WED D I NGS
Claris & Sawaia BY JESSICA MIREL L I PHOTOGRAP HY BY AT L A N TA DA HL I A PHOTO, AT L ANTADAH LI A.COM
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hapel Hillian Emma Claris and Matt Sawaia of Cary met in 2014 when she got lost on their first day of interning for MetLife in Charlotte. Sparks flew instantly when Matt offered to drive Emma to work for the rest of the summer. Emma, an East Chapel Hill High School alumna, and Matt, who went to Apex High School, both graduated from UNC Charlotte that December with degrees in finance. They bonded over the Carolina Panthers and brewery hopping in Charlotte and soon got a dog together, their best bud, Moose. In 2018, Matt surprised Emma with a proposal in their Uptown Charlotte apartment after a trip to the North Carolina Zoo with her nephew. She said yes without any hesitation and was surprised to see her parents, Gayle Claris and Woody Claris, and his parents, Mike Sawaia and Nanette Sawaia, at the celebratory dinner.
After a long engagement, the pair planned the wedding in secret in just over three weeks and got married on Dec. 3, 2021. “We picked this day not only because I liked the date [12/3/21],” Emma says. “But because it was about time we got married.” The couple said their vows at Soundside Park in Surf City, which was followed by a reception at Diver Surfside Cafe with 12 invited guests. “[It was] a far cry from the original 180-person guest list,” Emma says. “It was close to perfect and really intimate, and almost every person at the wedding made a toast.” The couple lives in Charlotte. CHM May/June 2022
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