary/babymoon as we're expecting our first in October! We have always loved Savannah and it was a wonderful long weekend to shop, walk the squares, enjoy the beautiful scenery, and eat some out-of-this-world food.”
Melissa and Josh are observers of the second anniversary cotton gift tradition, and their gifts to each other all incorporated this classic and versatile material: “My anniversary gift to Josh was his amazing tie clip with cotton inlay with song quote from our first dance and a pack of fun cotton socks with fun design, art, etc. Josh got me beautiful hand-woven cotton socks (funny we both went with socks) and then a cotton stretched canvas that was printed with things that were happening in the news, around the world, sports, cars, gas prices, et cetera, on the day of our wedding.”
She explained the significance of their first dance song, which I imprinted onto her custom tie clip for Josh: “There was a local Orlando singer Josh and I used to go see in a smoky little bar downtown when we first started dating back in 2010, Kaleigh Baker. She's since gotten much more popular and tours, but her original version of the song Peace, Love, and All That ended up being our first dance song at the wedding.”
It was a pleasure working with Melissa, and I’m grateful to her for letting me share her wonderful love story with all of you! I hope her custom cotton tie clip continues to bring her and Josh joy, and to remind them of their special day.
