Billy's - A Cappelli Martini Bar

Rehearsal Dinner

Billy’s - A Cappelli Martini Bar

Welcome Party

Tall Oaks Resort

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Our Wedding

It all started on July 17, 2022, when my friend Emily forced me to come with her on a blind date at Nora’s in downtown Willoughby. I was reluctant, mildly annoyed, and didn't have time to do my hair. But as fate would have it, her date turned out to be... well, a bit of a creep. Meanwhile, the bartender happened to be this cute guy with dirty white vans—Brian. Too shy to ask for my number directly, Brian took the boldest risk of all: he gave Emily his number to pass along to me. (Emily's date may have been a bust, but the wingwoman performance? Iconic.) I texted him the next day and we made plans to hang out. Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling well that night and had to reschedule, which Brian assumed was a polite rejection. The next day, I was at work telling my coworkers that I might have had a date at Cilantro Taqueria—so naturally, they all insisted on coming along. I texted Brian (not canceled!) and the next thing you know, our first date turned into a group taco night with my entire work crew. We ended the evening with drinks in Little Italy and a spontaneous hang at my apartment—Emily and I blew up my air mattress and we put on our show, Love on the Spectrum. Honestly, that may have been when he fell in love with me. We officially started dating on August 8th. Brian packed a little duffel bag for the Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy and... never left. He also met my 2-year-old pup Koda, who immediately claimed him as his third favorite human (after me and my mom, of course). Over the next couple of years, life kept moving. Brian worked his way up at UPS, chasing this mysterious thing called “top rate”—which I initially thought was some kind of elite club for the brown-uniformed boys. Turns out, it's a seniority thing (less glamorous, but still exciting). Between getting laid off, working brutal 4 a.m. preload shifts, and pulling double duty as full-time dog dad, he finally became a full-time driver—and a top-tier fiancé. Meanwhile, I was working cardiac ICU shifts, alternating days and nights until I fully lost all sense of time. Eventually I moved to heart failure ICU (also not for me), then medical ICU (gross), then finally outpatient ENT—and somewhere in there, I swore I’d never go back to school. Naturally, I started my nurse practitioner program in August 2023. We traveled all over in 2023. We embarked on our first family vacations—to the Bahamas with Brian's family and then to Cabo with mine. We also went to Florida and he met my dad and step-mom along with my sister and her family! This was also the first (and should have been last) year we became Brown's season ticket owners. We even decided to take a two week road trip down to Florida so we could bring Koda to visit my mom and dad's house. Boy was that a journey! Fast forward to September 2024. My dad texted to ask if he could take Koda for a walk while I was at work. Cute! Except... then Koda disappeared. I started texting my mom that her husband had stolen her grand-dog, but then I noticed her location said Cleveland. Suspicious. She claimed she fled Florida because of hurricanes. Sure, Jodi. A few days later, on September 28th, I went to get my nails done (thanks to a suspiciously generous $50 from Brian), and we were supposed to meet friends at Chapin Forest. Rain changed the plans, so we went to Euclid Creek Reservation instead. Brian kept obsessively asking if Koda needed water. (He didn’t.) Eventually, he reached into the bag—not for the water, but for a ring. He proposed right there in the woods, and the moment was perfect—Koda even jumped on me in celebration (which he never does!). Brian quickly informed me we had to hustle back because both our families were waiting at a surprise engagement party. Turns out, my mom hadn’t fled a hurricane at all. She had flown in for the big moment. We celebrated with a cozy trip to Hocking Hills, and a few months (and many dated houses) later, we got the keys to our first home—on Valentine’s Day 2025. Now we spend our time juggling DIY projects, suburban dog-walks, and countdowns to graduation and “top rate” status. We can’t wait to celebrate with all of you—tacos, air mattresses, and weird blind dates not included (this time).

Plot Twist: It Was the Bartender

Our Story

Photos

Courtney Denney

C.J. Weigel

Jing Roberts

Rocky Ricca

Rachel Marra

Dominco Marra

Kelsey Weigel

Jimmy McNulty

Lottie Elliot

Alec Siegel

Erin Weigel

Cam Callahan

Cameron Ricca

Wedding Party

Pros Dish on What to Wear to a Wedding

40 Affordable Guest Dresses to Save Money

Affordable Suits? They're a Click Away

Dress Code

Q + A

We’ve reserved a small block of rooms at this hotel for our out-of-town guests. When booking, please mention the Hannaford–Weigel Wedding to receive our group rate, or use our link. <a href="https://www.ihg.com/redirect?path=rates&amp;brandCode=HI&amp;localeCode=en&amp;regionCode=1&amp;hotelCode=clemf&amp;checkInDate=25&amp;checkInMonthYear=052026&amp;checkOutDate=27&amp;checkOutMonthYear=052026&amp;_PMID=99801505&amp;GPC=HWW&amp;cn=no&amp;adjustMonth=false&amp;showApp=true&amp;monthIndex=00" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hannaford - Weigel</a> This hotel is conveniently located about 15 minutes from the venue. There are also plenty of additional accommodations available in the Mentor, Willoughby, and Mayfield areas—all just a short drive away!

Melissa & Brian

Melissa & Brian

Photos