Bridal Shower

Mama Ricotta's Italian Restaurant

Rehearsal Dinner

VanLandingham Estate

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour

Reception

Our Wedding

Where do we start when we think about the story of Chris and Rebecca? Is it 2023? Is it 1981? Or could it be 1983? I’d say that in December 2023 serendipity intervened in our lives and there has been no turning back since. Rebecca had just moved to Charlotte after spending the past 18 years in NYC to be closer to her sister Sarah. Hoping for a better dating scene she signed up for Bumble to see what Charlotte had to offer in the dating world. Chris had all but given up on the dating world but knew if he deleted Bumble that he’d just end up downloading the app again so he just left it on his phone and would casually do the exercise of swiping left and right hoping to one day find something meaningful in a tough dating climate.&nbsp; On December 6, 2023 Chris swiped on this blonde beauty named Rebecca. On December, 7 Rebecca matched with Chris but did not message in Bumble’s 24hr message window so when Chris received a notification that their window of opportunity was closing, he used his one match extension on Rebecca and it turned out to be a life changing decision because on December 8, 2023 Rebecca decided to message Chris!&nbsp; After some initial chat back and forth going through the usual motions Chris received some exciting news from Big Brothers Big Sisters that he had been nominated for Big Brother of the Year and to top that off on his way back from running an errand that day he stopped at Wendy’s to grab a bite to eat on his way home. He noticed someone interviewing in the back corner of the restaurant upon entering the store and proceeded to the line to order lunch. After a few minutes of being there he heard a thud and someone yelling “Call 911!!!” so he turned around to see what all the commotion was about. He noticed the girl that was interviewing was having a seizure and was laying on her back so he ran over and rolled her on her side and held her head off the ground while she was seizing and someone called 911. At one point someone asked him how he knew to do that to which he responded “I saw it on TV”.&nbsp;&nbsp;The girl came out of her seizure and was taken away by the ambulance and Chris got his lunch and went on his way. After the eventful lunch hour he messaged Rebecca to tell her about the randomness of the events of the day to which she was intrigued enough to ask him about going out on a date. They went on their first date December 10, 2023 at Brewers at 4001 Yancey where they talked for hours and Chris had three beers which Rebecca didn’t know at the time, but it meant that he was really enjoying her company since he’s known for being a one maybe two beer at most guy.&nbsp; During their date they discovered some very random connections in their lives that led to the serendipity comment above. Rebecca asked where Chris was from to which he said, “all over, I’m an Air Force kid” to which she said, “me too!”. Chris said, “I was born in New Jersey because my dad was stationed at McGuire AFB” to which she said “me too!”. Chris was born there in 1981 and moved to England in 1982, while Rebecca was born 10 months later in 1983. Ken, Chris’ dad was a loadmaster on the C141 for the 6th&nbsp;Squadron while Mark, Rebecca’s dad was a co-pilot on the C141 for the 6th&nbsp;squadron. Cindy, Chris’ mom and Sue, Rebecca’s mom were both in the same squadron cookbook. They are both the youngest of three and their eldest siblings have both been married for 20 plus years. One of the last wild coincidences is that they discovered on their recent trip to Philadelphia where Rebecca and her niece Emily ran the Philadelphia Marathon, was that we were both delivered by the same doctor.&nbsp; Chris and Rebecca were both notoriously known for being single throughout their lives with no past marriages or children. Some would call them unicorns for making it that long without what most would consider baggage in the dating world. After about 8 months of dating Chris took Rebecca to the place of their third date where their dogs Doogan and Lloyd met on a hike through Anne Springs Greenway in Fort Mill, SC. With his brother and his family in town along with Rebecca’s niece Chris proposed to Rebecca on the porch of a historic cabin at the greenway. Not to be one for super serious moments Chris held up a ring box and proposed, but instead of showing the actual engagement ring he showed her a Ring Pop to which he was called a jerk until she realized there was a real ring too! Rebecca accepted the ring and after some tears of joy we are on our way to being married on May 23, 2025! Seems like it only took 40 years and fate to get involved for these two to find true love and get to live happily ever after!

40 Years in the Making

Our Story

Registry

Photos

Location: VanLandingham Estate2010 The PlazaCharlotte, NC 28205 Ceremony at 4pm Please plan to arrive by 3:30/3:45pm. Parking is available at:Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1900 The PlazaCharlotte, NC 28205 Reception to follow

Events

Adam Turbeville

Ben Pasquino

Jamil Simpson

Joe Harlan

Phillip Lawson

Matt Mamula

Sarah Novak

Emily Szukics

Rebecca Vitone

Emily Novak

Mady Novak

Cassidy Mamula

Wedding Party

Q + A

Please book with our block - <a href="https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1735609383802&amp;key=GRP&amp;guestreslink2=true&amp;app=resvlink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Book your group rate for Mamula/Barnes Wedding Room Block</a>

AC Hotel Charlotte SouthPark

15% discount by booking with this link - <a href="https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/deeplink/?ctyhocn=CLTSPHX&amp;srpCodes=LHHT48" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/deeplink/?ctyhocn=CLTSPHX&amp;srpCodes=LHHT48</a>

Hampton Inn & Suites Charlotte/SouthPark at Phillips Place

Travel

Some fun things to do in Charlotte if you have free time! Food - Optimist Hall or The Market at 7th Street Whitewater Center - huge outdoor center to run, paddle, ride, climb https://whitewater.org/j Freedom Park - small park centrally located near venue/hotels Breweries - some faves: Wooden Robot, Resident Culture, Old Mecklenberg Brewery, Sycamore, Hopfly, Heist The Funny Bus - https://funnybus.net/charlotte/

Things to do!

Things to Do

Rebecca + Chris

Rebecca + Chris

Photos