Rehearsal Dinner

Wedding Day

Ceremony

The Nineteenth Century

Reception

Our Wedding

On December 23rd, 2020, Melody was a little wine-drunk on her parent's couch, when her phone lit-up with a message from a man named "Steve" on OkCupid. It was a short message: "Any plans for the new year?" Melody was intrigued-- most men usually led with a dumb pick-up line or something generic, like "how are you?" So, she messaged him back. Turns out, they enjoyed talking to each other! Steve and Melody would message back-and-forth for about 3 weeks... they tried to set-up a first date after about 1 week of messaging, but it was a global pandemic, and their loved ones kept getting common colds. Finally, on January 11th, 2021-- Melody drove over to Steve's apartment at the corner of Sheridan and Foster avenue. As Melody exited her car, she thought to herself: "This is the last one. If this date doesn't go well, I'm taking a break from these dumb apps!" Steve met Melody in the lobby in a nice, button-down shirt and with a kind hug. He was handsome and his eyes glistened when he smiled. Melody felt a little nervous taking the elevator up to his top-floor apartment... she was only about 99% sure Steve wasn't an axe-murderer. But once Steve opened his apartment door and Melody was greeted by Steve's four-legged companion, Kiki-- Melody was hooked. Their first date lasted from 7 PM all the way until 3 AM... on a Monday night! 8 hours of talking, laughing, pizza, and Superbad. Melody finally left when they both realized they had work in a few hours... but not without the promise of a second date on Saturday. When Saturday rolled around, Melody and Steve ended up going on a long drive. They turned the GPS off and took turns showing each other their favorite songs. On this evening, Melody and Steve agreed that they would see each other exclusively (partially to see where the connection went, and partially because COVID was dangerous). Over the next few weeks, Melody came over frequently and they spent a lot of time playing video games and watching movies... Steve would accidentally refer to Melody as his "girlfriend" several times over this period-- Melody would call him out on it, and he'd smile. Finally, on Valentine's Day 2021-- they made it "official". Since then, it's been 3.5 years of smiles, laughs, bickering, furry friends, parties, games of Monopoly, and 12-packs of Diet pop. Melody and Steve have each faced triumph and challenge as individuals over the course of their relationship... but they find that together, they make the ultimate team. We cannot wait to celebrate with you on October 11th, 2025!

From 'Any Plans?' to Forever Plans

Our Story

Our Engagement Photos!

Special thanks to Rhys B Photography for the beautiful pictures!

Our Travels

So far we've been to...- Door County, WI- Des Moines, IA- Wisconsin Dells, WI (3 times!)- Las Vegas, NV- Columbus, OH- East Lansing, MI- Orlando, FL- Michigan City, IN- Grand Haven, MI- Minneapolis, MN (2 times!) With many more to come!

Our First Year

Photos

The Romantic Leads

Melody DeRogatis

Steven Atchley

The Bridal Ensemble

Kristyn 

Arleigh 

Francesca

Aleecia

The Groom Party

Adam

The "Not Pictured" Ensemble

Bridal EnsembleChloe-- Melody's Best Friend Groom EnsembleBrandon-- Steve's Best FriendMike-- Steve's Best FriendElizabeth-- Steve's Best FriendDan-- Steve's Cousin The Blue EnsembleVioleta-- Melody's Best FriendAlex-- Melody's Best Friend

Melody & Steve

Melody & Steve

Registry