Real Long Island Wedding: Donna and Mark

Anyone who has heard the song “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran, knows that it could have been written for Donna and Mark…or at very least with these two lovebirds as its inspiration.
You see theirs is truly a tale of true love and the stuff that real life fairytales are made of….and the quintessential story of destiny.

Donna and Mark were not strangers in the night, nor two ships who passed in the night; but rather two kindred spirits who despite pursuing their own personal paths knew each other for 41 years….and after reconnecting decided to give their love a chance….a chance that after 9 years of courtship and romance resulted in a one-of-a-kind wedding that was spontaneous and spectacular…a surprise wedding planned by Mark for the ONE TRUE LOVE of his life.

Marriage was not (necessarily) a priority for Donna…though the happy couple had entertained the idea on many occasions over the years. But, Mark, since re-connecting knew he had to do something special and spectacular for his extra special lady…something that would ensure she would never get away from him (again)…and that would make their incredible love official.

A romantic at heart, Mark decided to throw Donna the wedding of her dreams…and make it all an unparalleled SURPRISE celebration.

After discussing his idea with a few people closest to him…he went ahead and picked a date, a location, and, of course, THE engagement ring. The grand gala was going to take place at East Wind Long Island.

So, how did he manage to pull this off?   Well, with the help of Donna’s daughter Michelle  (and a select few other conspirators) of course. The dynamic team even sent out invites that said it was going to be a surprise engagement party so that guests didn’t know they were going to attend a wedding either. After all, what better way to keep the surprise a secret than to keep it a secret from everyone…well, mostly everyone that is.

Once everything was “in place” …Mark had Lou from East Wind Long Island send out an email blast denoting a very elite corporate event…a vendor party that required all invitees/guests to dress up in wedding attire for a chance at winning some very special prizes. While Donna was NOT planning on participating in the charades, Mark (who by the way is the creative genius behind Marco Photography) insisted it would be beneficial for business and that ALL his employees/staff were dressing up…so it was almost mandatory for Donna to go all out….he handed her a dress he had picked out…and the rest is history.

As “the story goes”:

_{As they walked into the room, we all yelled surprise! With a very confused look on Donna's face, Mark got down on one knee and proposed. After saying, "of course" Father Nick popped out of the crowd, Donna's son, Brian, walked her down the aisle, and they were married right then and there!} 

_{Mark said that throughout the night she would wake up, turn the light on, and put on the ring, just to look at it; still in awe of what he had done for her!}

_{CONGRATULATIONS and CHEERS to Happily Ever After and Many Years of Wonderful Surprises}