A Beautiful December Crimson Lane Wedding || Madison + Matias Malkamaki

Ada, Ohio | Crimson Lane | Malkamaki Wedding

12/21/2020

the love story (told by Madison)

Matias and I met in undergrad. I was his laboratory assistant for his freshman Zoology class. I immediately noticed how handsome he was but tried to keep everything strictly professional. It wasn’t until he asked me for help on his Organic Chemistry homework that things really sparked. After I sat with him at the library helping him with O-Chem, we stayed and talked until the library closed. We then moved to continue talking in the student union and talked there until it closed. Needless to say, we hit it off. He walked me to my apartment that night and asked to meet up again. Over two years quickly rolled by with countless nights laying under the stars on the soccer field just to catch up on our day, adventuring while rock-climbing and hiking, and studying hard for our future professions.

A lot changed in our relationship once I went off to medical school in 2019 while Matias was still finishing his undergraduate Biology and Chemistry double-major. Yet, his intentionality in our relationship never wavered. If we could not see each other on a weekend, we Skyped. If we could not Skype, we called. We began to talk about a forever future together pretty early on in our relationship. Honestly, it just felt like a match made in Heaven <3

Valentine’s Day 2020: Matias and I had been talking about getting engaged for some time now but I KNEW it would not be Valentine’s weekend. I told Matias on Friday night that I was absolutely sure he would not propose this weekend. I told him, “I know you are not cliche enough to propose on Valentine’s Day AND I have a medical school exam on Monday. You would not be cruel enough to make me miss a day of studying.” I was wrong! Matias knew that this was the weekend I least expected, so Saturday morning (February 15), I woke up to my best friend, Kristen, knocking on my bedroom door in my apartment. She walked in and told me to “Drop everything because Matias is taking you on an adventure today!”

Matias had left my apartment early that morning to create the first story of our forever future. He left notes at locations that were meaningful to us and sent me on a massive scavenger hunt to find all of the notes. Kristen was my chauffeur. Kristen gave me the first “clue” and it led us to a rock climbing gym. I had to climb a problem to get my second note. Next, the clue sent us to a public library where Matias had left a copy of the same Organic Chemistry homework that I helped him with on that first day we had talked. After that, he sent me to my favorite coffee shop and had a table reserved with a bouquet of flowers. He sent me to a local chocolate shop to treat myself and set up an appointment for me to get my nails done!! The next clue after getting my nails done lead Kristen and I to a park in Columbus, OH. He had included pictures of the area I was to find in the letter. I found the location, found my last letter and opened it. It said, “STOP! Do not open this letter. Put on a blindfold and let Kristen read the letter.” I put on the blindfold and Kristen started to read the letter. A few lines in, I felt someone grab my hand and Matias began to say his proposal to me. Kristen took off my blindfold and I was able to see the love of my life down on one knee promising to love me always and to stand by me even in the challenges that life brings. Of course, I cried, and of course, I said “YES!!”

I am beyond blessed to have this man as my partner in life, forever fellow adventurer, and the man who always points me back to realize what is most important in life. I love you earnestly, Matias.

bridal prep

Crimson Lane is such a beautiful venue! It also makes bridal preparations easy for the whole crew with ample space and beautiful suites to get ready in. The gentleman lounged in the men's suite, sharing stories and listening to and singing worship songs. The ladies wore matching robes and worked on each other's hair and makeup, laughing and chatting away.

Madison wore a stunning sleeveless, A-line, lace gown with a plunging v-neckline and beautiful white fur stole. Her hair was pinned elegantly at the nape of her neck and finished with a delicate beaded hair piece and cathedral length veil. She wore nude heels and silver dangle earrings. Her something borrowed and blue was a sweet ring that belonged to her momma. Madison and her bridesmaids are incredibly talented and made their own bouquets. Madison finished hers off with a rosary that was given to her by a late dear friend.

Matias wore a dashing navy suit, light pink tie, a handsome gold watch given to him by Madison, and after the ceremony a golden intricate puzzle ring that may or may not have fallen apart on me during details. Which then caused me to break out into stress sweat when we found the instructions for the puzzle, and realized there were 14 steps! 👀 Accepting defeat I sent my second shooter (aka my momma) to see if maybe Matias knew a fast way to put it back together...sure enough he slipped it together in 2 seconds...whew!

Madison and her father have such an incredible bond that it was an absolute must for her to have a first look with her daddy.

Madison + Matias decided on a traditional timeline for their day, waiting to be reunited at the ceremony, however we did slip a first touch in for this sweet couple. Watching these two interact and hearing Matias pray for their day and marriage was such a joy.

ceremony

The setting for this intimate ceremony could not have been more perfect for a December wedding. Rows of rustic wooden chairs filled the room in front of a gorgeous stone fireplace. A beautifully detailed unity candle sat on a small table while a fire danced behind it in the firebox. The hearth and mantle were perfectly decorated with candles, greenery, and flowers. As we all know covid has impacted so many weddings this year. Madison and Matias had to make some decisions about their wedding day, one of those decisions was to drastically reduce the amount of guests. Thankfully though we live in a digital age, so even though many friends and family, some as far away as France, could not be there physically, the couple had their ceremony live streamed so they could still witness their union. Smiles, laughter, tears, and beautifully written vows filled this ceremony. The love this couple has for each other and their Lord was fully evident.

bridal party

mr + mrs

These two love each other so deeply. They almost move in sync. I remember starting their engagement session this past summer and losing track of what I normally do because they naturally flow and pose on their own! It helps that Madison is also a photographer but it is more than that, they really are made for each other. The only struggle I had on their wedding day was trying to get my camera to work fast enough to capture all their cuteness. Thank you for allowing me the joy of documenting your special day 💕

reception

What a fun reception! Just a month before this wedding was to take place the governor issued some pretty tight restrictions for wedding receptions. One of which was guests must remain seated... no dancing. I know this impacted many weddings around us but not this one! Thankfully the Rose family have some incredibly talented daughters who kept us entertained all evening, along with some fun shenanigans from the bridal party. Madison's sister Diana, who is going to school for theater arts, stunned us all with her gorgeous voice as Madison and Matias glided all around the dance floor with a stunning first dance filled with twirls, lifts and dips. Beautiful heartfelt toasts and speeches were sprinkled throughout the night. A choreographed dance was performed by the Rose sisters. A handmade hog trough was danced upon and destroyed. The groomsmen stole the bride and made the groom read embarrassing things to get her back. And a perfectly executed worm by the groom started a small dance off between the bridesmaids and groomsmen... the ladies won of course!