Emily & James: A Magical Orlando Sunset Wedding
When Emily first met James at a friend’s barbecue in downtown Orlando five years ago, she had no idea she’d just encountered her future husband. But as Emily loves to say, “Sometimes the universe has plans that are better than anything we could imagine for ourselves.”
Their journey from that casual meeting to their breathtaking sunset ceremony at Lake Eola was filled with both challenges and beautiful moments. After dating for two years, James received a job offer in Tampa that was too good to refuse. What followed was eighteen months of weekend drives between Orlando and Tampa, FaceTime calls, and a deepening bond that distance couldn’t weaken.
“We joke that I-4 traffic was our relationship’s true test,” Emily laughs. “If we could survive that drive every weekend, we could survive anything!”
When James proposed during a surprise weekend getaway to St. Augustine, Emily immediately knew who she wanted to officiate their ceremony. “We had attended my cousin’s wedding in Orlando the year before, and the officiant from Orlando Wedding Officiants had made such an impression on us. The ceremony wasn’t just beautiful – it was personal, heartfelt, and exactly what we wanted for our own wedding.”
Planning a wedding while living in different cities presented its challenges, but working with Orlando Wedding Officiants simplified the process tremendously. “Getting our Florida wedding license seemed daunting at first, but Orlando Wedding Officiants guided us through every step. They even helped us understand the different ceremony options and created something that felt uniquely us,” James explains.
Their March wedding at Lake Eola Park couldn’t have been more perfect. As the sun began to set, casting a golden glow across the lake, Emily walked down the aisle to James. Their officiant from Orlando Wedding Officiants had worked with them to incorporate readings that reflected their journey and values, including passages from their favorite books and a special poem written by James’s grandmother.
“What struck me most,” Emily remembers, “was how our officiant from Orlando Wedding Officiants captured the essence of our relationship in the ceremony. They spoke about our long-distance challenges, our shared love of trying new restaurants, and even mentioned our rescue dog, Charlie, who served as our ring bearer. It wasn’t a generic ceremony – it was our story.”
After exchanging personalized vows that left few dry eyes among their 85 guests, Emily and James were pronounced husband and wife just as the sun dipped below the Orlando skyline.
“When people ask about our wedding, we always mention how the ceremony itself was our favorite part,” James says. “That’s entirely thanks to our amazing officiant from Orlando Wedding Officiants who created a moment that was filled with love, laughter, and authenticity.”
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Today, Emily and James live in Orlando with Charlie and their new rescue cat, Luna. They celebrate their anniversary each year with a picnic at Lake Eola, remembering the perfect day when their journey as a married couple began thanks to Orlando Wedding Officiants.