“We met on the gay dating app, Jack’d in Houston, Texas. Later, we found that only six days prior, we were at the same music festival, at the same concert, and separated by only 13 people in the front row. Ian discovered this when he went through his go-pro footage of the concert weeks later.”

Michael invited Ian over to his studio apartment and Ian brought the Whiskey & Sprite, “Our old go-to drink. We then spent the entire night on the balcony, talking until 6 am.” Michael immediately thought Ian was the funniest person he'd ever met, handsome, and felt he had the warmest heart. After just two weeks of seeing each other, Ian turned to Michael and surprised him by saying, "I love you.” Michael awkwardly replied back, "Thank you."

Unbeknownst to Michael, he had yet to realize that he was already in love. “I had never experienced this feeling before… It was shortly after when I said, “I love you” back.”

After being together for five years, Ian proposed to Michael at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, which they fell in love with during their first hurricane evacuation from their home in Charleston.

“We take a photo every day for our shared Instagram account and blog, so we headed to our favorite spot and Ian set up the tripod. As Michael waited for the shot, I looked up and started talking to him.” Michael replied, "Babe, stop talking. We're taking a photo." Ian grabbed Michael's face and said, "Babe, I love you more than anyone in this world." As he got down on one knee, Michael momentarily blacked out but managed to emphatically get out the word, “Yes!"

Every choice made throughout the wedding planning process was deliberately chosen to align with their personality as a couple. “We both hate to sweat, especially when dancing, which led us to choose the winter wedding date of February 21, 2020. We both knew Charleston had become our forever home, which easily set the location for the celebration. We have a deep love of lush greenery, so we opted to have a flowerless wedding. Since there was no bride, we honored our mothers and all the strong women in our lives with elegant white attire required.”

The southern wedding exemplified the perfect balance between elegant and grandiose with minimal, bold, and purposeful details. White, gold, black and green were the accent colors of choice. “The most crucial element was to create a day to honor all those who have supported our relationship. A love not celebrated by all. A day for our friends and family to feel as though the spotlight was on them.”

Michael and Ian joined hands in front of their closest friends and family to recite their vows.

Michael turned to Ian and said, “Professor Ian, my Tiny Tottington. I’m going to start with a story you have heard often because it’s my favorite. It was almost six years ago in our Houston studio apartment and only two weeks after we first met. You looked into my eyes and said, “I love you.” My response was an awkward “Thank you. Today, I am here to say it again: thank you.

“Thank you for teaching me how to love. I responded with “Thank you” because I had never been in love and did not know the feelings going on inside me. You were my first true love and you will be my forever love. Thank you for also teaching me how to love with care and I promise to always love you with care.

“Thank you for teaching how to laugh. I’ve never laughed with someone so much in my entire life. While I know our future will have many highs and many lows, I know we will be laughing through it all. I promise to always play your favorite character, Baby Mike, bow and all. I promise to showoff our love for sports with ridiculous slogans and sounds. No matter what, I promise to always fill our days with the stomach hurting, can’t breath, soundless kind of laugh we know.

“Thank you for showing me how to truly live. How to be myself. When I am with you, I’ve never felt more comfortable to be me. You taught me the importance of thinking about others, which you do without thought. Thank you for always bringing the best out in me.”

Ian responded, “Unbeknownst to you, these vows have been written for years.

While you’ve slept soundly, my arms wrapped around yours. My heart beats frantically hearing the words in my head push tears out of my eyes and onto your pillow. I smile each time and drift to bed knowing that I am your someone and you are mine.

“Each time I vow to always be that warmth when the world seems so cold. I vow to be the energy that drives us to achieve our dreams and passions. I vow to always accept and nurture the scars that have caused us pain. I vow to protect your heart and allow you to always keep mine. I vow to never abandon our sense of humor and lightheartedness because our world is happier when we are too.

“I have waited to say these words aloud and today I have the honor of doing so in front of all of our loved ones...and finally you. As our memories fade with age, I vow to always cherish this exact moment for you and I until eternity because you are my someone.”

Ian and Michael were overwhelmed with emotion. “It felt like nothing was changing and yet, everything was drastically changing all at once. There were no nerves or butterflies, but excitement and closeness. We truly had our partner-to-be by each other's side while experiencing something in life that is so unique.”

After walking down the aisle for the first time as husbands, the two grooms had the chance to escape for a few minutes and soak it all in. The atmosphere of the wedding was pure love. Everyone enjoyed the various dinner stations, while the “best women” gave heartfelt speeches. “We had a 12 person band, the Emerald Empire Band, which had guests on their feet for the rest of the night. Not a single person was sitting!”

“We wanted to create an environment where every person felt confident and beautiful. This night was for them. All those who had supported us and our relationship. It was truly beautiful.”

When asked about what advice they would give to others planning their wedding, they emphasized, “Problems are going to happen. Don’t dwell on it. Instead, use each other as inspiration to find alternatives because it will be better than what y'all initially planned!

“During the ceremony, look out to all your guests. It is not common to have every person you love in one room. They are all there because they truly love you. Let it sink in. Breathe and take a moment to enjoy all those around you.”

After the wedding celebration, the newlyweds spent their honeymoon at home. The pandemic was just upon us near the end of February, so their plans to head to Greece were put off for a later and safer date.

Venue — The Governor Thomas Bennett House
Photography — Cameron Hinkle (Instagram)
Videography — Chap Fowler from Fig Jam Studio
Wedding Planner — Fox Events
Officiant — Blake Barnett
Invitation Design — Sas-e Ink
Catering — Harvest Catering
Cake Design — Delicious Desserts
Apparel — Berlin's For Men
Floral Design — Vero Designs & Nancy’s Exotic Plants
Live Music — Emerald Empire Band
Rentals — Eventworks Rentals, Snyder Rentals, and Ooh Events
Hair & Makeup — Largo Salon