Shaina + Steve: Paradise Ballroom Wedding

From maneuvering obstacle after obstacle the day of the marriage proposal to facing significant last-minute changes in the wedding plan, Steve and Shaina learned early on that when you remain flexible and go with the flow, things often turn out better than you can ever imagine.

[Photos by Kimberly Brooke www.kimberlybrooke.com]

The Engagement Story

Shaina said she had no idea when her and Steve planned a getaway weekend with their beloved Golden Retriever, Ramsey that a marriage proposal was in the works. Steve had no idea things wouldn’t go as smoothly as he planned! But despite the chaos (which included Ramsey getting sick with excitement at a dog park and their hotel reservation getting mixed up) the proposal took place in a gorgeous, romantic setting and Shaina said “yes”, which is really what matters.

Choosing the Venue

Shaina and Steve had three wedding venues in mind. After making their visits, they reluctantly settled on one, even though it didn’t seem like the perfect fit. When they made contact, the venue didn’t remember who they were.

Steve’s sister, who had gotten married a year earlier, told them that she had wanted to get married at Herrington on the Bay, but her wedding date wasn’t available. Taking her advice, Shaina and Steve called us up!

“Once we saw Herrington, we knew this was it! We were just there for a visit to check out the venue, but the staff came out and introduced themselves, the chef brought us a delicious meal, and everything was absolutely beautiful,” Shaina said.

Steve added, “It was ten times better than every other place we had been. Every time we were left alone for a few minutes, I kept telling Shaina that we should just enjoy the experience. I knew she already had her heart set on it. There was no way it was going to be in our budget. But when we got the figures, they were in the same ballpark as the other venues. It blew my mind!”

Wedding Planning

Shaina knew she wanted an outdoor wedding and had general ideas. She said her planner, Brittany helped her bring all the ideas together. She said one thing that amazed her was help planning the wedding favors. Shaina comes from a big Italian family and she wanted to do cannoli as favors. The culinary team at Herrington on the Bay made and packaged the cannoli, leaving Shaina to focus on other things!

The Food
Steve said their food was “not your typical wedding food.” Herrington on the Bay easily accommodated Shaina and Steve’s requests along with accommodations for guests with multiple food allergies.

The couple’s signature drink was the “Ramsarita”: a margarita named after their dog, Ramsey.

Rehearsal Day

The day before the wedding, a tropical storm came through Maryland. Herrington on the Bay always plans for these type of events. Rather than have the wedding outdoors on the Polynesian Lawn, it was moved inside to the Paradise Ballroom, where the wedding reception was also being held.

Shaina said, “I was in sheer panic, but I didn’t have to do anything except show up. Adria took care of everything: from contacting everyone involved, to having 3-4 rows of chairs set up in front so that our immediate family didn’t have to sit at their tables during the ceremony, to arranging for the DJ to have soft background music playing during the ceremony to keep down the noise level of the storm.”

Steve added, “When we watched the video of the ceremony later, we realized that you wouldn’t even know there was a tropical storm raging outside!“

The Big Day Recap

Shaina and Steve said despite the storm, their wedding was a breeze.

“We didn’t have to worry about a thing,” Steve said. “We were never looking for Adria. If I needed anything at all, she or another staff was right there. She took care of any concerns what so ever. Her response was “I’ll take care of it“, and within five minutes, it was taken care of.”

The Herrington on the Bay staff also helped Shaina surprise Steve with a groomsman cake. She said, “Every little detail was taken care of, including things we would never have considered. Immediately after we said ‘I do’ and walked down the aisle, we were each handed our signature drink, allowing us to be the first to have one.”

Favorite Wedding Day Memory

Steve and Shaina opted for a sweetheart table at the wedding reception. They said they hadn’t considered it at first but were glad for the suggestion.

“It gave us the chance to catch up after not seeing each other all day,” Steve said. “We heard about our experiences — including the fact that in between when the men were brought over in the limo and then the women’s limo ride, a tree had fallen and was blocking the main road. Guests who were being shuttled over got off the buses and moved the tree in their wedding attire.”

‍