RUNNERS UP

Parmita Samanta & Sean Yancy

We “met” on Tinder when Sean was on a trip to New York City from Atlanta with his brother. We didn’t actually meet inperson during that trip, but we did strike up a conversation which led to us meeting while I was in Florida visiting my best friend three weeks later.

Sean told me from the beginning that he would be moving to Japan. We dated long-distance between NYC and Atlanta for about six months, and then continued our long-distance relationship for the next two years (with lots of travel adventures) after he moved to Kesennuma, Japan. After returning from Japan, Sean moved to NYC.

Sean proposed to me on his 40th birthday—we both had the day off and I kept asking him what he wanted to do, but

Kelley and Joe Giannini

Joe and I met during our freshman year of high school at Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island. We had both been invited to pre-season for our individual fall sports and from there, an instant friendship was sparked out of our mutual passion for athletics and silliness.

Our engagement was something I could have never imagined. After winning the beloved “Crab Pot’’ hockey tournament on February 22, 2020 (Joe’s second class year at the US Naval Academy), he went out onto the ice with his whole team and gathered around their 5-foot trophy. Soon after, the crowd followed jubilantly onto the ice and before I knew it, the trophy was not the only thing they were circling. All 90-plus people started slowly backing away and watched as Joe got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. It was the he wouldn’t give me a straight answer. In the morning, he asked if I wanted to go on a walk with our dog, Josie, to Endale Arch in Prospect Park. We walked through the arch, which opens onto a beautiful lawn, Sean handed me Josie’s leash and got down on one knee and popped the question. I bawled.

Our wedding ceremony took place at Court of De Luna in Pensacola. We had a fairly traditional Hindu wedding that took place over the course of five crazy and fun-filled days. There were so many meaningful parts to our wedding–my childhood best friend did all of the decor for our Henna, which took place at my parent’s home on Escambia Bay. During our Mehendi, my college friends surprised us with a hilarious skit about our dating history and one of Sean’s childhood friends did a rendition of Take Me Home, Country

Roads but re-wrote the lyrics to depict us as well. During the Baraat, Sean rode in on a horse that another friend had made a beautiful festive costume for. We genuinely felt surrounded by so much love—it felt magical. You can do all the planning in the world, but you can’t plan that.

The very first vendor we booked after setting a date was local photographer Aislinn Kate and I’m obsessed with every single photo—Aislynn and Kendall did such an amazing job capturing our joy. I cannot say enough about my hair and makeup vendors: Hayley (Gulf Coast Glam House) and Chelsea (Hair + Co) made me feel stunning. Paige (Puas by Paige) made me the most amazing fresh flower jewelry for the Henna–they were dreamy. Sean’s parents hosted an intimate welcome dinner at The Grand Marlin, our Mehendi was held at 5eleven and catered by Nancy’s, our Ceremony and Reception were both at Court of De Luna and we had a very delicious Farewell Brunch at Apple Annie’s inside Seville Quarter the following morning. My advice for newly engaged couples is once wedding week arrives, just let it all go and enjoy the moment. easiest answer to any question I’d ever been asked, and I gave an obvious, overjoyed, yes! The rink went wild and I found myself being swept off my feet, spun around and engulfed by all 30 Navy Hockey team members in a large embrace.

We were married at the beautiful Pensacola Country Club. With greenery and florals peeking out of every corner, yes even the chandeliers. My vision of a romantic tropical paradise was brought to life and all within the very classic venue that is the country club. We had a custom wedding crest made that was an absolute hit, at the center was our adored corgi puppy, Muffin. He also played an integral part in our ceremony and first dance.

My favorite aspect of our wedding was the feel of the day. The overall joy I saw from family and friends was something I had never collectively experienced before. It was so special. The dance floor was literally never empty. Joe crowd surfed three times. I kept repeatedly hearing “that was the best wedding I’ve ever been to, “it’ll be hard to top this one” and of course, I would have to agree with them.

I was in awe of our team of vendors from the very start of the planning process. Nicole from Elegant Pairings by Nicole was my wedding fairy godmother of a planner. Jordan and her team at Spruce Beauty served as our glam squad. Our beautiful flower paradise was brought to life by the team at Fiore. Their creations were above and beyond my wildest expectations. Our cake, cupcakes and cookies were all from Bluejay’s Bakery and our donut selection was from Maynard’s. Our gorgeous seating chart, drink, desert and welcome signs were all the handcrafted work of Mellissa from Scripted Calling. Last but certainly never least, were our wonderful photographers and videographers from the one and only Aislinn Kate Weddings. I will always be grateful for their attention to detail and their ability to capture moments so beautifully.