St Margaret Mary Catholic Church

Wedding Day

Wedding

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Orlando Downtown

Reception

Our Wedding

Life tends to be funny sometimes. You may have everything all planned out, and then life comes and says “Nope, you’re going to do this instead”. Thankfully, for us, it was a change that brought the two of them together. It started on a sunny day on October 4, 2012. UCF was having their annual football game against the East Carolina Pirates, a conference title game that was a necessary win. Joe was undecided on whether or not to go or not because he didn’t know of anyone going and he had a lot of homework to get done. He messaged a few friends and didn't really have any bites. A few didn’t even respond. Halfway through his Television Production homework, his phone vibrated followed by a message from one of his friends saying that “they were going to the game and that he should come!”. After a few looks back and forth at his phone and to the textbook, the decision became easier to go to the game. He got ready, and left for the tailgate.

	Kristin was still working for WUCF at the time, so they means she was going to get off early from work since it was a Thursday home game. She planned on attending the game with one of her coworkers, Amanda, and meeting up their mutual friend Steve to tailgate before the game. Steve and Kristin knew each other from television production classes at UCF. Kristin and Steve had a special bond because they were able to go to NYC for a trip with the National Broadcasting Society, just a few months earlier. Steve also began working at WUCF. When they were ready for the game, Kristin and Amanda arrived at memory mall, walked through the sea of black and gold, and finally found Steve and his friends.



	When Joe finally arrived, it didn't take long for him to meet up with his friends. These were friends he had met in community college and was not super close to them yet. Fast forward, an hour or so later, Joe was regretting the decision to go. It was, how you say, not the most entertaining of experiences to sit a people watch and not really talk that much when you could be out doing other things around campus. It was still 3 hours away from gametime so something had to change. Right before giving up hope, he felt a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out the phone and found a new message in his inbox. It was one of his new friends he had made in his short time at UCF’s radio and television program. His name was Steve Sardone and he was inviting him over to where him and his friends were tailgating. “Hey guys, I’m going to go see a friend of mine real quick and say Hi. Apparently he is here”. Joe never returned. 



	At this point, Kristin has been hanging out with Amanda, Steve, and others for awhile, so Kristin decided to use the restroom at the CFE Arena before the game started. Amanda was busy talking to someone else, so she just told Steve where she was going, which is a bit of a treck from where they were tailgating. 



	It didn’t take long for Joe to find Steve and his friends (these were all people, whom Joe had never met. So he’d figured he would just roll with it. He at least had one good friend that was there and on the plus side, at least these people were entertaining and fun to be around. After a while, we decided to walk around and see if we spotted anyone else we knew. This little travel troup was Joe, Steve and a new girl that Joe met named Amanda, who Steve knew from WUCF. “Where’s Kristin?” Amanda said as we walked along memory mall. “Using the restroom” replied Steve. “We need to find her a man” Amanda said with vigor. Joe had no idea who this Kristin girl was and he didn't look to much into it.



	After waiting in the infamous long line of the women’s restroom, Kristin started her long journey back through the mob of UCF students. 



	Brace yourself, whoever's reading this, it’s about to get cheesy. At this point, UCF was slammed with students and there wasn't much room to move around. So Joe, Steve and the rest of the group kept to themselves. But suddenly, there was something that seemed different in the air. Joe turned his head and looked straight into the incoming crowd of people trying to get by. Something told him to do it. And just like that, within that second, the crowd parted and there was Kristin walking to meet up with steve with a large smile on her face. Cue “Dreamweaver” by Gary Wright. I told you this would be cheesy. She extended out her hand and said “Hi, I’m Kristin”.Finally coming back to reality, Joe replied “Nice to meet you, I’m Joe” and they continued on like no one else was there. 

	Kristin thought that Joe was really friendly and adorable, and instantly clicked with him. She wasn’t necessarily a flirting expert, but she tried to signal to him with touching his arm and smiling a lot. They joked around a lot, and started to get to know each other.



Before they knew it, the game was about to start. Steve and Amanda wanted to drop off their cooler at the car, and asked Kristin and Joe to save some seats for them at the stadium. Being the nice people they are, of course they would save them. So they followed the trail of the masses to the stadium. As they entered the crowded stadium, it wasn't hard to see that the seats would fill up fast. They headed up to the general admission student section seats and found the best spot they could find. &nbsp;But now it was just Joe and Kristin, alone for the first time. And yes, there was the awkward feeling of “what do we do now? Don’t mess this up. You’re going to mess this up.” 

	Nobody messed up that night. It wasn't long before Steve and Amanda returned to find the two of them engaged in conversation and flirtation. UCF won 40-20 that night as expected, but the real win was finding the one to be with for the rest of their life. &nbsp;After a few days, Joe found Kristin on Facebook (but had already creeped each other’s profiles before the official FB friendship) and their conversations continued on like they never left that football game. Ever since that moment, the two of them have been inseparable. Where one went, the other usually followed. It’s kinda funny how life works sometimes. One decision to go to a football game can change your entire life. So I guess the moral of the story is that UCF football rules. Go Knights!!



Love,

				Knightro

				(UCF Mascot)

Joe and Kristin’s Story

Our Story

Details

Steve Sardone was the first true friend that Joe made at UCF’s Radio and Television program. Steve was everyone’s go-to actor for their projects. Steve’s “acting” always what made projects fun, especially when he had to work with puppets (But that's an entirely different story). Steve also is a part of the “Man Monday” group, where they routinely keep their gaming skills sharp. He is also the one that oddly enough, introduced Joe to Kristin. So let's just say Joe has heard “You’re welcome” quite a few times over the last 6 years. If you want to make him mad, just tell him that the Washington Capitals are pretty bad. He’ll know what that means...

Steve Sardone

Jacob Land was Joe’s longest running roomate. For over 3 years, Joe and Jacob lived together in Orlando and went through a lot together. Each house was a different adventure, in itself. From the extremes of a toilet flooding the whole house simple late night talks, they always had something happening. Side note, if you ever need a hug&hellip; oh my god&hellip; so good.

Jacob Land

Joe met Sean when he became the 4th roommate in their new household in 2013. Joe and Sean instantly connected over their love of video games, board games, and sports. Hours were spent in front of the television, challenging each other in any game. Their house would go on to host game nights, challenging others in different board games (Dubbed “Man Mondays”). Even though he moved to Colorado, these nights never left. They all still play games with each other over the internet whenever they can.

Sean Simon

Meeting in a 9th grade Science class at East Lake High School, Brent and Joe instantly connected over their love of the Tampa Bay Lightning and classic rock. Brents house quickly became the go-to place to hang out amongst their friend group. They even developed their own sport and sports league. Even though it hasn't catched on with ESPN yet, what they dubbed as “Tampa Two Ball” became a instant hit in their inner circle and anyone else that played.

Brent Robson

Bri and Kristin met their freshman year at UCF, and have been the best of the friends ever since. Some people refer to them as “Benjamin Franklin” (no one does, but it’s fun to think they do). Bri and Kristin have had countless conversations about life, love, and faith, and although those things sound like a quote from some Hobby Lobby wall decor, they helped shape who each of them are today. Fast forward to present day, Bri has a degree in counseling, so it’s like Kristin got a decade of free therapy. But out of everything, the biggest form of therapy has been laughter. Bri is one of the funniest people Kristin knows, and Kristin has encouraged her to share it with the world for years. Bri is obsessed with Scar from the Lion King, Shark Tank, Big Brother, and This is Us. The biggest fact to note is that her full name is pronounced Bri-Ann-uh, not Bri-Ahn-uh. May the odds be ever in your favor if you say it wrong. 

Bri Franklin

Catherine is like the older sister that Kristin never had. Kristin met Catherine when she began working at WUCF, Central Florida PBS. As young professionals, it can be hard to navigate through the workplace, but together, they encouraged each other to succeed. They were lucky to be able to rely on one another. Their work relationship quickly turned into a true friendship as they spent more time together. For years, they would each lunch together almost every day. One of Catherine’s go-to’s was Blaze Pizza, but Chuy’s was a next level obsession for both of them. When they didn’t go out to lunch, there was a picnic table outside the office that quickly became “their table”. Catherine should win an award for her wisdom and advice, both professionally and personally. The amount of text messages they’ve exchanged through the years could write a novel, but if Kristin were ever to write something for Catherine, it would be dedicated to the list of cliches that come out of her mouth on the daily. Sadly, Catherine and her family moved to South Carolina, but that hasn’t stopped them from talking about the latest in pop culture, their favorite shows, and all of life’s curveballs.

Catherine Hiles

Kaitlyn and Kristin’s friendship dates back to when they were just juniors in high school. Although they didn’t attend the same school, they both found themselves working at Hallmark at the mall in Daytona Beach. They quickly became friends and started talking about their goals for the future. It just so happened that both of them wanted to attend UCF, so they decided that they would be roommates. Kaitlyn and Kristin soon got on regular schedule of early classes and power nap time. They both got involved in organizations in campus, but Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity was one that became very important to both of them. Throughout college and beyond, Kaitlyn and Kristin have a special bond from all their late night conversations and many life milestones.

Kaitlyn Waite

Taylor and Kristin met their freshman year at UCF through Phi Sigma Pi. Their “Big” took two “Littles” that semester which made Taylor and Kristin “twins”, according to the honor fraternity. Kristin and Taylor may not be twins in real life, but they do get along really well, even though they are different. And that was the start of their friendship that involved days hanging out at the pool, shopping, and going out to eat. They became roommates for a couple years in college, where Kristin found out that Taylor isn’t lactose intolerant, she’s just “intolerant to lactose”. Kristin’s mistake. Through the years, they have kept their friendship alive through many, many delicious dinners all around Orlando. Taylor is one of the most organized and thoughtful people I know, so I think she chose the perfect job as an event/wedding planner. She has been very helpful to Kristin and Joe during this wedding process, and they’re very grateful! Kristin was honored to be in Taylor’s wedding so she’s glad she could be in hers.

Taylor Bianco

Brittany and Kristin met in a film class at UCF, after they ended up in the same study group to work on their storytelling skills. They instantly connected over their academic focus and humor, and they started hanging out outside of that forced group meetup. Often times, Brittany would offer to give Kristin a ride back to her apartment after class, so she didn’t have to take the shuttle home. This somehow led to a tradition of creating different characters to ask/be asked if needed a ride. They often go out to dinner to catch up, but sometimes can sneak in some time to go to one of the theme parks together with their boys. Brittany is one of the best party hosts of all time. Kristin and Brittany have spent almost every Halloween together for almost a decade, and each one has been a blast. Brittany is also the queen of puns, Disney, and movie composers.

Joseph & Kristin

Joseph & Kristin

Things to Do

Walt Disney World Resort

Universal Studios Florida

SeaWorld Orlando

Downtown Orlando

Orlando City Soccer Club

ICON Orlando™